The suspension of the requirement to have a Home Information Pack (or HIP) has been welcomed across the property sector. From now on nobody has to have a HIP.

This is really good news if you are thinking of selling, but are worried about the possible delay and costs involved in securing a HIP in time. It is also good news if you are one of those clients “quietly” on our books, who could be tempted to consider selling if the right buyer comes along. Many such excellent opportunities were thwarted by HIPs.

There is however, still a requirement to have commissioned an Environmental Performance Certificate (EPC) although you do not have to have actually received it prior to marketing. An EPC is generated by a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor and can be actioned as soon as we visit your home for an initial marketing meeting. But it need no longer delay the marketing of your property. People are generally much more interested in a property that is new to market so time is of the essence and we aim to act extremely quickly when a property comes to market.
However, when other sellers may be breathing a sigh of relief at the demise of HIPs, don’t fall into the trap of being caught out – as in the “old” days! So often a buyer would be found, only to find that the seller’s solicitor had not even been appointed – let alone made a start on preparing the various required documents.

Our advice is therefore to consider securing some form of HIP anyway during the early stages of marketing. By having most of the required documents in place early on, your sale is more likely to proceed smoothly and you will be reducing the window of opportunity within which it could fall though. Your solicitor will be pleased to deal with this, or we can arrange for this also if you have not already appointed a solicitor.

To quote Henry Ford, “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success”.