Luminous

iTrader: (3)

These things are useless and entirely annoying. I have heard rumours that they are going to be shelved. Are there any people in the know here? If they are going to be shelved does anyone know when?

Paul3446

I don't know, but in our local paper, a leading estate agent said that in about 4 months since they'd been introduced, only one person had actually asked to look at a HIP for a house.

I think that says it all really. You are not going to choose a house because it is environmentally friendly.

Leslie

I hear that the housing minister is thinking of watering the HIPS down now since they are twitched about the housing market and she hinted they may even be abandoned. Yet another well thought out institution!

Les

miff13

Exchange of contracts is legally binding, I assume you mean an offer should be legally binding?

HIP's are in their current form a complete waste of time and money, great from a buyers point of view as the seller pays for your local and drainage search, but they don't save any time, or make the sale more "transparent".

lozgti

Seems no one wants them or cares about them,particularly house buyers or sellers.How has it helped any buyers or sellers and the property market?

Just seems to be the over excited government that wants them.

I'd smile if they did drop them

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

I think they are a waste of space, but I am currently wanting to move a property on. I've been quoted £275+VAT for the HIP, but don't want to pay it. I'm in no hurry to sell at all, so was thinking of waiting till the middle of the year before I advertised.

I heard the end of something on the radio where they were saying the HIPS were lightly to be scrapped (I think) around June this year. I just wanted to know if others heard the same thing, or if I got completely the wrong end of the stick.

andy97

iTrader: (1)

What a waste of time and money, to introduce a scheme then ditch it, in little over a year

d5hof

I'm an estate agent in central london, since HIP was introduced I only had ONE person request it and even then he did it just to be ****!!!

Waste of time and money

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I'm not surprised. I mean, who would attach any value whatsoever to a survey that's been commissioned by the seller? It's like asking someone to buy a used car on the strength of the seller's mechanic saying it's OK.

d5hof

errm...the surveyor is independent...

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

You have a lot of faith in the system there!

Suppose I commission a survey that mentions some defect that might reduce the value of my house by, say, £1000. Do I:

a) Put it in the HIP and reduce my asking price by £1000, or
b) Commission another survey for, say, £250, and hope it's more positive?

Also, suppose you were a surveyor in two minds about whether something was serious enough to warrant a mention or not. Which is more likely to get you recommended to other sellers - voicing a criticism or keeping quiet about it?

Independent or not, they still have their own interests to look after, and so does the seller.

gljam

As far as I know they are keeping them and I've heard they will be rolled out to include rental properties soon

just had to pay £350 plus vat for ours

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

they are not in force for properties that are rented out at the moment? I was told I needed one

gljam

not yet from what I can gather, I'm actually signing for the keys to our new rented place tomorrow so I'll find out

noobyscooby

There is no survey for starters which was to have been the whole point of the HIPS in the first place. Would you trust a report on a £200K, £300K or £400K and more car you were about to buy that had been done by the seller's local garage? NO! You'd commission your own. For one thing you could sue as you commissioned the report and the contract is between you and the surveyor!

Any seller's solicitor would have put the contract together so that has always been available.

And would you trust searches carried out by the seller's solicitor? If you did, you might just as well trust the contract sent out by the same solicitor, sign it and return. But you wouldn't would you so yet again the answer is No! You get your own done.

The government gets paid for two lots of searches and two lots of VAT.

And as for the energy survey - a local bloke is selling a house with thatch, tiles and a flat roof. The computer generated report will only accept one type of roof because the thickos in government who designed it were too stupid to comprehend the variety of buildings they had to deal with. Then the idiot surveyor suggested to the seller he could improve his energy rating by putting solar panels on top of the thatch! Whaaaat! It's a listed building too.

So Gordon Brown takes loads of wonga for a crock of sHIPt, VAT, etcetera and actually delays sales rather than speeds then up because everything has to be done before the house can go on the market.

And in five years time, you will be taxed on the information contained in the energy certificate which will be lodged in the Land Registry.

And NO, they law will not be repealed - HIPS are here to stay.

turbogav

These things are such a waste of time. As said above who on earth is going to trust a survey compiled by the sellers surveyor. A system where the environmental rating of a proprty can be improved by the fitting of low energy light bulbs says it all really. I work in local government and can say that the searches contained within the report are only accurate on the day of issue - there are so many new schemes being considered that could have a bearing on the property that the searches will be out of date within no time at all, let alone the average six months or so to sell a property.
It seems to me that the problem is not lack of information about the house to be purchased but buyers who are not committed to the purchase. As a buyer there is relatively little up-front expense to purchasing a property, meaning they can string the seller along for several weeks or months before pulling out at little personal expense. This happended to me three times year before last - was the most frustrating experience, all caused by timewasters. In my opinion what is needed is a system whereby the buyer commits a certain amount of non-refundable money to prove their seriousness as a buyer, then its in the interests of both parties to get the transaction completed as quickly as possible.

Leslie

Surely if the surveyor gives deliberately wrong information in the HIP he can be prosecuted and have to pay expenses.

Les

lozgti

As I understood it,we aren't talking about surveyors.We are talking about home inspectors or whatever they are called.

You end up with a report that says things like 'use energy saving bulbs' 'insulate the loft' 'put cavity wall insulation in''this house is a bit chilly'.

It's not a proper surveyor''your potential purchase is about to fall down '' kind of report.

Bottom line though...how is it meant to improve the conveyancing process?

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

So... completely useless, then?

miff13

It's an energy efficiency report, and yes it's useless. If you have a victorian house it's not as energy efficient as one built 10 years ago, I bet that's a shock to everyone, really really useful information

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

I think my report would read more like
"I tried to gain access to the property, but the owner got the neighbours dog to bite me on the **** I briefly saw energy saving lightbulbs when I peered through a window before the hound of the Baskervilles showed up"

Leslie

Les