Have you heard of Home Information Packs? The last few months in the United Kingdom has seen a lot of discussion about this and the media, television and newspapers, have discussed the HIP in length, saying how much it is able to impact house buying process in the United Kingdom. Therefore, if you are thinking of selling any property you may have, you should first make yourself familiar with how and what the HIP is and consequently, what a Home Information Pack Solicitor can do to help you. Why are these becoming quite popular nowadays and what do the documents contain?

The Home Information Pack
The HIP was introduced by the government in August 2007 and now, all the homeowners are required to prepare the HIP, to make it available for all the potential buyers of their property. In the past, only houses that have more than four bedrooms are provided with an HIP. If you are a seller and you have a house that has less than four bedrooms, the HIP is only made available from the end of the last year. Today, however, all the homes in the United Kingdom are already being covered by the Home Information Pack.

Why is the Home Information Pack being introduced?
In the beginning, the government only hoped to simplify and hasten the process of purchasing a house. With the HIP being made available, the buyers and sellers of any given property will have all the important information needed to be able to carry out transaction to be used by both parties. In the past, the information will have to be required by the buyer will only be given to him or her at the point of purchase, and this results to many home sales breaking down at the late stage because of previously hidden problems. With is like buying blindly and negotiating a large sum of money without knowing much about the property that you are about to put some money in.

What is the Home Information Pack?
There are various documents included in the Home Information Pack. While some of these papers are mandatory and therefore should be included, there are some documents that are optional and should only be included at the discretion of the owner. The mandatory documents include the following:

– Summary of the terms of the sale
– Evidence of ownership
– Standard searches for drainage and water

The following optional documents include leasehold information as well as any information on the warranties and guarantees. A great part of the Home Information Pack is the energy Performance Certificate and this shows the energy efficiency rating of a given property while reiterating on the affordable ways in which a rating can be improved.
The Home Information Pack is usually priced at around three hundred pounds, and anyone who is currently thinking of selling their house can easily purchase the HIP for their own use. They can buy it from a local estate agent, from a Home Information Pack solicitor and from any specialist HIP provider.

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