Declining confidence in HIPs

Conveyancers are reporting a substantial and growing loss of confidence in the new Home Information Packs (HIPs), according to research by Severn Trent Searches, which has tracked changes in opinion over the past year.

Research across the Severn Trent region has revealed that 80% of their key conveyancers disagreed with the statement that HIPs ‘should make the process of buying or selling easier for the homeowner’ – up from 71% a year ago. Only 3% of conveyancers strongly agreed with the statement.

Responding to the statement ‘it will reduce the number of failed transactions’ 70% of conveyancers disagreed and only 17% agreed. Conveyancers revealed they had little faith in the implementation of HIPs - 55% agreed with the statement ‘it’s a good idea in principle but it will never work in practice.’

Mark Jarvis, General Manager at Severn Trent Searches said: “These results show a major and growing disillusionment with the whole HIPs process. It is very worrying given that HIPs are less than 3 months from launch.”

“The government will need to act strongly to restore confidence amongst conveyancers as they are a key part of the process. We have developed our IT system to be ready for HIPs but there are going to be real problems if conveyancers are not prepared. Many seem to be delaying decisions about HIPs in lieu of clear direction about the shape of the market and many may not be ready in time, which will mean a lot of homebuyers left very unhappy.”

Uncertainty about how the HIPs will be structured and the removal of the Home Condition Report from the HIP has also had a significant effect on opinion. 57% of conveyancers are now choosing to act as ‘resellers’ of HIP reports provided by suppliers like Severn Trent Searches – a year ago the figure was only 38%. Conveyancers choosing a self-assembly approach remained steady at 28% over the year.

The key issues of the HIP service for conveyancers remain ‘lead times’ and ‘cost’ both mentioned spontaneously by 45%.

“Established HIP providers like Severn Trent Searches already have the infrastructure, resources and service levels in place to deliver a fast and cost effective HIP service to conveyancers,” says Mark Jarvis. “There will be a lot of new players in the HIP market and not all will survive so conveyancers need to think very carefully about the HIP provider they choose if they want to maintain a good relationship with their own customers”.