Estate agent says new HIP rules make selling harder

Change to the Home Information Pack (HIP) regulations on April 6 2009 will mean that no marketing of a residential property can take place until a substantial proportion of the controversial pack is complete. At present the marketing of a home can commence as soon as the HIP is ordered.

To achieve a sale as soon as possible, agents are currently able to begin marketing a property immediately after receiving instructions from the seller.

But from April 6, it will be impossible to begin marketing until the major part of the pack is physically complete. A private seller also gets caught by the legislation and could face a £200 fine if they don’t comply.

A new seven page document, The Property Information Questionnaire' (PIQ) will have to be part of the HIP from April 6.

This form, completed by the seller, asks questions about their property such as rights of way and building works. The government claims potential buyers will want to see this information before even viewing a property but the experience of most estate agents is that only a handful of buyers ever ask to see the pack.

Nick Salmon, commercial director of Harrison Murray’s 18 branches said: “The HIP is of no interest to buyers, and most estate agents are not asked for the HIP until after an offer is accepted.

“The seller does not have to sign the PIQ, so there can be no check on who completed the form or whether the answers are truthful, and a disclaimer tells buyers that the PIQ is not a substitute for legal documentation.

“On top of all this, the price of Home Information Packs is set to rise as Local Authorities are being obliged to provide more documents for the pack and are allowed to charge for doing so.”

Harrison Murray is urging sellers who are thinking of coming on the market to instruct the agents before the April 6 deadline.

Nick added: “If customers want to avoid the extra red-tape and delays to marketing that will inevitably occur when the new rules come, and avoid the likely extra cost of the pack due to the changes, they should contact their local Harrison Murray branch without delay.”

Harrison Murray are leading independent residential estate agents with 18 offices throughout Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire. Visit the website at Harrisonmurray.co.uk.