The promise of an early Christmas present for domestic energy assessors of HIPs for 1-2 bedroom properties appears not to be forthcoming. While the introduction may bring welcome work for some of the 10,000 trained assessors, many of these properties will be leasehold, which are proving challenging to deliver HIPs quickly. Indeed, the tough realities of rapid HIP production are starting to make some of the promises of a “5 Day HIP” ring a little hollow, with one major company taking 10 weeks to finish the work. With most HIP providers apart from ourselves lobbying for “full market” introduction, for some it could indeed be a case of turkeys voting for the aforementioned festival.
Personal searches issues increasing
Following the news last month of local authorities reducing their authorised search pricing, some are now charging fees of up to £60 to provide information on building control notices and environmental health. With additional appointments required to obtain this information, this will only add to the increasing delays in appointment times of up to 3 weeks currently being witnessed. Given that this performance is expected to deteriorate further with higher volumes, even at this very early stage, personal searches are already starting to be less attractive than the authorised alternative in terms of turnaround times and of course, unqualified mortgage lender acceptability.
January 1st 2008 – Myths and Realities
There appears to be a certain amount of confusion about the changes due in the new year. Some believe that all properties will require a HIP and a property cannot be marketed without all the documentation in place. As has already been seen, there remains no news on 1-2 bedroom properties and there is no requirement for the complete HIP to be available before marketing. From January 1st 2008, a HIP will need to be in place but if the searches and leasehold documentation are not available, the property may be marketed anyway. HIP providers must continue to try and obtain outstanding information, but a property may be marketed with just an EPC, title information, index and sale statement being available.
HIP Knowledge – A resounding success
Since launching our new HIP Knowledge (http://www.thepartnershiplimited.com/html/faq01.html) a week ago, we have received over 6000 enquiries and the feedback has been extremely positive. The knowledgebase goes beyond the often out-dated and trivial “what goes into a HIP” type of “Frequently Asked Questions” and provides an up-to-date and useful resource for agents and solicitors looking for answers on more indepth topics. If you have any questions that you do not see on the site, please email us on info@thepartnershiplimited.com and we will add it to the lists.
