Despite the imminent second anniversary of Home Information Packs (HIPs), remarkably, most sellers we speak to are still in the dark about their content and use. Most think a HIP is just an Energy Performance Certificate and often are concerned that their property will “fail”. Whilst we take the time and effort to explain to our clients about HIPs, (including the potential pitfalls of the use of personal local authority searches) feedback from the market is that the majority of HIP providers simply call to take payment by credit card, using call-centre staff that have neither the time nor the expertise to explain about the content of HIPs. Although industry insiders demand that “the government should do a better job informing the public” it is up to the HIP providers, i.e. those companies that are being paid to offer a service, to explain to clients what it is they are paying for, rather than just allowing them to blindly accept HIPs as “just another property stealth tax”
Backhanders
Last month, The Partnership was asked to comment on an investigation carried out by Channel 4 news which exposed the practice of HIP providers paying estate agents “commissions” when work was passed to them. Commentators dismissed this as merely a function of the market, using the assumption that estate agents were “reselling” HIPs and just adding on a markup for their own work and efforts. However, in reality, most payments are made directly to the HIP companies, who make no mention of the money that they are paying to the agent – a totally different scenario than a wholeseller/retailer agreement. The Partnership does not indulge in practices that we consider to be highly questionable at best, and at their most blatant, simple bribery.
Floorplans for £10
We were recently informed by a customer that they were considering another supplier for their HIPs, because they were offering floorplans for their properties for an additional £10 cost on top of the HIP. Since the introduction of HIPs, the use of low-cost floorplans has taken off, with some agents seeing these as a simple way to cut costs. Even with the dubious economics of the HIP industry, the ability of someone to do an accurate floorplan for £10 must be questioned. Those companies using professional floorplanners know that the production of a reliable floorplan is vital, and there are many cases where companies have been successfully sued where floorplans on property particulars are incorrect.
Search turnaround times
The nightmare that is local authority search return times is slowly starting to improve. Timescales have lengthened considerably since April, due to the need for personal search companies to obtain complete documentation, including building control notices, data that cheap search providers never used to bother trying to obtain. With some local authorities having undergone major restructuring in April, this has caused significant delays to both personal searches and the more reliable, official local authority searches. According to data obtained by The Partnership, the average turnaround time for local authority searches has come down to about 13 working days. This figure is expected to improve to about 10 days by the Autumn.
The Partnership moves to new offices
Due to significant business growth, we have moved to new, larger offices in Guildford - these details are as follows:
4 Wey Court
Mary Road
Guildford
Surrey
GU1 4QU
