Even by the standards of the rollercoaster ride that was the Home Information Pack industry, their immediate suspension in May left us feeling like Bobby in John Boorman’s classic film, “Deliverance”. The last few months have proved extremely challenging for companies that were providing HIPs, but we're delighted to be here, continuing to support our clients. We are slightly bemused by the irony that the reason given to suspend HIPs was to improve the housing market, as some commentators partly attribute this decision to creating the oversupply of properties that has caused prices to fall. Sadly, as most government discussions about housing seem to concern scrapping recent reforms, we doubt that we will see any proactive improvements to the house buying process during the lifetime of this Parliament.
Mortgage lenders creating challenges
There have been stories in the press recently about mortgage lenders removing solicitors from their panels, which has raised concerns amongst some that this will lead to problems with conveyancing. However, such decisions are generally temporary and are just an inconvenience rather than a major stumbling block. Given that the solution is simply to use a law firm of the lender’s choosing to represent their interests, this causes few problems for clients, although other firms may well charge additional fees for this work. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable future so it is likely that buyers may have to become accustomed to this slight change in the conveyancing process.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
There remains a surprising amount of confusion over the requirements for Energy Performance Certificates. They must still be commissioned by clients before a property may be marketed, but they do not have to be delivered and so do not hold up the process. Whilst there are rumours that this may change in the future, with energy ratings potentially being required on for-sale signs, for now, there is no impact on the ability of an agent to market a property. Our EPC service remains extremely popular, especially with our full refund of the costs involved for any client using our conveyancing service that is going from strength to strength.
Title Request Service
Many agents have expressed disappointment that the suspension of HIPs mean that they no longer receive title documentation for properties they are selling. When combined with the recent changes to the Land Registry website this has meant obtaining titles can more time-consuming for clients with expired accounts than before. We are pleased to offer a title service, whereby we will obtain the title information (including leasehold documents if required) for a fixed fee of only £20+VAT for a freehold title and register plan - leasehold documentation costs £30+VAT. Please email us on info@thepartnershiplimited.com for more information about this service.
The Partnership Blog launched
As part of our drive to push more information to our clients and referrers, we have decided that the time has come for use more modern communication methods and have today launched our blog which contains the latest news and updates from both industry and our business. Click here for a link to the website.
