Home Information Packs Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens, Widnes and Southport.

Home Information Packs - Merseyside

Home Information Packs, or HIPs, became a legal requirement for selling a property of four bedrooms or more on 1st August 2007. This applies to properties being put on the market after that date but not to properties already being actively marketed before that date. This was then extended to three bedroom properties put up for sale on or after 10th September 2007. The need for a Home Information pack was extended to one and two bedroom properties on 14th December 2007. The reason for the phased introduction of HIP's seemed to be due to an initial shortage of people qualified to carry out the new Energy Performance Certificates, which are one of the compulsory elements of a HIP.

From April 6th, 2009 home owners in England and Wales are legally required to BE IN POSSESSION of a Home Information Pack before they can start marketing their property.

You can no longer start marketing your property as soon as you have ordered your HIP - you need to have it in your possession.

Please follow the link to view our Energy Performance Certificates page.

The areas covered by our Home Information Pack providers are: Liverpool, St Helens, Wirral, Southport, Widnes, Prescot, Whiston and Formby.

Why are Home Information Packs necessary?

There is a lot of debate and speculation about the introduction of HIP's but the Government believe they will speed up the house buying process by making information about the property immediately available to potential buyers. For instance, information such as the results of local searches is usually provided by your solicitor only when you have made an offer on a property and that offer has been accepted.

This information usually arrives after you have paid for a survey. So if your solicitor advises you of something untoward in the searches and you decide to pull out of the purchase then you have wasted time and money and have to start again.

In addition, the government believes Home Information Packs will reduce the unsavoury practise of 'gazumping', where the buyer accepts another offer just before you are about to exchange contracts. This is both expensive and stressful for the buyer.

What is a Home Information Pack?

A Home Information Pack contains documents that allow buyers to see essential information about their intended purchase before they commit both time and money to making a formal offer.

A HIP comprises a set of compulsory documents and some optional documents

Compulsory HIP documents

• Home Information Pack Index
• Energy Performance Certificate
• Sale statement
• Standard searches
• Evidence of title
• Additional information for leasehold and commonhold sales, where appropriate.

Optional HIP documents

• Home Condition Report
• Legal summary
• Home use/contents forms
• Other documents

What was the Temporary Period?

This was the period from inception (1st August 2007) to 31st May 2008 (originally set as 31st December 2007). During this period, to help people become accustomed to HIP's, they could market their property once the necessary contents of the Home Information Pack had been commissioned. Please note that simply ordering the HIP from the provider was not sufficient - they needed to then be able to demonstrate that they had ordered the necessary components. The Energy Performance Certificate had to be provided before exchange of contracts but there was no set time for the other documentation to be provided.

Following this temporary period, any property that required a Home Information Pack would need to have the HIP, including the Energy Performance Certificate, in place before the property can be marketed.

If you live in Liverpool, St Helens, Wirral, Southport, Widnes, Prescot, Whiston or Formby and require a Home Information Pack then please contact any of the advertisers on this page.