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home information pack (hips) guide
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Optional documentation a Home Information Pack may include:-
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Home Condition Report
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A Home Condition Report contains information about the physical condition of a property. Sellers, buyers and mortgage lenders will be able to rely on this legally as being an accurate report. This report is an important part of the pack, and can be included by sellers on a voluntary basis.
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Sellers who provide a report will have the advantage of being able to carry out repair work on the property or obtain quotes prior to marketing it.
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Purchasers can use it at the beginning of their home buying process which will help to minimise the possibility of being faced with any unexpected repair bills.
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Mortgage lenders can benefit by using the report to inform the person completing their mortgage valuations about the property, which will reduce the need to repeat a detailed onsite inspection at the buyer's expense.
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The Government believes there will be significant benefits to home sellers if they top up their packs to include full Home Condition Reports. Home Inspectors responsible for preparing Home Condition Reports must hold a qualification at NVQ Level 4 (which is equivalent to degree level). They will require in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of residential building construction and defects across a range of properties, as set out in the approved National Occupational Standards for Home Inspectors.
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Legal Summary
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Home Information Packs will contain some complex documents and these can be difficult to understand. Although it will still be necessary for buyers to take their own legal advice, the optional summary of the legal content of the pack could be very helpful to buyers when dissecting the finer details of the pack.
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Home use and Contents forms
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Home use and home contents forms allow sellers to give potential buyers information on a range of matters relating to the property itself.
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These may include information on boundaries, notices, services, sharing with neighbours, planning permissions and some other matters of interest to potential buyers.
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It’s usual for sellers to declare the fixtures and fittings (and other contents of the property) that are included in the sale, excluded from the sale, or are subject to negotiation.
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Additional Documents
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Sellers could help to speed up the sale if they included non-standard searches in the Home Information Pack, as appropriate.
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For example, it is standard practice to obtain a mining search in areas where coal mining has taken place. Sellers in these areas will help to save time if they provide this required search in the pack at the outset.
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Other searches will cover rights of way, ground stability and either actual or potential environmental hazards such as flooding and details of any contaminated land.
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Sellers should also include guarantees and warranties for work which has already carried out on their homes as these are all useful to the buyer, and helps market the property in a more detailed way.
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Please click here to return to our Home Information Pack Guide.
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Some of the information featured here has been kindly reproduced from The Government Home Information Pack website. Please note that this information is Crown Copyrighted. For further information you can visit their site by clicking here (opens in new window).
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