Certus Mortgage Solutions: HIPs Your Questions Answered

For Sellers:

“ I want to market my home before June 1st next year. If it hasn’t sold by that date, will I need to compile an HIP?

No, if the property is already for sale before June 1st, you can continue to market it indefinitely without an HIP.

“Must I have my HIP in place before my home is marketed?

You will be allowed to advertise it for sale for up to 14 days, so long as the information is on its way.

“If I compile a HIP and my property does not sell for a year, will I need to have updated Home Conditions Report?”

No, as long as your property is continuously on the market. Buyers, however, may not be impressed to see a HCR that is two years old – for one thing it will reveal how long the property has been on the market.

For Buyers

“Given that the seller will be paying for the Home Condition Report, can I rely on it to reveal the truth?”

Home inspectors are supposed to be impartial but what happens in practice is another matter. Some inspectors may earn a reputation for being a more inclined to overlook faults than others – and will earn more business as a result. There is however, a clause that will prevent owners of property found to be defective taking a second opinion” in the hope that a second inspector will overlook the problem. Sellers will be obliged to disclose all recent HCRs obtained on the property.

“Will a Home Condition Report tell me all I need to know?”

Probably not, more likely, as happens with surveys already, the report will identify a possible problem and tell you to investigate further. That doesn’t help much – sales will continue to be held up as buyer’s commission more detailed electrical surveys or structural surveys.

“Will this mean I am less likely to be gazumped?”

In cases where a HIP really does speed up a sale, there will be less time available for somebody to gazump you. However, an absence of an HIP is not the only thing that delays property sales. Buyers in long chains, especially, will remain vulnerable to gazumping.

And a question for everyone else:

“Carrying out these Home Condition Reports seems a nice little earner. Can I apply to become one?”

If there is a shortage of trained inspectors when the rules come into force, those who are already trained will be able to cash in. you will first need to qualify as an inspector (even if you are already a practising surveyor). You can find out more by visiting www.homeinspectors.co.uk, a company set up to help train. Bear in mind buyers could turn out to be litigious – you risk being sued if you fail to sort a problem with a property (see the legal view) Indemnity insurance can be quite expensive.