Hsbc Msci Eu Is Discussion Threads

[m.t.glass] 02/8/2008 08:24

Today on BBC


Some estate agents in England and Wales are breaking the law by marketing properties without ordering a Home Information Pack, the BBC has learned.

The Law Society says in some cases, Hips are not available until weeks after the property goes on the market.

It believes sellers are reluctant to pay for the pack when the housing market is slowing.

The packs, which can cost up to £400 and contain information such as deeds and searches, were launched a year ago.

[m.t.glass] 02/8/2008 08:23

Estate agency Douglas & Gordon reveals that, of the 7,000 buyers who have registered with it since Home Information Packs were introduced, just 16 have asked to see a HIP.

(Tgraf, 3 July)

[grupo guitarlumber] 02/8/2008 06:11

Agents 'breaking home pack law'
Sarah Pennells
Personal finance reporter, BBC News



Some estate agents in England and Wales are breaking the law by marketing properties without ordering a Home Information Pack, the BBC has learned.

The Law Society has told the BBC that in some cases, HIPs are not available until weeks after the property has been put on the market.

It believes sellers are reluctant to pay for the pack when the housing market is slowing.

Home Information Packs, which can cost up to £400, were launched a year ago.

The packs contain information useful to any potential buyer including copies of title deeds, any recent planning permission or building consent given on the property, a local area search and an energy performance certificate.

This week the government announced that it's consulting on whether they should include more information.

There is also criticism from some sellers that when they do get a Home Information Pack (HIP), buyers never ask to see them.

Upfront information




HOME INFORMATION PACKS' CONTENTS
Evidence of title
Copies of planning, listed building or building regulations consents
A local search
Guarantees for any work on the property
An energy performance certificate.

The packs were controversial even before they were first introduced for some homes last August and a year later the controversy shows little sign of dying down.
The idea behind HIPs were that they would give buyers more upfront information about the property before they made an offer and reduce the chances of a sale falling through.

However, in the current troubled housing market, it seems some estate agents are not commissioning HIPs when the property goes on the market, something which by law they are supposed to do.

According to Paul Marsh, president of the Law Society, the practice is common across England and Wales.

"The evidence we're receiving from right across the country, be it Cornwall, London or the North East England, is that solicitors are not receiving a HIP when the deal is struck.

"You would have expected that the HIP would be available immediately the agreement [to accept an offer] is reached.

"We're not getting a Hip until three to four weeks later, sometimes not until exchange of contracts."

'Aggravation'

I've had a HIP in place since November and... nobody's ever asked to see it although we've told them that there is one available
Joan Newcomb, home seller

Mr Marsh also said that sellers were not convinced by HIPs.

"Sellers don't see the point of them, they certainly don't want the aggravation of putting them together and nobody wants to pay the cost in what is a flat market."

Henry Pryor, who set up the property website Primemove.com, has calculated that at least one in 10 of all sellers do not have a Home Information Pack.

"About 130,000 houses went onto the market in May, but only 89,000 HIPs were commissioned," he said.

"Some of that shortfall would have been made up by people who sacked their first estate agent because they failed to sell the house, and instructed a new agent. They don't need to commission a HIP.

"However, we think about 15,000 people put their house on the market without first commissioning a HIP."

Money well spent?

By law, anyone who wants to sell their home in England or Wales has to commission a HIP before their property can go on the market, although they do not have to have the finished pack in place. If using an estate agent, they should ensure that has happened.

On average a HIP costs between £300 - £400 and although the vast majority of those who put their property on the market do obey the law, they are not all convinced that it is money well spent.

Joan Newcomb from Redhill in Surrey put her four-bedroom house on the market last September.

Her HIP took over two months to arrive and cost around £300.

"If I had the choice now I wouldn't buy a HIP. I can't see what value it has," she said.

"I've had a HIP in place since November and it hasn't helped us sell the house at all. Nobody's ever asked to see it although we've told them that there is one available."

Transaction times

However, according to LMS, which is the biggest provider of Home Information Packs, the fact that buyers are not interested in a HIP does not mean they are worthless.

It says that the firm's own research has indicated that HIPs are reducing transaction times.

"The Home Information Pack itself, the majority of the information is quite technical like title like searches and it's not really for the interest of the individual consumer," said Dominic Toller of LMS.

"Buying a home is still quite an emotional decision. The idea is that once you've made that emotional decision you've chosen the house you want to buy and you turn to your professional adviser, your conveyancer, a whole pile of the information they need is already available for them."

The government says that HIPs are already bringing down the price of property searches by improving transparency in the house buying process and this week it announced it wants to add a property information questionnaire to a HIP, while Scotland is planning to introduce its own version of a HIP from 1 December this year.


Are you selling your house? What do you think of Home Information Packs? Are you an estate agent? Do you think HIPs are worthwhile? Send us your comments using the form below:


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Comments

Story from BBC NEWS:


Published: 2008/08/02 04:59:06 GMT

[zipper] 19/6/2008 07:03

thanks pictureframe

[pictureframe] 19/6/2008 07:01

1 year I believe - EPC on rented is 10 years

[zipper] 19/6/2008 07:00

anyone know how long a hip is valid for?

[scribbler101] 23/11/2007 16:56

I don't think it's even a money maker - just an example of their irresisted urge to interfere in our lives.

[old crow] 23/11/2007 11:58

HIPS another greedy grabbing Gordon Brown money maker,
remember this man who steals your money when you vote.

[scribbler101] 22/11/2007 14:31

Just advertise your property somewhere - say here:



and you need not bother with a HIP for ages

[tipsytoad] 22/11/2007 13:47

and as if the gov hasn't got enough problems on their plate
you couldn't make it up

[lyntwyn] 22/11/2007 13:45

Any mention of HIP requirement for property on market pre August? Was originally mooted wef 1st Jan but then shelved. My house has been on market since July and not one enquirer or viewer has asked about HIP!!One or two have bemoaned the fact that they would require a HIP before selling their house to buy mine- and I know a few just could not be bothered - which means the housing market will grind to a complete halt soon!!

[gantenbrink] 22/11/2007 13:18

What a disastrous move by the Government. The property market is fragile anyway. Estate agents who I've spoken to have seen absolutely no benefit from Hips. A number of agents have seen such a reduction in the number of properties coming to the market since the introduction of Hips that they are now making redundancies.

The NAEA and virtually every other professional property body has been against them and yet the Government steam ahead.

I suspect that they will soon see just how wide an effect the stalling of the property market will have on the economy as a whole let alone the loss of their own stamp duty revenue due to a reduced number of transactions.

Worrying times ahead I fear.

[waldron] 22/11/2007 12:18

UK govt says final roll-out of HIPs to start Dec 14
Date : 22/11/2007 @ 12:06
Source : TFN


UK govt says final roll-out of HIPs to start Dec 14




LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The roll-out of the last phase of the
government's controversial Home Information Pack system will start of December
14, said Housing Minister Yvette Cooper.
This means that sellers of one and two bedroom properties will have to spend
up to 500 stg to get a pack which includes title deeds, leases, local searches
and an energy efficiency rating.
[e-mail]
fp/rw

[scribbler101] 15/10/2007 15:38

The PM is now going to sort out NHS Dentistry.

Some mistake - TB did that in 1999. Or at least he promised to.

[scribbler101] 15/10/2007 15:38

The PM is now going to sort out NHS Dentistry.

Some mistake - TB did that in 1999. Or at least he promised to.

[waldron] 15/10/2007 15:09

CORRECTION London asking house prices surge 5.0 pct, UK up 2.7 pct - Rightmove
Date : 15/10/2007 @ 16:06
Source : TFN


CORRECTION London asking house prices surge 5.0 pct, UK up 2.7 pct - Rightmove




(Correcting to show that 5.0 pct rise was for London only, not UK as a
whole)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The introduction of home information packs
(HIPs) appears to have seriously distorted the UK housing market contributing to
a record spike in asking prices in London in October, a leading property website
said today.
In its monthly survey of the sector, Rightmove said average asking prices in
the capital increased by a record 5.0 pct, or 19,198 stg in the month to
October. In September, they had fallen 2.5 pct.
The surge in London price helped push the country wide increase to 2.7 pct,
which reversed the 2.6 pct decline in September.
Rightmove said the increases were driven by a surge of higher value three
bedroom properties rushing to beat the HIPs deadline, rather than a return to
the London boom market of the last 18 months.
However, Rightmove said the average price of three bedroom properties in
London is well above 400,000 stg, meaning that the increased number that came to
market to beat the Sept 10 deadline has had the effect of driving up average
prices by more than otherwise would been the case.
"The latest figures are mainly a reflection of the phased introduction of
HIPs motivating a rush of higher value 3 bedroom homes to beat the deadline and
skew average growth," said Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director.
"It is not the renaissance of the London boom. The underlying trend is one
of a slowing market, but one that is somewhat muddled by HIPs implementation,"
he added.
The 5.0 pct monthly rise in London more than reverses the distortion of the
2.5 pct fall in the September survey, which was mainly due to the lack of higher
value 4+ bedroom properties coming to the market after the introduction of their
mandatory HIP date of July 1.
Rightmove said it is forecasting that average prices in London will fall
back to close to their previous high of 394,439 stg when HIPs are introduced to
lower value 2 or less bedroom houses and they experience a similar surge to the
market.
For the UK as a whole, Rightmove is predicting a 5 pct decline in a month
when they hit their own HIP deadline, which will then be largely reversed in the
following month.
Shipside said the timing of the HIPs implementation is "far from ideal", as
it coincides with more uncertain market conditions and makes it harder for
policy makers to judge the effects on the housing market of the wider financial
turmoil.
Recent figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reinforced
expectations that the Bank of England may be tempted to cut borrowing costs next
month.
RICS said 14.6 pct more of its members reported a fall than a rise in house
prices in September. That was the second consecutive monthly fall and marked the
fastest decline since September 2005.

[e-mail]
pp/rfw/pp/jfr

[madgooner] 15/10/2007 00:32

Pensions

-Tax on everyone's pension fund just before the baby boom retirement hits...smart stuff

-PPF so that anyone else thinking (stupidly) that a pension fund is good for business realises otherwise..

-Lest we forget introducing (nearly) then abolishing Residential property in Pensions

The Lad is for turning...

[madgooner] 15/10/2007 00:24

Ignoring 'Capital Spending' when calculating budgets. Others followed the example and ignore their mortgage when calculating how much they spend each month...

[madgooner] 15/10/2007 00:22

Introduction (overturned by high court) of Married Couples Business tax based on 18th Century case law...(funny nobody noticed it was a problem before Dawn Prima Donna)

Fortunately she's now in health somewhere....the public should rest easy then...

[madgooner] 15/10/2007 00:19

If you vote for clowns don't be surprised if you get comedy..eh..

5) Introduction (Awaiting abolition of) Tax credits

[madgooner] 15/10/2007 00:17

4) Introduction, then abolition of Business Asset Taper...

[madgooner] 15/10/2007 00:15

..oh ok then...

3) Adoption, then abolition of zero rate of Corporation tax...

[scribbler101] 14/10/2007 23:46

Madg - that's cheating!

You're supposed to come up with NEW examples.