HIP's shouldnt really leave people significantly out of pocket as they are paying for the survey and search information on their own home which is expected to cost ?400-500 however if they are purchasing a home also they are not paying for the searches on this property ( though I would still undertake my own survey to be on the safe side) If only one property that you are looking to purchase falls through then it has not cost you any more money. when I purchased my first property I had 4 sales fall through due to a number of issues this cost me over ?2000, I would quite happily pay ?500 for a one off fee whilst selling my house than pay for searches etc on each and every house I was interested in purchasing

I am sorry but anyone that has panicked and put their property on the market and sold at a cheaper rate to beat the HIP's introduction is just stupid and quite frankly they deserve to loose out !

I do however have concerns over the HIP's this is the longevity of the information once the searches have been completed how long are they valid for, with the slowing down of the housing market across the uk it could take up to 3 months (or more) to process a sale therefore planning applications etc could be submitted after the HIP's are prepared for the sale, how would the seller stand legaly on that one ?

Hi Su,
There will be a requirement for a seller to update their HIPs every 3 months with a fresh set of searches. Best sell it within 3 months!!

Exactly how will HIPS speed up the buying process? This was meant to be its raison d'etre - why it was introduced in the first place.

The most significant factor having an impact on the house-buying process is usually people (sellers as well as buyers) changing their minds, sometimes legitimately, sometimes not. HIPS does not address in any way, shape or form the nightmare which is gazumping/gazundering. Or even that dreaded 'change of mind' scenario which can occur after an offer has been made/accepted, sometimes weeks into the buying process when costs have already begun to accumulate.

To genuinely speed up the buying process then perhaps we should consider a deposit system. Once a buyer places an offer, which is accepted, then a non-refundable deposit has to be placed by both parties. The buying/selling process can then swing into action, with both parties secure in the knowledge that unless the survey identifies a serious problem, everyone is committed to the sale/purchase.

As far as I can see, all HIPS is going to do is let me know how many government officials it took to change an energy-efficient lightbulb, and that there are no landfill sites (or whatever) nearby.

The costs involved in buying the property will still be subject to exactly the same problems AH as they were BH, which means the buying process could still take months and months, with costs escalating all the time, and all this happening with no guarantee that the property ever will become mine.

Not sure 'what a load of cobblers' is referring to?

I for one think HIPS is a total waste of time, money and effort (see my comment above) but equally, I also firmly believe that it is time to have a radical rethink about how we buy/sell houses.

Not being able to find a buyer can be heartbreaking, but that is a different issue to the one I was discussing.

Many other countries (USA/SA/Australia)have systems which allow the sale of properties within a month, without the aggravation we suffer here in England.

what a load of cobblers!!!!!!!!!The HIPs should not be started until the prospective buyer has a written offer of mortgage at least.we all know how long solicitors take to move towards completion ect,i see the home owner losing out big style again!
Houses are costly enough with this goverment pushing prices up to gain on stamp duty ect,why can they do what they're paid to do and stop robbing us blind to cover their inadequacies in budgetting? My house has been on market for 14 months now and due to over development in my area i cannot sell even after droping price by ?16,000s.
So under this plan i would be down another ?2,500s allready!
so my view is these HIPs are just more for us to suffer and every house owner should remember it at next election!!!After all our illustrious chancelor gave all that money to overseas aid recently,my kids go hungry too!
So we must all protest about this,maybe brick up no 10s door?lol
enjoy please.phil

In my opinion, HIPs spell bad news for everyone. They appear to have very little benefit to a buyer as mortgage companies will still insist on their own valuation survey, and for the seller, what happens if they want to change agents, or change their mind about selling? ?500 lost through no fault of their own, and that, assuming they take the property off the market within 3 months, which very few people do. Most people try to sell, and if they find they can't, change agents after possibly 3 or 4 months, and only take the property off the market altogether as a last resort, quite often a year or so later. Under this system it will cost the homeowner ?2000 for that.
This whole idea has been a complete shambles by the government, who seemingly only ever thought of the idea just to line their own pockets, as it appears to be of very little use to anyone.
Stealth tax through the back door, I'd say.

Most countries around the world have simpler systems for buying houses than we do in England,I have no problem with investors protecting their future with buy to lets, I wished I had done so instead of taking out a pension as we were encouraged to do by the thieving government who have allowed it to be stolen but not to worry I'm only one of five million, dont be over concerned about hips because its one of those things that will come and go the way of poll tax, if the rich cant loan money they cant earn interest and therefore they'll simplify hips into nothingness, just sit it out and all will be well, dont forget a terraced house in the midlands sold for ?4100 in 1973 is now worth ?80000 that is a double up every 8 years and that takes into account to large falls

Local searches have a shelf life of 6 months [for a mortgagee] and would be better if on line and capable of a later update -see Land Registry for efficiency. Home energy report has no value except for increasing costs to the detriment of improvement [how green can that be??].
I had a miss-spent youth in a solicitor's office and whilst there have been improvements in conveyancing the main problems and delays are still with the local councils and in the clients' domain [chains, finance difficulties and sometimes just a change of mind].
There in no way that HIPS, in their current form will help speed or assist completions and I am disheartened that leaders of the country could believe in this counter productive folly.
Finally - how about a house sign "Not for Sale Tel******* "

As the victim of a 'we changed our minds' scenario recently losing not only the sale but weeks of effective marketing, my solution is to allow sellers the choice to take out an HIP package if they believe it will enhance and hasten the selling experience or to continue marketing their property as before but that upon an accepted offer both parties equally fund an inspection/energy survey to be carried out on the property the report then could be used by sellers if buyers back out and the financial incentive to carry on is there for the buyers.

As a recently qualified home inspector i put a lot of faith,time and money in to HIPs. The reason being, i believed a ravamp of the house buying/selling process was essential when so much money is wasted on failed transactions. If potential buyers can have upfront information on a property (including a home condition report) before making an offer surely this will reduce the amount of failed purchases. Only serious sellers will market their property if they have to shell out a few hundred pounds for a HIP, instead of testing the market due to an inflated valuation by an over zealous estate agent! Although the powers that be have made a total cock up of the implementation of HIPs, i still would rather have all the information i could on a property before making an offer, than finding hidden defects after purchase.