Home Information Packs - the latest

Thanks to Rob Hailstone of the Bold Group for this:

What is the Current Position?

HIPs have not been scrapped by the Election result. The law still requires a HIP to be in place to market a property. The penalties for non-compliance still apply.

Grant Shapps (the new Housing Minister), has said he will not condone non-compliance by Estate Agents who fail to order HIPs

Grant Shapps has committed to a full industry consultation before scrapping HIPs

The Coalition Agreement refers to scrapping HIPs in the Environment section suggesting more consideration has been given to this topic

Unless a suspension order for the scrapping of HIPs is announced HIPs will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Legislation to adapt or replace them will take some time to pass in Parliament

What Happens Next?

* The new Parliament will be sworn in next week from 18th May. The first Queen’s Speech setting out the initial legislative programme is expected to be held on 25th May. An Emergency Budget will be presented to the House in the first 50 days of the new Parliament and debates on its contents will dominate the initial period before the Summer recess

* The first parliamentary session will run from the end of May to November 2011 (which is the date of the next Queen’s Speech). This means that the Coalition Government has a longer time than normal to get legislation through the Houses of Parliament. This will allow a larger volume of legislation to be passed, particularly as there is a Parliamentary convention that the Lords will not oppose legislation based on a Manifesto Commitment. Ministers are likely to exploit these two factors to pass the complicated and potentially controversial legislation they believe to be necessary.

* We are unlikely to get significantly more detail on how the pledge to scrap HIPs will be taken forward when the Queen’s Speech is published – if indeed it does form part of the initial legislative package. The Speech itself is often little more than a statement of intent and many of the Bills listed in it may not be published until after the summer recess.

* The Conservatives have pledged a consultation on transition and any successive legal framework. It is unlikely that this will be reversed, especially as David Cameron and Nick Clegg have pledged to restore the public’s faith in politicians.

* The pledge on HIPs is unsurprising – it was a commitment delivered in both Parties’ Election Manifestos. The Agreement provides no additional detail on how this will be achieved or delivered. The inclusion of it in the Environment section rather than under deregulation is perhaps significant. It suggests that there is an understanding that scrapping HIPs cannot be undertaken in isolation. It has also been decoupled from the Great Repeal Bill – which has already been flagged as being a very early Bill to be introduced to Parliament ahead of the summer recess.

* The Conservatives have pledged a consultation on transition and any successive legal framework. As David Cameron and Nick Clegg have pledged to restore the public’s trust in politicians it would be a breach of faith if this was reversed.

Rob Hailstone
The Bold Group
www.theboldgroup.co.uk

Home Information Packs - again

With the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats "promising" to abolish HIPs, it may instead be worth considering whether they can be improved to make them good value for money.

The recurrent problem we are experiencing at present is the delay in getting searches. We get sent a lot of incomplete HIPs, then have to keep checking to see whether searches are added. This seems to be because of the same old problem: selling down to a price, rather than up to a standard, and getting personal searches (as cheaper) rather than official ones. To my mind, this makes no sense: on the one hand, people get what they pay for and a cheap personal search is likely to be full of errors and omissions; on the other hand, most official searches are (a) speedy - speedier than cheap personal ones, certainly - and usually not very expensive. On the rare occasions we get asked to prepare a HIP, we always recommend official searches, in an effort to make them as exchange-ready as possible

On a related aspect, many properties have more than one registered title, yet this seems to astonish amateurish HIP providers - I was having great difficulty explaining to one such earlier this week that my client's access and courtyard was in a different title to the house and, yes, both titles were essential

The single best thing that could be done to improve HIPs would be to require them to include a draft contract (omitting the price and buyer's details, of course) and a full property details questionnaire. This would make them virtually exchange-ready and would have the extra benefit of removing the need for the sale statement and the almost-useless property information questionnaire.


This will not happen yet, of course, as it would mean only solicitors and licensed conveyancers could prepare the contract part, though this should change next year, and there will never be agreement on what the PDQ should contain - unless the government actually thinks it worthwhile consulting the people who know: property professionals

Terms and conditions appy

Sometimes, it can be very difficult to get clients to cooperate in their own interests. This dialogue from 'The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest' by Stieg Larsson sets out the very basics:

Lawyer: "Here are my conditions. I agree to represent you. When I need to get hold of you I want you to answer. When I need to know what you want me to do, I want clear answers. If I call you and tell you that you have to [do something], then I have already decided that it is necessary. You will have to [do it] and not make a fuss about it. Can you live with that?"
Client: "I can"
Lawyer: "And if you start playing up, I stop being your lawyer. Understood?"

It's basic stuff, but all too many clients just don't get it

- Justin (Nelson)

Another client testimonial

From a genuine (and genuinely happy) client:
"Many thanks for all your excellent work and professionalism, we both are grateful, having the confidence in you at all times, knowing that we would always receive accurate,honest and thoughtful advice. I'm certain we will be using your services in the future in whatever circumstances may occur. I just wish that banks worked to your standards."

Even disappointed clients are happy!

Even though their house sale fell through because their buyer's conveyancer insisted, wrongly, that the legal title was defective, our clients have been very complimentary about our service, saying -

"I just wanted to say a very special thank you to both you and Justin for the professional service and genuine support and understanding you have given us over the past months. Having not moved for 25 years, and no real need to instruct solicitors over that time, you made the process clear and provided outstanding service to us. Despite the outcome, which was clearly out of everyones hands, you never gave up and that was greatly appreciated. I would have no hesitation in recommending your services, you do a wonderful job and conduct a very professional business."

It is nice to be appreciated!

Test via Facebook

something

Love thy neighbour?

For all the legal and physical investigations a homebuyer can do, nothing beats checking on the neighbours - http://bit.ly/aPmuOG

Seriously: if your home is to be your sanctuary, you need good neighbours. Like family (unlike friends), you cannot choose them - existing neighbours may be replaced by new ones. However, before you buy a new home., check on the neighbours - and if you are buying a flat, the most important neighbours are those who live above you, not those on either side