Home Information Packs for First Time Buyers

Last updated: April 2008

In this article, we take a look at Home Information Packs, or HIPs as they are known, which sellers are required to produce when they are selling their property.

HIPs have been around since 2007 and they are quite helpful for first time buyers. HIPs are free for the buyer to view and every property on the market should have one. They include various legal documents that tell you about the property but there is also an Energy Performance Certificate that tells you how energy efficient the home is. The Energy Performance Certificate gives you a rating (like you might find on a fridge) and gives you advice on how the property can be made more energy efficient.

They can include a type of survey called a Home Condition Report, which is like a survey that reports on the physical condition of the property.

HIPs are a part of the government's attempt to streamline the house buying process and protect the first time buyer from hidden surprises. As a first time buyer, it is important to have the essential information about a property as early as possible, which is why HIP's are so useful. Such information saves time and money - most first time buyers need all the time and money they can get! Saving time and money will hopefully make buying your first house a little bit easier, which can only be good when you consider that buying a house is widely known to be the most stressful process that you can go through in your lifetime.

The hidden surprises that HIPs should uncover relate to the legal and physical condition of a property, although it should not be used instead of a building survey. HIPs make it less likely for a chain to break and less likely for first time buyers to be gazumped.

In conclusion, Home Information Packs are nothing but good news for first time buyers. HIPs save time, money and stress.

HIP Resources

• Home Information Packs - The government website for buyers and sellers.

Article by Tim Ballard.
April 2008

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User Comments

Tim from Suffolk said...

Go on, be the first to add a comment!

Sunday, April 20th 2008 08:37 PM

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