Home Information Pack (HIP) providers have joined forces to offer home sellers a deferred payment scheme. The idea behind the scheme is that vendors enter into a 10 month deal where they only pay for theHIPs they request once the sale of the subject property has completed.
HIP Payment Services are behind the scheme and boast that most of the big names in HIPs have already signed up. They say that whilst the cost of a HIP is minimal compared with the overall costs incurred in selling a home the majority of consumers have indicated that they would prefer to pay for their HIP at the end of the process rather than paying “upfront”
Some estate agents had expressed concern that chasing customers for payments for HIPs would add to their overheads. Bearing in mind that typically estate agents are paid on completion directly from the seller’s solicitors they do not have to invest in the “credit control” processes that other business do. This deferred payment scheme may also lead to “valued added extras” being easier to sell to the customer too.
Ultimately this idea could also be helpful in making the whole HIP’s process less objectionable to vendors by removing the number one objection – upfront costs.
According to the Communities and Local Government website the average HIP is taking around 5 days to compile, with major estate agents charging in the region of £300 plus VAT for a HIP.
Currently the packs are only required for homes with more than 3 bedroom, it is widely expected that the next move will broaden the scope to cover all houses in England and Wales, probably early in the new year.