Home Information Packs
Home Information Packs are launching on 1 June 2007 and their aim is to help improve the home buying and selling process.
Armitstead Barnett are trialing packs in our area and all of our vendors are welcome to take part.
Buying and selling a property doesn’t always go according to plan. The reality is that 9 out of 10 people say they’re dissatisfied with the current process. Currently, one in four transactions collapse before contracts are exchanged and one million pounds a day is wasted, mainly due to transactions failing at a late stage.
The Home Information Pack is a set of documents providing important information about a property such as searches, copies of the deeds and information regarding its energy efficiency.
Currently, much of this essential information only comes to light when an offer has been made and accepted. In the meantime, buyers are negotiating in the dark and are often wasting money on legal fees and searches. Providing this information up front, at the time of marketing a property, will make the home buying and selling process more efficient and transparent.
From 1 June 2007, all home owners in England and Wales will need to prepare a Home Information Pack before putting their home up for sale.
Content of Home Information Pack
The Home Information Pack Regulations 2006 set out provisions on the “required” and “authorised” content of the Pack. Required documents must be included in the pack where appropriate and authorised documents may be included at the seller’s discretion.
The required documents are:
An index (i.e. a list of the contents of the Pack)
A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
Evidence of title
Standard searches (i.e. local authority enquiries and a drainage and water search)
An Energy Performance Certificate
Where appropriate, commonhold information (including a copy of the commonhold community statement)
Where appropriate, leasehold information (including a copy of the lease, information on service charges and insurance)
Where appropriate, a New Homes Warranty
Where appropriate, a report on a home that is not physically complete
A Home Condition Report*
The authorised documents include:
Guarantees and warranties
Other searches.
* The Regulations will be amended so that as from 1 June 2007 the Home Condition Report will be an authorised part of the Pack.
An authorised document means that sellers can use them to top up their Packs voluntarily to include additional material where they judge that to be of interest to prospective buyers. Although the Government has indicated it will make Home Condition Reports voluntary as from 1 June 2007, it strongly believes that these are likely to prove valuable to both sellers and buyers, and is working with the industry to ensure that there is active take up.
Source - www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk
Armitstead Barnett are trialing packs in our area and all of our vendors are welcome to take part.
Buying and selling a property doesn’t always go according to plan. The reality is that 9 out of 10 people say they’re dissatisfied with the current process. Currently, one in four transactions collapse before contracts are exchanged and one million pounds a day is wasted, mainly due to transactions failing at a late stage.
The Home Information Pack is a set of documents providing important information about a property such as searches, copies of the deeds and information regarding its energy efficiency.
Currently, much of this essential information only comes to light when an offer has been made and accepted. In the meantime, buyers are negotiating in the dark and are often wasting money on legal fees and searches. Providing this information up front, at the time of marketing a property, will make the home buying and selling process more efficient and transparent.
From 1 June 2007, all home owners in England and Wales will need to prepare a Home Information Pack before putting their home up for sale.
Content of Home Information Pack
The Home Information Pack Regulations 2006 set out provisions on the “required” and “authorised” content of the Pack. Required documents must be included in the pack where appropriate and authorised documents may be included at the seller’s discretion.
The required documents are:
An index (i.e. a list of the contents of the Pack)
A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
Evidence of title
Standard searches (i.e. local authority enquiries and a drainage and water search)
An Energy Performance Certificate
Where appropriate, commonhold information (including a copy of the commonhold community statement)
Where appropriate, leasehold information (including a copy of the lease, information on service charges and insurance)
Where appropriate, a New Homes Warranty
Where appropriate, a report on a home that is not physically complete
A Home Condition Report*
The authorised documents include:
Guarantees and warranties
Other searches.
* The Regulations will be amended so that as from 1 June 2007 the Home Condition Report will be an authorised part of the Pack.
An authorised document means that sellers can use them to top up their Packs voluntarily to include additional material where they judge that to be of interest to prospective buyers. Although the Government has indicated it will make Home Condition Reports voluntary as from 1 June 2007, it strongly believes that these are likely to prove valuable to both sellers and buyers, and is working with the industry to ensure that there is active take up.
Source - www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk
