Come 1st August 2007 all seller's of homes with 4 or more bedrooms will need to have a Home Information Pack before being able to market their property for sale.

The government says that the reason for the introduction of these is to speed up transactions and reduce wasted costs for buyers who only discover a problem with the property after spending a lot of money on searches. However there are downsides to HIP's if you are a seller. The main one being the additional costs. You now have to pay around £500-1000 to obtain a HIP whereas before this cost was borne by the buyer. A HIP will be held by your estate agent and will be released to all prospective buyer's (although you can reasonably withhold this if you think the buyer is a timewaster), this means that information relating to your property will be available for all to see. Releasing this information shouldn't worry you but some people like their privacy.

The government still hasn't finalised it's plans on HIP's and has already changed the documents required in a HIP from when it was first planned.

There are currently two lists of documents need for a HIP, required (compulsory) and authorised (voluntary).

Required

Authorised

There are other things to consider. Should you take your property off the market for more than 28 days then you will need to obtain a new HIP's pack before being able to put your property back on the market.

However on the plus side you do not need to wait for all the documents you have applied for to be returned before you market your property. As long as you have waited 14 days and can show you have applied for the documents then you can go ahead and put that for sale sign up.

See our page on how to make your own Home Information Pack and save money.