Can my solicitor prepare my Home Information Pack (HIP)?

Yes your solicitor can prepare your HIP (which must contain an Energy Performance Certificate, evidence of title and local and drainage searches).  Often your solicitor will be best placed to prepare the pack (especially if he or she acted when you bought) and may be able to produce it more quickly and cheaply than other HIP providers.

Unfortunately not all HIPS are the same - the quality and speed of production can vary a lot.  We have received HIPs with the wrong house, wrong street, and in one case the wrong town!  All this can cause delay which is self defeating given HIPS were meant to speed up conveyancing!

HIPS can be produced which meet the minimum requirements, but which are thin on detail. Some providers seek to cut costs to save a few pounds by using a personal local search, rather than an official one completed by the local council.  This can be short sighted as a personal search does not always contain all the information a buyer may need with the result that every one has to wait while a full search is done.  

Your solicitor should be able to prepare a good quality HIP which contains all the correct information which can then be supplied to the selling agent of your choice.  So if you are thinking about putting your property on the market, do contact your solicitor at the earliest opportunity to discuss the preparation the Home Information Pack before you go to market. 

For more information on HIPs contact your nearest Tozers office or email property@tozers.co.uk