Exchange Ready HIPs

There are two schools of thought regarding HIPs.

One is that they're a complication to the whole house selling process & the second is that they don't go far enough.

As of November 2008 there seems to be more evidence coming to light that HIPs are speeding up the house selling process but at the same time there is a reluctance from Solicitors to accept all HIPs.

Why don't solicitors like HIPs ? Firstly because the Purchaser of a property has to rely on the information provider within a third party HIP (provided by the seller).... and the solicitors acting for the Purchasers tend to get very twitchy about this kind of thing.

Solicitors like to deal with solicitors. They don't like dealing with one man band outfits who don't necessarily have any legal experience but still pass themselves off as HIPs providers.

The 2008 issue revolving Birmingham Trading Standards investigations into "poor quality HIPs" is a case in point.

One way round this is to have solicitors more involved in the process... hence the possible use of Exchange Ready HIPs.

The Exchange Ready HIP will, at the outset, be partially prepared by the solicitor (ie. the additional Property Information form, Fixtures & Fittings list and Draft Transfer) and will then be provided to the HIPs provider who will add them to the standard contents of the HIP.

The HIP may take longer to prepare but at the point a buyer is found for the property (and when the mortgage offer is available) the seller of the property should be able to get to Exchange of Contracts within 5 days or so...

Essentially speaking HIPs providers will need to have a much closer working arrangement with solicitors and hopefully this will lead to a greater acceptance of HIPs by the legal profession.

There are still issues to be worked through here but if the Tories gain power it seems the market, as a whole, may well head in this direction.

If you would like to discuss your HIPs requirements further, please either email Sam Archibald (LLB LPC. ie Sam has a Law Degree & attained her Legal Practioners Certificate) via admin@conveyancingbrokers.co.uk or call our team on 0845 603 0708.

* If you're interested in discovering the benefits of ordering HIPs independently of your estate agent please refer to our benefits page.

** If you're trawling through the internet looking for a HIPs provider & aren't sure what to look out for please visit our online hips page.

Please refer to Point 8 of our FAQ1 page for further information about our payment terms.