A provider of upfront information (UFI) technology has said Home Information Packs (HIPs) are “absolutely essential” to solve the “perpetual issues of inefficiency and snail-paced processes” affecting the housing market.
While Ed Molyneux, co-founder of Moverly, concedes “you’d expect [him] to say that”, he also points out that a recent survey suggests “the vast majority [90%] of property professionals also recognise the benefits the provision of upfront information can bring”.
According to the survey commissioned by Moverly, the biggest reasons for support of UFI are an improved level of transparency for homebuyers, a streamlined conveyancing process, and the reduced chance of a fall through.
Moverly say UFI can be provided via Home Information Packs, which collect the essential details and documentation that homebuyers need access to when considering the purchase of property. This includes EPC certificates, title documents, Local Authority searches, and more.
HIPs were introduced to parliament by the last Labour government before being abandoned by David Cameron’s coalition government in 2010.
When asked why they thought the original introduction of HIPs failed, those surveyed by Moverly stated the reliability of the information provided was the biggest reason, while the upfront cost incurred by sellers also acted as a deterrent.
However, last year, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, committed to reintroducing the previously abandoned Home Information Pack as part of the government’s Levelling Up ambitions.
Moverly’s survey also found that 87% of property professionals think that HIPs could be better placed to succeed in today’s market, due to the further digital disruption of the industry and our ability to share data electronically.
When asked what they believe the biggest advantage would be if HIPs were to return, a greater level of transparency for buyers ranked top, followed by a reduced conveyancing timeline, as well as a lower chance of transactions falling through. However, just 37% think their reintroduction should be mandatory.
56% think the cost of HIPs should be incurred by the seller, although some believe it should be the responsibility of the buyer (22%), the agent (14%), and the conveyancer (7%).
The majority (59%) also believe that there should be multiple HIPs providers to help drive the standard of service through competition, although they should be regulated by one single authority.
“While HIPs may have originally been designed to help buyers, everyone within the transaction timeline benefits from greater transparency, greater stability and a more certain outcome,” said Moverly co-founder Ed Molyneux:
“They can also greatly reduce the risk of sales falling through due to broken chains, saving both buyer and seller money in the process, as well as reducing the chances of gazumping, issues that have been rife in the UK market in recent years.
Those who oppose HIPs do so based on the fact that a cost traditionally incurred by the buyer is transferred to the seller. While this may be the case, the cost of HIPs is dramatically lower today and sellers are also far better placed to absorb a marginal additional cost that could save them thousands of pounds in costs incurred should their sale collapse.
What’s more, the advancement of technology and how we share information today, means that the ability to provide reliable information has been hugely improved.”
3 responses
Come on who did he ask? Presumably also, as with all these surveys, the questions to whoever were skewed in such a way as to create the answers that were craved?
Fake news!
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a contract pack with; a decent contract, full title, EPC, fully completed TA6 and TA10, all relevant planning permissions/building regulation/installation certificates, local search, drainage search, environmental search (any other relevant searches). The time it would save would be tremendous. It might also filter out the serious sellers from the time wasters if they have had to invest in this upfront. Buyers also need to pay a fee upfront to instruct their solicitor, ensure the survey is instructed immediately, have an AIP ready and perhaps even pay a reservation fee on a SRA/CLC-approved agreement. Would filter out the tyre kickers!
HIPs but in a digital form. If all the information required during the whole process was in a digital form, and available from the outset, transactions would be quicker, more certain and with fewer fall throughs.
One of the main issues is that the key information required is held by the local authority and isn’t widely available digitally. Solve that and you’re a long way to creating a much better process.