Home Information Packs - a brief explanation

From June 1st 2007 it will be compulsory for all homeowners in England and Wales to arrange for a Home Information Pack to be prepared before putting their home up for sale and to make a copy of the pack available to any prospective buyer upon request.

Under the “old” system most of the information that will be included in the pack is only produced after an offer has been made and accepted so if there are any problems these only come to light several weeks later by which time the parties may have incurred legal and survey fees, search fees etc. This can cause frustration and delay and may result in gazumping or the terms being renegotiated or even the sale falling through altogether.

Home Information Packs will ensure that all of the important information will be provided upfront at the outset. This will create a faster and more efficient home buying system and the main benefit to the seller is that any buyer is much less likely to pull out if they have all of the required information from the very beginning.

How a Home Information Pack will benefit your buyer

Previously most of the information a buyer required was only produced after an offer had been made and accepted. This meant any problems only came to light after the parties had incurred legal, survey and search fees, and resulted in sales falling through several weeks after the offer was accepted.

A Home Information Pack will ensure that all the important information is provided upfront, giving peace of mind to both you and your buyer and creating a smoother, faster path to a successful sale.

This will allow your prospective buyer to make an informed decision at the outset.

The pack includes an Energy Performance Certificate which will also provide information on how energy efficient your property is.

Home Information Packs should help you reduce

a) the time it takes to sell your house
b) the chance of your sale falling through
c) wasted costs
d) the stress involved in the process

What does it mean for me if I want to sell my property?

From 1st August 2007 any property with four bedrooms or more will require the pack. It is anticipated that the packs will then be rolled out in stages for all properties, however at this time no structure or time plan is available.