What’s all this about then?!
Under the new Housing Act, from 2007 home-owners or their selling agents will be required to have a home information pack when marketing homes for sale, and to make a copy of the pack available to prospective buyers on request. It will also require estate agents, marketing homes for sale, to belong to an approved redress scheme.
Did you know 30% of transactions fall through. 
Why are the government bringing out home information packs?
Under the present home buying process, a lot of the information needed about a property by buyers and sellers only becomes available after an offer has been made and accepted. This may mean that problems with the property only come to light several weeks later, by which time the buyer and seller may have incurred significant costs in legal fees, searches, surveys, etc. This can cause the terms to be renegotiated, delay exchange of contracts and even result in transactions failing altogether.
Extensive research has shown that the current system is extremely inefficient and wasteful and does not look after the best interests of buyers or sellers. Delays in the present system can encourage gazumping and other problems. Providing key information up front in the home information pack will make the process more efficient, clearer and easier for consumers. This means less risk of transactions collapsing, less wasted expenditure and greater certainty for everyone earlier in the process.
Speedier transactions, more efficient
Home information packs will ensure that important information is provided up front at the very start, and electronic conveyancing will speed up the conveyancing process thereafter. Taken together, both of these measures will help create a faster and more efficient home buying and selling system.
The government’s thinks that the introduction of the home information pack will make home buying and selling faster, easier to understand and more consumer friendly. Many estate agents, conveyancers and surveyors remain sceptical.
Problem with the present system
Recent research shows that almost nine out of ten consumers are dissatisfied with the present system, with almost 30 per cent of transactions failing after an offer has been accepted.
The present system falls down since key information required to inform buyers’ and sellers’ decisions only becomes available after terms have been negotiated and agreed. This can mean that problems with the property may come to light only after several weeks, by which time the buyer and seller may have incurred significant costs in legal fees, searches and surveys. The pack will address this by ensuring information is available up front.
Responsibility for obtaining local searches and a home condition report is likely to transfer from the buyer to the seller, but since the majority of sellers are also buyers these costs will usually be balanced by corresponding savings.
The real financial benefit for buyers and sellers will be the saving of hundreds of millions of pounds in wasted costs which arise from failed transactions.
What will be in home information packs?
The pack is likely to include copies of the following documents:
If you live in a leasehold flat
You will also need to provide:
What are the benefits of the Home Information Packs?
The Government is introducing Home Information Packs to improve the process of buying and selling a home. This is often a stressful and costly experience, prone to delay and failure, with more than a quarter of all sales falling through after an offer has been accepted because of problems emerging later in the process.
From early 2007 all home owners in England and Wales will need to arrange for a Home Information Pack to be prepared before putting their homes on the market.
Key points on costs
Only inspectors qualifying under a certification scheme approved by Ministers will be able to prepare home condition reports. The scheme will be responsible for monitoring and auditing inspectors’ work. This will be robust to ensure that standards are maintained. Home Inspectors will need to have suitable insurance. Consumers will also benefit from an independent redress scheme.
Article extracted from an article from the Government. Read more about Home Information packs at The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
