Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP) for
selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about this
on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear about
the practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average' amounts
- is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg, presumably I'd
still have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...

Thanks
David

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP) for
selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about this
on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear about the
practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average' amounts -
is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg, presumably I'd still
have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...

This will include the energy report (perhaps 100 pounds)
the council search which previously the buyer would
have paid for, this can be anything from 1-200 pounds
and you'll need a copy of the draft contract which you
would have had to have paid your solicitor for anyway.


tim

A HIP has a limited life, I think 3 months. I wouldn't pay £600 as there is
no guarantee the house would sell within that time scale, as will be the
case, increasingly, as the market slows down. Why not say to the estate
agent that if he finds a buyer who wants a HIP then he should get one at his
expense.


"Lobster" wrote in message
...
| Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP) for
| selling a property?
|
| I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
| straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about this
| on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear about
| the practicalities/costs.
|
| ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average' amounts
| - is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg, presumably I'd
| still have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...
|
| Thanks
| David

On Oct 6, 11:59 am, "Stickems." wrote:
A HIP has a limited life, I think 3 months. I wouldn't pay £600 as there is
no guarantee the house would sell within that time scale, as will be the
case, increasingly, as the market slows down. Why not say to the estate
agent that if he finds a buyer who wants a HIP then he should get one at his
expense.


Sorry, that wouldn't work. If your property has 3 bedrooms or more
(and is in England & Wales, etc) you can't put the property on the
market without either actually having a HIP (or in certain
circumstances having requested one).

See http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/.

Mouse.

"Mouse" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 6, 11:59 am, "Stickems." wrote:
A HIP has a limited life, I think 3 months. I wouldn't pay £600 as there
is
no guarantee the house would sell within that time scale, as will be the
case, increasingly, as the market slows down. Why not say to the estate
agent that if he finds a buyer who wants a HIP then he should get one at
his
expense.


Sorry, that wouldn't work. If your property has 3 bedrooms or more
(and is in England & Wales, etc) you can't put the property on the
market without either actually having a HIP (or in certain
circumstances having requested one).

See http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/.

-------------------------------------

to be precise you can, if you wish to take a chance
on getting caught.

tim

On 6 Oct, 18:56, "tim....." wrote:
"Mouse" wrote in message

ups.com...
On Oct 6, 11:59 am, "Stickems." wrote:

A HIP has a limited life, I think 3 months. I wouldn't pay £600 as there
is
no guarantee the house would sell within that time scale, as will be the
case, increasingly, as the market slows down. Why not say to the estate
agent that if he finds a buyer who wants a HIP then he should get one at
his
expense.

Sorry, that wouldn't work. If your property has 3 bedrooms or more
(and is in England & Wales, etc) you can't put the property on the
market without either actually having a HIP (or in certain
circumstances having requested one).

Seehttp://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/.

-------------------------------------

to be precise you can, if you wish to take a chance
on getting caught.

tim

Hmm, what about properties with two bedrooms and an office? If a
bedroom is a room with a bed in it, then I'm living in a single
bedroom property currently - and it would be a zero bedroom property
if I hadn't borrowed a bed from a neighbour. The link given does not
shed light on this.

Sid

tim..... wrote:

snip
and you'll need a copy of the draft contract which you
would have had to have paid your solicitor for anyway.


tim

I'm not sure what's being implied here.

If a HIP has to contain the draft contract, would one normally have to
involve a prospective solicitor in compiling the HIP?

wrote:
On 6 Oct, 18:56, "tim....." wrote:
"Mouse" wrote in message

ups.com...
On Oct 6, 11:59 am, "Stickems." wrote:

A HIP has a limited life, I think 3 months. I wouldn't pay £600 as there
is
no guarantee the house would sell within that time scale, as will be the
case, increasingly, as the market slows down. Why not say to the estate
agent that if he finds a buyer who wants a HIP then he should get one at
his
expense.
Sorry, that wouldn't work. If your property has 3 bedrooms or more
(and is in England & Wales, etc) you can't put the property on the
market without either actually having a HIP (or in certain
circumstances having requested one).

Seehttp://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/.

-------------------------------------

to be precise you can, if you wish to take a chance
on getting caught.

tim

Hmm, what about properties with two bedrooms and an office? If a
bedroom is a room with a bed in it,

No that's not the criterion (or how would you define it for a completely
empty property?)

HMG's take on this, which is probably correct, is that why would someone
try to advertise and promote their property for sale with one bedroom
less than it really has, just to save a few hundred quid on a HIP, when
the potential losses on the sale price are far more than that. I mean,
I'm selling a 3-bedroomed property, and expect to get a price based on
that... if I choose to market it as a two-bedroom place then either I
will have to ask a much lower price, or put it on at a higher price and
hope that (a) buyers who want a 3-bedder will spot the 'subterfuge' and
go for it. But then there's the risk of missing lots of potential
buyers eg who just search Rightmove for 3 bedders...

(Still hoping to hear from anyone who's compiled their own HIP!)

David

In message , Lobster
writes
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP)
for selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about
this on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear
about the practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average'
amounts - is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg,
presumably I'd still have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...

The price is more likely to be around £300 plus VAT for up-front
payment, alternatively some providers will let you defer payment for up
to about 10 months and then charge about £50 extra for the privilege.

Lawpack do offer a DIY hip-pack, but I would be surprised if you could
save much more than about £50 that way, as you will still need to pay
for searches, EPC etc, you will just be paying yourself for the time and
effort in compiling everything and taking on the risk that you cock it
up.

--
Timothy

On Tue, 9 Oct 2007 13:46:24 +0100 someone who may be
" wrote this:-

Lawpack do offer a DIY hip-pack, but I would be surprised if you could
save much more than about £50 that way, as you will still need to pay
for searches, EPC etc,

The energy performance certificate is a pile of ****e, dumbed down
to the level of a meaningless box ticking exercise. I certainly
wouldn't pay the sort of fool who works of a solicitor or estate
agent a penny for that sort of simplistic exercise unless forced to.
Neither would I be stupid enough to pay any attention to such a
dumbed down pile of ****e if I was buying a house. I suppose its
most useful use would be to put in the compost bin.

On the other hand SAP, in its various forms, has enough detail to
almost be useful.

The fact that party politicians, who don't know their arse from
their elbow, insist on such things being done by the sort of fool
who works for a solicitor or estate agent isn't going to change my
mind. As with their other ridiculous ideas, for example the English
Part P of the Building Regulations, it simply confirms that we would
be better off getting rid of the party politicians, who are really
only the representatives of lawyers. I like William Morris' idea of
turning the Palace of Westminster into a store for manure. Most of
the party politicians would no doubt make reasonable compost.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

My mate had one done (£500 odd) and mostly a waste of space.

Boiler was mis identified as being non condensing as it was not on the
inspectors list of known boliers, so negative on energy rating there.

Negative points for not having all thermostatic valve on all radiators
(hallway and bathroom). The boiler instructions state at least one radiator
must not have them to act as a bypass.

Misidentified the depth of insulation in the loft, said was 100mm, but was
actually considerably more.

Phoned up to complain and inspector said "OK" and just reissued the HIP with
one point higher energy rating, a B now instead of C (I think).

The buyers were not interested in the HIP at all, more interested in nice
new kitchen and off road parking.....

Mind you he added £1000 to price to cover the HIP costs.


"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP) for
selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about this
on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear about the
practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average' amounts -
is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg, presumably I'd still
have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...

Thanks
David

On Tue, 9 Oct 2007 16:18:38 +0100 someone who may be "Ian_m"
wrote this:-

Negative points for not having all thermostatic valve on all radiators
(hallway and bathroom). The boiler instructions state at least one radiator
must not have them to act as a bypass.

And an installation with just thermostatic valves would fail a
number of other requirements of relatively recent years, including
ones to prevent the waste of fuel caused by short cycling of the
boiler.

Of course the sort of bod who works for a solicitor or estate agent
is not going to even be aware of such things, let alone understand
them.




--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

Ian_m wrote:

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP)
for selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about
this on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear
about the practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average'
amounts - is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg,
presumably I'd still have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...

My mate had one done (£500 odd) and mostly a waste of space.

Boiler was mis identified as being non condensing as it was not on the
inspectors list of known boliers, so negative on energy rating there.

Negative points for not having all thermostatic valve on all radiators
(hallway and bathroom). The boiler instructions state at least one
radiator must not have them to act as a bypass.

Misidentified the depth of insulation in the loft, said was 100mm, but
was actually considerably more.

Phoned up to complain and inspector said "OK" and just reissued the HIP
with one point higher energy rating, a B now instead of C (I think).

The buyers were not interested in the HIP at all, more interested in
nice new kitchen and off road parking.....

Mind you he added £1000 to price to cover the HIP costs.

Just revisiting this thread as in the end I just let the estate agent
get on with doing the HIP - price was 295 plus VAT.

As everyone says, including the EA - total and utter ****e.

There's a flat roof area, which got identified as "Very poor" as no
insulation was assumed despite my having put 2" Kingspan in there. I
flagged this up and the EA rectified it, however, the official software
they use makes no distinction between different types of insulation, so
with 2" of apparently Rockwool my roof was still poor... I think in the
end the guy just bodged it and said it was a pitched roof with 6"
Rockwool or something!

My new CH system came up as "Average" despite having a new condensing
boiler, wall-to-wall TRVs and roomstats, and apparently that's a bug in
the software - no matter what you enter in the CH section, it's
impossible to better "average"...

I got "Very Poor" for the electric lights, which we were fully expecting
since all the fittings are bog-standard bayonet type, fitted with
incandescent bulbs... but the EA (who is qualified to conduct the energy
survey) has just told us that if we'd simply fitted CFL bulbs
throughout, it would have boosted our rating. Bzzzt!

Finally, I've already accepted an offer on the property and the EA tells
me the prospective buyer (nor anybody else who viewed the property) has
shown even the slightest interest in seeing the HIP.

Go figure, as they say...

Lobster wrote:
Ian_m wrote:

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP)
for selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about
this on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear
about the practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average'
amounts - is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg,
presumably I'd still have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...

My mate had one done (£500 odd) and mostly a waste of space.

Boiler was mis identified as being non condensing as it was not on the
inspectors list of known boliers, so negative on energy rating there.

Negative points for not having all thermostatic valve on all radiators
(hallway and bathroom). The boiler instructions state at least one
radiator must not have them to act as a bypass.

Misidentified the depth of insulation in the loft, said was 100mm, but
was actually considerably more.

Phoned up to complain and inspector said "OK" and just reissued the
HIP with one point higher energy rating, a B now instead of C (I think).

The buyers were not interested in the HIP at all, more interested in
nice new kitchen and off road parking.....

Mind you he added £1000 to price to cover the HIP costs.

Just revisiting this thread as in the end I just let the estate agent
get on with doing the HIP - price was 295 plus VAT.

As everyone says, including the EA - total and utter ****e.

There's a flat roof area, which got identified as "Very poor" as no
insulation was assumed despite my having put 2" Kingspan in there. I
flagged this up and the EA rectified it, however, the official software
they use makes no distinction between different types of insulation, so
with 2" of apparently Rockwool my roof was still poor... I think in the
end the guy just bodged it and said it was a pitched roof with 6"
Rockwool or something!

My new CH system came up as "Average" despite having a new condensing
boiler, wall-to-wall TRVs and roomstats, and apparently that's a bug in
the software - no matter what you enter in the CH section, it's
impossible to better "average"...

I got "Very Poor" for the electric lights, which we were fully expecting
since all the fittings are bog-standard bayonet type, fitted with
incandescent bulbs... but the EA (who is qualified to conduct the energy
survey) has just told us that if we'd simply fitted CFL bulbs
throughout, it would have boosted our rating. Bzzzt!

Finally, I've already accepted an offer on the property and the EA tells
me the prospective buyer (nor anybody else who viewed the property) has
shown even the slightest interest in seeing the HIP.

Go figure, as they say...

It's just a tax

On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 08:36:52 +0000, Stuart Noble wrote:

Lobster wrote:
Ian_m wrote:

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP)
for selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about
this on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to hear
about the practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average'
amounts - is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg,
presumably I'd still have to pay for the energy efficiency report etc...

My mate had one done (£500 odd) and mostly a waste of space.

Boiler was mis identified as being non condensing as it was not on the
inspectors list of known boliers, so negative on energy rating there.

Negative points for not having all thermostatic valve on all radiators
(hallway and bathroom). The boiler instructions state at least one
radiator must not have them to act as a bypass.

Misidentified the depth of insulation in the loft, said was 100mm, but
was actually considerably more.

Phoned up to complain and inspector said "OK" and just reissued the
HIP with one point higher energy rating, a B now instead of C (I think).

The buyers were not interested in the HIP at all, more interested in
nice new kitchen and off road parking.....

Mind you he added £1000 to price to cover the HIP costs.

Just revisiting this thread as in the end I just let the estate agent
get on with doing the HIP - price was 295 plus VAT.

As everyone says, including the EA - total and utter ****e.

There's a flat roof area, which got identified as "Very poor" as no
insulation was assumed despite my having put 2" Kingspan in there. I
flagged this up and the EA rectified it, however, the official software
they use makes no distinction between different types of insulation, so
with 2" of apparently Rockwool my roof was still poor... I think in the
end the guy just bodged it and said it was a pitched roof with 6"
Rockwool or something!

My new CH system came up as "Average" despite having a new condensing
boiler, wall-to-wall TRVs and roomstats, and apparently that's a bug in
the software - no matter what you enter in the CH section, it's
impossible to better "average"...

I got "Very Poor" for the electric lights, which we were fully expecting
since all the fittings are bog-standard bayonet type, fitted with
incandescent bulbs... but the EA (who is qualified to conduct the energy
survey) has just told us that if we'd simply fitted CFL bulbs
throughout, it would have boosted our rating. Bzzzt!

Finally, I've already accepted an offer on the property and the EA tells
me the prospective buyer (nor anybody else who viewed the property) has
shown even the slightest interest in seeing the HIP.

Go figure, as they say...

It's just a tax

That would be a compliment to the the tax system.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Ian_m wrote:

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP)
for selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's
straightforward and will save some dosh. I've seen some info about
this on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would like to
hear about the practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average'
amounts - is that about right and how does that divvy up? Eg,
presumably I'd still have to pay for the energy efficiency report
etc...

My mate had one done (£500 odd) and mostly a waste of space.

snip

Finally, I've already accepted an offer on the property and the EA
tells me the prospective buyer (nor anybody else who viewed the
property) has shown even the slightest interest in seeing the HIP.


There are two very separate matters here, which I think some of the
posters to this thread are mixing up.

The Energy Performance Certificate is undoubtedly a complete waste of
money and paper. The methodology is fundamentally flawed, the assessors
inexperienced, and the software is ill-designed, so the results are
ignored. I know everyone seizes on the low energy lamp nonsense, but I
gather these have only a tiny effect on the ludicrous scores. Draught
proofing doesn't even get a mention. I've just had one done, and apart
from enabling me to say I'd complied with the law, it was a waste of
£60. The only good thing is that so many people were duped into paying
enormous amounts to be "trained" that there's nothing like enough work
for them all, so the prices are far lower than predicted. I enquired
through localsurveyorsdirect late one evening, and I had the first
(illiterate) email sent to me at 03.10 the next morning, followed by a
phone call at 7.50.

The rest of the HIP, now that a building survey is not required, is
quite innocuous, and may even do some good. Sooner or later, someone is
going to have to do a Local Authority Search, and get Official Copies of
the land registry entries, so it might as well be the vendor who does it
when time isn't of the essence. Similarly, a Water and Drainage Search
is required, I believe, by the CML handbook. The Home Use form and Home
Contents forms are only what the vendor would eventually have filled in
as part of Enquiries before Contract, so, again, why not do them at the
start and avoid paying your solicitor to act as a post office between
seller and buyer? The index form and sale statement are trivial.

My criticisms of these parts of the HIP are therefore mainly concerned
with the appallingly designed forms - there seem to be several versions
kicking around, none of which have any indication of their version
number. The Land Registry, by contrast, make well-produced forms easily
available for download in .doc or .pdf format, they deal with them
rapidly, and they answer any questions helpfully and knowledgably.

My HIP cost, in total £229 (EPC £60, Local Searches £114, Water £43,
Land Registry £12): a local estate agent wanted £350. The estate agent
would have used a personal search company - in this neck of the woods,
it would have been slower than getting an official local authority
search, and runs the risk that the buyer's mortgage provider might
insist on an official one anyway, delaying matters by another couple of
weeks.


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. )***

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2007-11-02, Autolycus wrote:


The rest of the HIP, now that a building survey is not required, is
quite innocuous, and may even do some good. Sooner or later, someone
is
going to have to do a Local Authority Search, and get Official Copies
of
the land registry entries, so it might as well be the vendor who does
it

Err, no. Have you never heard of "caveat emptor"? Information provided
by the
vendor is essentially arsewipe.

Oddly enough, yes, I have heard of it, thank you.

How exactly does a Con29R form submitted to a Local Authority differ
according to who submitted it? Or the LLC1 form? Or do the LA's
answers vary? Some people who trust their solicitor sufficiently to
hand over the whole process of house buying and selling may not be aware
that it is quite a common practice for Local Authority searches to be
passed from solicitor to solicitor as buyers fall by the wayside.
Whether each solicitor then charges his client for them...

The Land Registry Official Copies (formerly known as Office Copies) are
what they say - copies of the definitive register. In any event there
are two further safeguards in this area: the usual forms of contract
require the seller to show good title, and the buyer conducts a further
"search with priority" between exchange and completion.

And is the information previously provided on a "Property Information
Form", and now on the Home Contents Form, any more "arsewipe" than it
used to be? Even with a solicitor relaying the information, I think it
is still likely to be the vendor who answers the question of which
lampshades are included - and solicitors do like to ask these things.


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. )***

Autolycus wrote:

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2007-11-02, Autolycus wrote:


The rest of the HIP, now that a building survey is not required, is
quite innocuous, and may even do some good. Sooner or later, someone is
going to have to do a Local Authority Search, and get Official Copies of
the land registry entries, so it might as well be the vendor who does it

Err, no. Have you never heard of "caveat emptor"? Information provided
by the
vendor is essentially arsewipe.

Oddly enough, yes, I have heard of it, thank you.

How exactly does a Con29R form submitted to a Local Authority differ
according to who submitted it? Or the LLC1 form? Or do the LA's
answers vary? Some people who trust their solicitor sufficiently to
hand over the whole process of house buying and selling may not be aware
that it is quite a common practice for Local Authority searches to be
passed from solicitor to solicitor as buyers fall by the wayside.
Whether each solicitor then charges his client for them...

The Land Registry Official Copies (formerly known as Office Copies) are
what they say - copies of the definitive register. In any event there
are two further safeguards in this area: the usual forms of contract
require the seller to show good title, and the buyer conducts a further
"search with priority" between exchange and completion.

And is the information previously provided on a "Property Information
Form", and now on the Home Contents Form, any more "arsewipe" than it
used to be? Even with a solicitor relaying the information, I think it
is still likely to be the vendor who answers the question of which
lampshades are included - and solicitors do like to ask these things.


So the chances of the information being out of date is the same as it
ever was? Seems to me HIPs would be a good thing if it weren't for the
ridiculous green component.

"Stuart Noble" wrote in message
...
Autolycus wrote:

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2007-11-02, Autolycus wrote:


The rest of the HIP, now that a building survey is not required, is
quite innocuous, and may even do some good. Sooner or later,
someone is
going to have to do a Local Authority Search, and get Official
Copies of
the land registry entries, so it might as well be the vendor who
does it

snip

So the chances of the information being out of date is the same as it
ever was? Seems to me HIPs would be a good thing if it weren't for the
ridiculous green component.

Not much difference, I'd say: the HIP might be produced earlier than the
searches would normally be carried out, but the sort of stuff that's
revealed doesn't normally change rapidly, and the buyer should be alert
for new planning applications and so in any case. In the old
"Requisitions on Title" which the buyer raised between exchange and
completion (if his solicitor could be bothered) there was normally a
question about whether the answers to Enquiries before Contract had
changed. I'll see whether something similar is asked about the HIP in a
few weeks, perhaps.

But yes, I agree: HIPS would be fine with some tweaks to the forms and
removal of the green nonsense.


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. )***

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Ian_m wrote:

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Has anyone any experience of preparing a home information pack (HIP) for selling a property?

I need to do so soon and am considering compiling my own, if it's straightforward and will save
some dosh. I've seen some info about this on http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk but would
like to hear about the practicalities/costs.

ISTR figures of about £600 were being bandied about as 'average' amounts - is that about right and
how does that divvy up? Eg, presumably I'd still have to pay for the energy efficiency report
etc...

My mate had one done (£500 odd) and mostly a waste of space.

Boiler was mis identified as being non condensing as it was not on the inspectors list of known
boliers, so negative on energy rating there.

Negative points for not having all thermostatic valve on all radiators (hallway and bathroom). The
boiler instructions state at least one radiator must not have them to act as a bypass.

Misidentified the depth of insulation in the loft, said was 100mm, but was actually considerably
more.

Phoned up to complain and inspector said "OK" and just reissued the HIP with one point higher
energy rating, a B now instead of C (I think).

What is scope for redress if the HIP is done wrong because of an incompetent inspector. Can you sue
their arse? Is there an ombudsman (ha!) or a professional trade body or licensing body?

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2007-11-03, Autolycus wrote:

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2007-11-02, Autolycus wrote:


The rest of the HIP, now that a building survey is not required, is
quite innocuous, and may even do some good. Sooner or later,
someone
is
going to have to do a Local Authority Search, and get Official
Copies
of
the land registry entries, so it might as well be the vendor who
does
it

Err, no. Have you never heard of "caveat emptor"? Information
provided
by the
vendor is essentially arsewipe.

Oddly enough, yes, I have heard of it, thank you.

Judging by the patronising

Well spotted


crap that follows, I doubt it.


Most of it was in the form of questions. I've only done one HIP, and
may have misunderstood some aspect of the process. I always enjoy
hearing from those with greater knowledge, experience, or wisdom. And
I'm rarely rude, even to those inclined to be a little boorish.


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. )***

On Sat, 3 Nov 2007 18:13:54 -0000 Dave Gordon wrote :
What is scope for redress if the HIP is done wrong because of an
incompetent inspector. Can you sue their arse? Is there an
ombudsman (ha!) or a professional trade body or licensing body?

Inspectors have to carry indemnity insurance and the outfit that
accredits them has to have a complaints procedure. But (IANAL)
surely you could only recover damages if you could show that a
faulty report had cost you money - which would mean overturning the
perceived wisdom that buyers take no notice of the EPC.

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:30:12 GMT someone who may be Lobster
wrote this:-

As everyone says, including the EA - total and utter ****e.

I hope you have passed all this on to your MP and asked them what
they are going to do about ****e laws.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54