The Home Information Pack; Creating Clarity In The Property Selling Process

The home information pack is set to revolutionise the way in which property is sold in the UK. It is hoped that the introduction of the packs will increase the efficiency of the property market and the property selling process more generally. The home information pack will arguably improve the clarity of the process for both parties, sellers and buyers. Many are still uneducated however and do not yet realise what type of information will be included in the pack. Hopefully the following information will give an insight to the inclusions in the pack.

The home information pack will contain a number of vital documents pertaining to each and every property. Two of these documents are the terms of sale and the evidence of title. In addition, any documents relating to planning proposals and building restrictions will be included. One of the most important documents to be included in the pack is the energy efficiency report; this new documentation will be vital to the sale of any home, it gives details of the insulation of the property and how efficiently it retains heat and other forms of energy. The hope is that by including this information from the outset of the sale there will be no nasty surprises for the buyer once they have signed the deal.

Essentially the packs have been created in order to make the property exchange much easier and simpler for both parties by giving each as much information as possible. One of the proposed benefits of having this information to hand will be that mortgage proposals will take less time to be accepted. This is essential as in the modern credit climate the securing of the mortgage can be the biggest hold up to the sale of a property. Additionally the government is hoping that the packs will speed up the selling procedure considerably, the belief that more clarity adds to speed of completion is an easy pill to swallow. Whether it happens however remains to be seen.

It is argued that the home info pack will also help sellers to arrive at a realistic asking price for their property. It is also hoped that the packs will create a situation where renegotiations are a rare or even a nonexistent occurrence. The belief is that with greater clarity, buyers will have no late disclosures of vital information that will lead to deals being subject to change. Additionally it is hoped that with more open dealings, the time period from offer to eventual sale will be reduced immensely.

In most cases the responsibility for putting together a pack will be squarely on the shoulders of the seller. However, the majority of astute agents have created a pack compilation service that comes as part of their fees, for those selling privately though, a pack will have to be compiled by the seller alone. Not all sellers however will have to produce a home information pack, a number of exemptions do exist. These exemptions include those not selling their property on the open market, such as those selling a home to a family member or neighbour without it being sold in open competition.

The government are proud of their plans to have a pack with every home on the market today. They have been in existence since August of this year and are still very much in their infancy. Whether or not they will be a success cannot yet be ascertained, only an extended period of time will give us the knowledge to assess their true worth.