Home Information Pack (HIP)
Selling
Buying
Buying and Selling in a Chain
Remortgage & Transfer of Equity
Buy to Let
Landlord and Tenant
Searches
If you are selling your house or flat, you cannot market your property until you have a Home Information Pack. A HIP will contain information concerning the seller and the property, an Energy Performance Certificate, copies of your Title and Plan, enquiries of the Local Authority and Water and Drainage Authority and a Property Information Questionnaire in which you will be asked details concerning Council Tax, insurance claims, availability of services and any changes that you have made to the property.
We can prepare the HIP for you and will use our expertise to compile the pack so that it can be lodged with your selling agent as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary delays in getting your property on the market. We always commission official searches from the local authority so that you can be confident that they will be acceptable to any buyer or lender when your house is sold.
If we have prepared your HIP, we will supply a copy to your buyer’s solicitor when the property is sold.
We will prepare a Contract which includes full details of the seller and the buyer, the property and its title, agreed price and any other relevant information.
Both seller and buyer are not legally bound until exchange of contracts when a completion date (your moving date) is agreed. We will deal with paying off your mortgage and settling your estate agent’s bill leaving you free to get on with the important task of moving house.
Once you have agreed to buy a property we will see a copy of your Home Information Pack along with the contract papers. We may find that searches provided by the seller in a HIP are unsatisfactory and may have to commission fresh searches. When we look at the contract papers we may wish to raise further questions. We will be waiting for a Mortgage Offer and when all this information is available, we will advise you to sign the Contract. You are not legally bound until that time and you may still change your mind. Once we exchange Contracts you are legally bound to buy the property on the completion date (the moving date). We will be preparing a Transfer document to transfer the title into your name and following completion will arrange registration of the title into your name at the Land Registry.
Life would be simpler if there was only one seller and one buyer. Unfortunately, there are often several buyers and sellers in a chain and one buyer may be ready to exchange contracts much quicker than the others. This can be quite frustrating since all the buyers and sellers in the chain have to be ready to exchange contracts on the same day and complete on a later agreed date! We can help make sure that things run smoothly.
Remortgage and Transfer of Equity
You may find that you can get a better mortgage deal with another mortgage provider when, say a fixed rate product comes to the end of its term, or if you own the property jointly, one of you may decide to purchase the outgoing partner’s interest either by cash or remortgage. This can prove a difficult time. We will be able to assist with all the paperwork involved in ensuring everything goes smoothly.
As money is earning little on deposit at present, you may decide to invest in property with a view to obtaining a more beneficial rate of return.
We can advise you on the transaction to buy property and also prepare an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement which will ensure that if you run into difficulties with your Tenant you can start proceedings for possession after a period of six months.
There are many regulations relating to safety for electric and gas appliances and also for soft furnishings. We can guide you through your responsibilities.
As a Landlord, you will wish to ensure that your investment is fully protected. We can prepare an Assured Shorthold Tenancy which sets out what responsibilities your Tenant will have in relation to payment of rent, services and obligations relating to property repair and decoration.
As a Tenant you need to know that a Tenancy Agreement only makes you liable for the things that you have agreed to be bound by and that there are no hidden extra obligations imposed by your Landlord. We can advise you on all these matters before you commit to signing a Tenancy Agreement so that there are no shocks at the end of the Tenancy.
A Sellers Home Information Pack will normally contain at least a Local Authority Search and Drainage Search. These will provide information about roads, planning permissions, building regulations, drains, sewers and water connections.
We may also advise you to have an Environmental Search carried out if we are concerned about landfill or other issues affecting the site or any other contaminated land issues that may affect the property.
The property may be in a recognised mining area which may require additional searches. Sometimes if a property is close to a medieval church there is a possible liability for maintenance of the knave of the church falling on householders!
We can advise you on all the searches that need to be carried out before you sign a Contract.
If you need assistance with any property matter or require a detailed quote without obligation contact our team at property@pb4law.com or on 01785 603060 / 01889 803080.
