Beware home information pack price discrepancies, says Which? Money

Beware home information pack price discrepancies, says Which? Money

Property vendors who buy their home information pack (Hip) direct from their estate agent could pay as much as 50% more than if they bought it through a specialist provider, consumer group Which? warned today.

Since April, anyone selling a home in England and Wales is required to show prospective purchasers a pre-prepared Hip providing basic legal information about the home being marketed. The packs were launched amid controversy in 2007 in a bid to simplify the process of buying and selling homes, and include Land Registry details, a sale statement and an energy performance certificate.

Which? Money asked some of the UK's largest estate agents and a selection of specialist Hip providers and conveyancers what they charged for a standard pack for both freehold and leasehold properties.

Advertisement starts

---

---

Advertisement ends

It found that packs commissioned through an estate agent could cost up to 50% more than those bought directly from a specialist online provider, with the difference between the cheapest and most expensive Hips as much as £300.

Countrywide offered the most expensive Hip for a three-bed, semi-detached freehold property, charging £459. In contrast, online provider Fridays Property Lawyers charged the least at just £189. The most expensive Hip for a two-bed leasehold flat was from estate agent Spicerhaart at £516 – £292 more than the cheapest option from Hip Save.

Which? found that although direct providers such as Fridays Property Lawyers, Hip Save and Promise Homepacks usually offered the best deals, there were still differences of around £190 between those providers.

James Daley, editor of Which? Money, said: "Don't be fooled into thinking you have to buy [a Hip] from your estate agent. Our research shows that the most expensive high street agents charge over twice as much as the cheapest online Hip providers – so you could save hundreds of pounds by shopping around for the best deal."

A spokesman for Halifax Estate Agents said: "Unlike some other providers, the price of a Halifax Hip is dependent on the value of the property and therefore will vary dramatically.

"Often, the headline price of online quotes will not include basic items such as VAT or hidden credit card payment charges. It is important consumers ensure they have the full picture and know the level of service they will receive."

The National Association of Estate Agents has opposed Hips since the system was first piloted. Chief executive, Peter Bolton-King, said the discrepancies in price were "symptomatic of these dysfunctional packs".

"Search charges, for example, vary wildly across local authorities, and managing agents also produce different costs for access to leases. This is the same regardless of whether it is the seller, the agent or the Hip provider completing the pack. It is therefore impossible to discern a one-size fits all fee across the market," he said.

"I am firmly of the opinion Hips need to be scrapped, or at the very least suspended until the market has recovered. The government's own statistic that 77% of house buyers paid no attention to Hips when they decided whether or not to buy a property is in support of our view."

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2009