Buy Your Own HIP, Save Loads Of Money

The Rat and Mouse blog drew our attention to an article in the Financial Times today about Home Information Packs. It seems that Which? consumer group have urged anyone selling their home to shop around before buying their HIP, because of the wild price differences between different vendors.

Having sold a property or two ourselves, we knew that buying a HIP through an estate agent cost more than buying one from a specialised HIP provider, but we didn’t realise quite how much more! According to the FT, some big estate agents are selling HIPs for £450 including VAT, but a private vendor in the form of Liverpool law firm MSB Solicitors LLP, is selling them for just £149. Of course, it all depends on the type of property you’re selling, and how many sections you include in your HIP (some are compulsory and some aren’t), but we think it’s pretty clear which option a private seller should go for!

Remember, you need to have a HIP in order to market your property for sale, and you could be fined as much as £200 per day if you don’t. We’re going to make it even easier to buy a HIP soon by recommending good Home Information Pack suppliers – just one of the features we’ll be adding to the site after launch.