I would love to hear your opinion of Home Information Packs

Naturally, I have my own opinion  regarding the introduction of the infamous Home Information Packs.
But my lips are sealed, at least for the time being, so let's hear your opinion...
What has been your experience of HIPs as either a buyer or a seller?

Comments

[John Nixon]

I would make an educated guess that the single most common complaint against agents is a lack of communication with their seller clients.
We, at The Bungalow Centre, are occasionally guilty of failing to report the outcome of a viewing but some agents are far worse than others.
Thanks for your constructive criticism,David and I promise you that we will make a real priority of improving still further our communications with our clients.

[David Hennessy]

Agents don't give feedback after viewings... so better communication would be my wish

[John Nixon]

It's not so much the idea of a Home Information Pack that is at fault, it is the chaotic way that the government introduced it and then, at the last moment dropped the Home Condition Report that was widely perceived as the major benefit of the HIP's legislation.
As an estate agent I would certainly agree that there is vast room for improvement in the current method of home ownership transfer but few people believe that HIPs will bring about a major improvement in the home buying process

[Richard]

HIPs are rather a waste of space if they are a bound document sitting in an estate agent's filing cabinet. However the concept of getting the legal information together at the time of marketing cannot be argued against - it's a no-brainer. The same applies to condition-related information but that's to come later when people get the message. However, unless & until the HIP is available in an accessible on-line manner & unless & until the professionals start recognising the HIP as a potentially very useful marketing tool, its benefits will not be realised. The amount of complacency & ignorance about HIPs, still present in the estate agency & legal professions, is staggering; many consumers seem to know more about them than the "professionals". And no-one ever pretended the transition to a 21st century method of home ownership transfer would be easy.