Sellers want change to Hips payment

Posted: 21 Sep 2007 10:39:37 GMT

The majority of home-sellers are unhappy about paying for Home information packs (Hips) upfront.

The majority of home-sellers are unhappy about paying for Home information packs (Hips) upfront.

That is according to a new survey, which found that most sellers (76 per cent) would rather stump up for the packs after a sale has gone through.

"Traditionally, the majority of costs incurred with selling a home, such as estate agent and solicitors fees are charged at the end of the process, typically when the vendor's sale has gone through," said Jeff Smith, chief executive of Hips Payment Services, which carried out the survey.

"While all of the costs incurred in a Hip, aside from the new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), are not new, the majority of these have previously been met by the buyer and consumers have not been asked to pay for this upfront.

"Since Hips went live in August, vendors have been reluctant to pay for the pack upfront, when their home is first put onto the market," he added.

The average pack costs around £350 and is now a mandatory part of the home-selling process for all properties with three or more bedrooms.

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