Home Information Packs

More than 5,000 people have signed a petition against the proposed introduction of the Home Information Packs(HIP's), according to a recent report on aboutproperty.co.uk

Paul Bolton King, head of the National Association of Estate Agents, believes that whilst the government has taken on board some of the issues raised in the last consultation document, there are still some fundamental flaws.

Although the scope of the HIP's has been reduced, Mr Bolton King still considers that the introduction of such a document will have major impact on the housing market.

His concerns are echoed by Robert Bartlett, Chesterton Global chief executive, "Conforming to the Hips process will prove to be a deterrent rather than a tool to improve selling, with the legislation acting to stifle the fluidity of the market place,"

Mr Bartlett added that efforts should be made to reduce slow conveyancing and rogue agents.

Whilst the implementation of any change to an existing system is always difficult, especially when there has been so much dithering, it is clear that the current system for the purchase of a property is riddled with problems. The intention of the HIP's is a positive thing, but the whole process has been poorly managed without the buy-in of the whole of the property industry.

A lot of time and money has been invested in the HIP's and yet there still does not seem to be any semblance of acceptance. Sound familiar?