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• Home buying and selling - A guide to Home Information Packs

Housing

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Summary

Home Information Packs (HIPs) were introduced from 1 August 2007 to provide more information about a property at the start of the process, in order to help people make informed decisions about viewing or making an offer to buy a home.

From 6 April 2009, changes are being made to Home Information Packs so that more and better information is available from the first day a property is put up for sale.

Buyers should make sure a copy of the HIP is passed to their solicitor or conveyancer as soon as possible, so that essential documents, such as the local property searches, are included early in the process of transferring property from one owner to another.

It's worth remembering that the majority of sellers are also buyers, so most people should benefit from getting improved information at the beginning before any decisions are made or time is wasted.

More information and advice is available from www.direct.gov.uk/homeselling (external link) and 
www.direct.gov.uk/homebuying (external link)

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• Home buying and selling - A guide to Home Information Packs
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