Seller HIP election pledge pickle
A North Staffordshire estate agency is calling for a quick decision on the future of Home Information Packs (HIPs) if either the Conservatives or Liberal Democrats win the forthcoming election to avoid leaving sellers uncertain about when they should put their homes on the market.
Both the Tories and Lib Dems have pledged to abolish HIPs in their election manifestos, but Heywoods Property, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, is concerned that any delay in pushing through new legislation would have a detrimental effect on an uncertain housing market.
The company said that if Labour lost the election sellers would be reluctant to shell out several hundred pounds on something that they would no longer have to pay for in just a few weeks or months' time.
It said that the issue was also a headache for estate agents, as a period of uncertainty made it difficult to decide on the best advice to give to vendors.
Trading standards, it added, could also be reluctant to pursue agents who failed to comply with existing legislation in the knowledge that the law was about to change. And this could mean some agents advising clients not to bother with a HIP, in a bid to bring in more instructions.
But Heywoods concluded that going ahead with a HIP and putting their home on the market could still be the best option for sellers as the HIP was nevertheless a marketing tool that provided invaluable information to potential buyers.