Following the government’s reversal on its Home Conditions Report (HCR) policy to make them voluntary, the research echoed industry calls for HIPs to be scrapped.
71 per cent of brokers questioned believed the plan to introduce HIPs in June 2007 should be dropped, with 70 per cent of respondents admitting to having made no preparations for the introduction of HIPs, despite their proposed launch scheduled for less than 12 months time.
72 per cent of intermediaries also believed brokers would be disadvantaged as a result of HIPs, with HIP providers, the Treasury and estate agents the largest benefactors of the information pack scheme. According to the survey, house sellers and intermediaries were expected to benefit the least.
Commenting on the findings, Keith Astill, managing director at UCB Home Loans said: “It appears that the full details of the HIPs scheme have not yet been effectively communicated to intermediaries, resulting in a degree of confusion over the responsibilities of the home inspectors to both the buyer and seller.
“In many respects, the u-turn on HIPs bears striking similarities to the reversal of the decision to allow residential properties to be included within Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs).”
Richard Sexton, business development director at e.surv, admitted the survey findings surprised him. “The UCB figures don’t gel with our own feedback. Intermediaries did have an ungrounded fear that they would lose business as a result of HIPs. The packs would have had advantages if they included a mandatory Home Condition Report (HCR), but pack providers still plan to support the use of HCRs.”
