The legislation is specifically aimed to offer transparency and certainty to the home buying and selling process. OpenBook will be offering HIPs throughout its 41 member agents in the UK immediately.
Maria Coleman, chief executive of OpenBook comments: “We’ve been selected by the ODPM to offer packs across our UK network to pre-trial the service. Unlike the government trial in Bristol, in which we were involved, the HIPs will not be free. HIPs are clearly in demand as 98 per cent of our consumers currently opt to have a pack although they are entirely voluntary.
“We are delighted to be trialing HIPs and will assess the reaction from home buyers and sellers. Our experience to date is that we have reduced the fall through rate in sales from 26 per cent to 2.5 per cent, this is an obvious advantage of the new legislation for both the buyer and the seller. The OpenBook agents welcomed the opportunity to take part in the dry run which was announced at a prestigious luncheon at the Hilton NEC on Thursday which aims to increase confidence in the mandatory operation of the scheme.”
Denis Purshouse from the ODPM commended the enthusiasm of the agents present and an ODPM spokesperson, Sam Bate, comments: "We recognise that many in the industry need assurance that the new process will operate effectively. Part of this assurance process is already underway with an ever growing number of conveyancers, estate agents and others providing HIPs on a voluntary basis. We envisage a period of six months leading up to implementation during which all the components of the HIP process will be available and can be used to test processes and procedures."
