There is little or no point listing a property as having fewer bedrooms to avoiding paying for a home information pack (Hip) according to Association of Home Information Pack Providers (Ahipp).
Hips were introduced for four-bedroom properties on August 1st and extended to cover three-bedroom properties on September 10th and presently cover approximately 63 per cent of the housing market.
However, there have been reports of homebuyers reducing the number of bedrooms a property has when looking to sell, in order to avoid having to buy a Hip.
But there is little value in doing so according to the AHIPP.
"I don't understand why people would do that; three bedroom houses are worth more than two bedroom houses so why would you diminish the value of your property?" commented Mike Ockenden, director general of Ahipp.
"The other thing is many people these days shop first for a house on the internet and one of the first things you put in on the internet is how many bedrooms you're looking for.
"So I don't understand why you would want to, in effect, take yourself off the shopping list of many people who are looking to buy a home."
Hips have also been attacked in some quarters for forcing up the cost of selling property, especially as estate agents often ask sellers to pay upfront.
However, this is not the case in the view of the Ahipp.
"You don't pay estate agents' fees upfront and you don't pay solicitors' fees upfront, so there's no reason why you should have to pay Hips fees upfront," continued Mr Ockenden.
There are, in fact, many ways to finance a Hip.
"There are some providers that offer a 'no sale, no fee' Hip, and then virtually all the Hip providers offer different financial solutions, some of which are Consumer Credit Act-style solutions and some have other terms and conditions.
"But of course the consumer has the option to pay upfront and a good number do," concluded Mr Ockenden |
