HIPs are dead ?

[Bruce]

Cameron has the balls, but they are firmly gripped by Clegg. ;-)

[Bruce]

The problem is that the buyer's solicitor will automatically ignore anything in the HIP and do the searches anyway.

What was potentially the best aspect of the HIP was deleted before they became law. That was the requirement for a condition survey of the property. Without that, the HIP was basically useless.

Of course, as with any "new" Labour idea, there was no attention to detail. The fact that HIP "surveyors" were not required to have any prior relevant education, experience or proper training meant that nothing contained in an HIP was in any way credible.

[Tim Streater]

Yes it does. Because the haggling is done at the start (over a day or so) and then you exchange contracts. Price fixed, end of story.

[Bruce]

Because there is already a fuss about how many HIP "inspectors" will be put on the dole?

[Bruce]

I could never understand why England and Wales didn't adopt the Scottish system, lock stock and barrel.

I have been involved in many sales and purchases of property in England and Wales and seen just about every possible pitfall and obstacle. The Scottish system requires sealed bids, and every bidder has to pay for a survey before bidding.

No gazumping. No post-offer "negotiation". No "subject to survey".

The highest bid gets the property, and that's it. Job done.

[Huge]

All that is required is for the offer/acceptance to be legally binding with appropriate penalties for withdrawal by either party.

[Huge]

The survey is after the haggling/signing stage.

(We've just sold my mother's house, in Pennsylvania, in which I had an interest.)

[Andrew May]

That would be the first objection. Why should every buyer pay for a survey - that may be a full structural survey - if they don't even know that their offer will be accepted?

[Tim Streater]

Righto, thanks. How did your contract work then if the buyer wanted some stuff done?

My house in California needed a window frame replacing (dry rot IIRC) and was tented to do a termite extermination. I could imagine that a contract would insist that the seller agrees to make good any rot or infestation that the buyer's survey shows up, with the option to do my own survey if I doubted the results of the buyer's.

[Tim Streater]

I assume there's a deadline to get offers in? How does that work if a house is on the market for months? Or does a timer get started when the first bid arrives?

Does the seller have to accept any bid? Otherwise if there's a house that's been on the market for months, what's to stop me putting in a bid for tuppence-ha'penny? Or is there a reserve price?

[Huge]

Renotiate the price. Or withdraw, which the first buyer did.

[Jules Richardson]

I think that's basically the way we did it (as buyers of a house in the US) - we put a subject to survey clause in the deal, and also a few other odds and sods (things like making the seller pull out the knackered wood- burning furnace, because nowhere would insure it with it in place, making sure the water from the well was of good quality etc.).

On the buyer's side, they basically gave us 48 hours from accepting the counter-offer that we'd given them for us to get all the necessary paperwork in place (i.e. the two days of haggling you mention).

I think the whole process took a couple of months from first seeing the place to actually moving in, but it's normally much faster on this side of the Pond - we were hampered by the fact that there were several joint- owners of the property, spread all over the country, and it could take them a while to agree on anything.

(I always rented in the UK and never bought, so I can't really say how good or bad the US system is in comparison)

cheers

Jules

[Bruce]

It does seem to stop bidders who aren't serious. I think that's more of an advantage than a disadvantage, to be honest, as it dramatically cuts the number of time wasters.

I should have mentioned that the bidder also has to have a pre-arranged mortgage.

[Bruce]

There's an end date, but if no offers are received, it can be extended as many times as needed.

I think they ask for offers over a certain amount. So not a reserve as such, because that would be kept private, but I think a minimum bid is asked for up-front.

I should point out that I don't have any personal experience of buying or selling property in Scotland. I have several friends who have, and my limited knowledge of the system is gleaned from them, also a lawyer friend who bought several properties in Scotland and is always singing the praises of the Scottish system.

[Phil Jessop]

Don't know about the HI bit, but Part P should be kicked into touch as well!

Phil

[Scott M]

You mean poke their eyes out?

[Steve Walker]

The trouble is that you'd then have to write in every conceivable circumstance (or a catch all) to allow people to back out (such as if they were suddenly told they were going to be made redundant; their spouse/partner became seriously ill; their buyer pulled out; etc.) It's not fair to punish someone who is pulling out because of suddenly changed circumstances by making their circumstances even worse is it?

SteveW

[Clive George]

I'm sure insurance could be provided to cover such problems.

The punishment you're talking about applies to both sides - a seller could have a lot invested based on the sale of that house.

[Fredxx]

When I purchased my current place, my solicitor did not repeat the searches already included in the HIP.

Some training was given, and since it is basically a tick list they have to follow, it is fairly difficult for a HIP surveyor to go badly wrong.

[John]

Surely he should have done? The day after the searches were done for the HIP could have been the day the council put in plans for a new road that would go right through your garden. A HIP is like a car's MOT - only really valid at the time of testing.