Homebuyers might be paying over the odds for Hips
August 22, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The government’s beleaguered Home Insurance Packs (Hips), which will cover all UK homes by next year, have apparently hit yet another setback. 
It emerged today that several of the biggest mortgage lenders do not see the new packs as sufficiently authoritative on issues such as determining whether the property faces any outstanding planning approvals or enforcement orders, and are telling home buyers to conduct their own checks.
As a result, people are being forced to pay for what is essentially the same service twice over, along with purchasing their mortgages.
A spokesperson for HSBC said: “If someone wants to buy a house from someone who has a Hip containing a personal local search, we would tell their solicitor we would not lend to them unless they commissioned their own search.”
The bank’s comments came after it emerged that Hips providers – which charge around £500 for their services – were using “personal” searches rather than more expensive “full” searches from local councils.
Hips were originally brought in by the government in an attempt to speed up and simplify the home buying process.
