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Area: HIPs
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It goes something like this:
Despite massive opposition the Home Information Pack has been introduced for all residential properties. Currently the marketing of a property can begin as soon as the HIP is ordered but the Government intends to end this concession on 31st May 2008 and will require that the pack is physically complete before marketing commences. This will cause delays for sellers wanting to begin marketing quickly and is an infringement of the personal liberty to sell a property at will. There is no sustainable argument in favour of ending First Day Marketing and we call on the Government to allow its continuance indefinitely.
And you'll find it here. The petition's been organised by SPLINTA. Don't take this post as an official Rat and Mouse endorsement... we don't feel that First Day Marketing is the issue, we're more concerned about the quality of the HIP itself.
That - for now - is that. Have a great weekend. Back, Monday.
Technorati Tags: property, real estate |
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It's Hamptons again... this time with data regarding Londoners' attitude to a potential home's efficiency. They couldn't give a monkeys. Sixty-seven per cent regarded it as the least important factor, behind size, location and condition. Surely that's very sensible, given that size, location and condition are a lot harder to alter than energy efficiency. More here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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A committee of MPs has slammed the Department of Communities and Local Government for its "poor preparation", a lack of clarity and making decisions "on political rather than economic grounds". What's more, the suggestion is that ministers (and the committee is surely referring to Housing Minister Yvette Cooper here... who was described as "repeatedly unclear") haven't cooperated in the enquiry... what was described as a failure to be "forthcoming in oral evidence". The enquiry criticises the department for delaying the introduction of HIPs after a failure of nerve, brought on by a hostile and cynical media, and then allowing a situation in which an industry growing up around the provision of HIPs wasn't given adequate information or guidance.
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Rightmove are blaming HIPs for a 3.2% house price fall nationally and - wait for it - a 6.8% fall in London in December, after a surge in one and two-bedroom homes hitting the market in the run up to HIPs day. A bit of mathematical voodoo reveals that the HIPs effect could have accounted for 1.1% of the national price fall and 2.3% in London. Rightmove's December figures leave their annual inflation rate at 4.8%, down from 7.9%. They aren't, however, being particularly bearish about the numbers, insisting that a monthly fall brought on by season and HIPs-related factors doesn't mean more falls in the New Year. More here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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According to a survey by Hyder Consulting Environment and Home Survey, quoted here in the Times, almost half of buyers said they plan to use the HIPs EPC to demand a discount. HIPs, they say, will force prices down. Meanwhile (and thanks to a keen-eyed Rat and Mouse reader for this) the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors argues that HIPs will force prices up - especially for the first-time buyer, who will suffer an even worse tightening of supply when fewer people are prepared to pay to speculatively market a smaller property. Say "hi" to the HIP... the only red tape to push prices up and down simultaneously.
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According to a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey, only 1% of potential buyers are asking to see HIPs:
James Scott-Lee, a spokesman for RICS, said: "The survey results clearly show the complete apathy potential buyers have for Hips. They are seen as an unnecessary added tax on the selling process that you can't even give away."
[via Telegraph]
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From today, every property - if it's being marketed - needs a HIP. Expect critics to be watching closely for any correlation between HIPs and low supply at the smaller - first-time buyer - end of the market.
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It was pretty inevitable. Kirstie Allsopp was always very vocal about the shortcomings of HIPs, and now she's an adviser to the Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps (whose name I love saying). But - wait for this - they intend to keep the Energy Performance Certificate. Now, the Rat and Mouse is as green as (probably greener than) the next property blogger, but aren't EPCs a) a significant part of what we call a HIP? b) an utterly pointless waste of time benefitting nobody except the clipboard monkeys? So what are the Tory plans? Proposals being considered include offers being made legally binding (to put an end to gasumping/gazundering)... and, as far as I can see, that's it. Although there is the remote prospect of nudity. This, from the BBC:
"If everyone says they like HIPs I will walk naked across College Green," [Kirstie Allsopp] added.
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Yesterday's announcement that HIPs are to be rolled out to one and two-bedroom properties from December 14 has been received with disappointment by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, who see the move as another blow to long-suffering first-time buyers. The Rat and Mouse has always been a little skeptical about the view that a £300-£500 HIPs fee would deter a homeowner from putting a £500,000 property - even speculatively - onto the market. But at this end - the ftb end - things could well be different. Especially when combined with a fear that prices might be sliding... For all the Rat and Mouse's HIPs coverage so far, go here.
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The difference between now and then is that, now you can market your property if you've applied for a HIP, but after January 1 you'll need the HIP completed to stay inside the law. Knight Frank point to the length of time it's taking for local authority searches to come back (a month or more) and predict frustrated vendors... at best.
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So if you're prepared to believe this, this and this, then you've got to believe this is evidence of a bullish, upwardly mobile British housing market... haven't you? Maybe not. Today's Righmove figures for September show a rise of 2.7% in the month, leaving annual inflation at 10.4%. Rightmove have managed to equate an increase in supply with an increase in prices, pointing out a sudden rise in the number of three-bedroom homes being marketed before the September 10 HIPs switch-on, which might have skewed the index by over-weighting it with higher value properties. They may well be right, although it always astounds the Rat and Mouse that - at a time when the market may be toppling and vendors have so many important issues to grapple with - a few hundred quid one way or the other within the context of an expensive move (especially at this end of the market) will be a factor.
Meanwhile, over at Forbes:
FYI - that 5% is the London gain... just like the good/bad (as you see appropriate) old days.
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... and it has the catchy name: epcs4u.com. I bet that domain went to bidding. The idea is... it's a portal designed to introduce homeowners to domestic energy assessors. Both parties get their shoulders brushed, are given a gargle, a bunch of roses and a condom, and are left to get on with it.
Actually, the company behind epcs4u has a record in the sector. Green Heat has been raising awareness of domestic energy efficiency since 1990... in other words, before it was trendy. Epcs4u will do more than hook you up with an assessor, it claims to be able to help advise on improvements and find accredited tradesmen too.
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It's true. Pursue at your own risk.
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Thanks to a Rat and Mouse reader for pointing out this latest installment in the HIPs fiasco. Apparently, Morgan Whittaker, a major trainer of energy assessment monkeys, has had its accreditation withdrawn by City & Guilds, leaving hundreds of trainees bearing their teeth and slamming their palms on the ground in confusion. The exact nature of the discontent isn't clear, with neither MW nor C&G wanting to talk about it. According to the Guardian:
Allegations about the firm have been made on online message boards.
Eager to know what these allegations might be, the Rat and Mouse attempted to sign up to Home Inspector Forum. We passed the tricky initial membership test designed to ensure only quality Home Inspection scientists can access the boards:
... but, unfortunately, a couple of steps later we were faced with some symbolism:
Another time, maybe. But if any readers know the ins-and-outs...
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According to the Telegraph:
Despite teething problems and much hostile reaction to the packs, the Government has assured HIP providers that by the end of the year, possibly as soon as next month, every one of the 1.9 million properties that come on to the market each year will need one.
See, it's nice to know the Government cares about one sector of the community... the money-for-any-old-toss sector.
HIPs receive (yet) another painful blow [August 22, 2007]
Money to tick boxes [August 3, 2007]
Wednesday lunchtime linkage - you know you talk so HIP [August 1, 2007]
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According to research, vendors want to avoid the few hundred quid that a HIP costs so badly, they're determined to prove their home hasn't a fourth (or, from September 10, third) bedroom. The most popular way to redefine an extra bedroom is as "study" (82%), followed by "playroom" (21%), "games room" (15%), "walk in wardrobe" (how we laughed, 12%), "tv room" (6%), "library" (4%) and "computer room" (3%). Of course, people search for property online by specifying the necessary number of bedrooms and an extra bedroom can add tens of thousands of pounds to the value of a house.
[via CityWire]
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So, first home condition reports were dropped because buyers/lenders couldn't trust the results... and a watered down HIP (energy performance certificate - search - evidence of title) came into force for vendors of homes of four or more bedrooms, supposedly speeding up the process and making life easier for buyers. Last night it emerged that the search might not be up to snuff either. Apparently, the personal (rather than full) search included in the packs is too unreliable to satisfy some lenders. Mortgage companies and (surprise, surprise) solicitors are advising clients to pay for a full local authority search. The upshot is that some buyers will be paying for both (a full search on the property they're buying, a flawed HIP on the property they're selling) and everybody involved in the transaction will still have to wait for the full search to be completed. So - for up to £500 - a HIP is now a piece of paper which (if you're lucky) will tell you how many energy efficient lightbulbs are in the house, and evidence of title. Bargain.
[via the Guardian]
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These guys seem to be little more than box-tickers. And unfortunately they haven't even managed to tick the right boxes.
The Rat and Mouse has already expressed a little cynicism about the quality and competence of those moving into the EPC assessment racket. But I don't know how we could have missed this fascinating exposé in the Sunday Telegraph... the result of a (truly) hapless energy inspector visiting the home of columnist Jeff Howell. Howell had recently spent £30,000 upgrading the energy efficiency of his home, including underfloor heating, hemp plastering and proper insulation. Two out of two inspectors failed to notice the insulation...giving the property an extremely low rating, and over-estimating its energy consumption by 75%. According to the Government:
EPCs are a comprehensive assessment of the energy efficiency of a home.
According to one of the inspectors, when challenged:
We are not obliged to be thorough.
It's a terrific piece, and we recommend it.
[via Home 2.0]
More HIPs shame [June 7, 2007]
Conservatives fail to overturn HIPs plan [May 16, 2007]
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I know. It's tomorrow. I just wanted to be the first to say it, because, well, you mean a lot to me.
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Jeez, I can't believe I'm still printing speculative HIPs news... like 20 months isn't enough time for the Government to get their story straight. Anyway, HIPs are finally (probably) arriving - in a mutated, stupid, inbred version - on Wednesday. And still people continue to debate methods of HIP-avoidance. Here's Henry Pryor - founder of TheHipExchange - blowing smoke into the eyes of those who think they can go HIP-less:
I can describe my fourth bedroom as a study.
The RICS suggested doing this might save you the cost of the HIP but according to the property website Primemove.com, the difference between a three bedroom and a four bedroom house in London is about £160,000.
I can take out an advert before the end of July and even if I don't market my house until next year, it will be exempt.
The transition period is for property on the market now but will extend to any property being marketed in 2008
The fine if you don't have a HIP is only £200 so why bother?
Trading Standards officers have the power to refer an estate agent who fails to comply to the Office of Fair Trading who can take steps to ban an estate agent from practicing.
So long as I order one then I am covered. I can cancel it if I decide not sell.
An order made for a HIP cannot be cancelled unless previously agreed with the Pack provider. It seems unlikely that such an offer would be acceptable and the provider would successful sue to recover the cost though the Small Claims Court.
If I sell the house myself I don't need a HIP.
The Act defines 'the responsible person' as either the homeowner or his agent if one is instructed.
No one is going to bother checking if every property has had an HIP.
By recording the details of every property advertised on the Internet in the same way that property aggregators like Primemove.com and then cross referencing them with the central register of Energy Performance Certificates it is possible to identify any qualifying property that requires a HIP and by extension which ones have not. The HiP Exchange offers a compliance service based on this model to larger solicitors and estate agents who want the reassurance that they are not missing any properties.
Okay, then, Mister... what about this?!! The Rat and Mouse has been made privy to some very interesting email correspondence between a UK search agent and somebody within the DCLG. Presumably - the search agents asks - since we're paid by, and acting for, the purchaser, we're not technically "estate agents". The DCLG grey-suit concurs. So - continues the search agent - if we place the details of a property against our database of clients and find a match... and are then paid by the purchaser... we can complete the transaction HIP-free. The civil servant gives them the nod. So - there you (appear to) have it. HIPs... good for search agents.
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The Department for Communities and Local Government denies claims by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors that a legal loophole in the (forthcoming) HIPs system will allow vendors to dodge paying for a report by simply ordering it when their house reaches the market, and hoping they can sell the property before actually receiving or, crucially, paying for the document. Sounds dubious to us. But, then, so do HIPs.
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According to this, Ruth Kelly has agreed to spend 45 minutes in the company of fully trained home and energy inspection scientists, many of whom have spent as much as £14,000 learning how to tick boxes and are now "high and dry". The Rat and Mouse isn't sure of the venue for this gathering of great minds... no doubt they've found somewhere suitable.
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According to ConveyanceLink - a "conveyancing case management provider - 87% of movers are unHIP... and exactly the same percentage of estate agents don't believe they'll ever be implemented. ConveyanceLink's Michael York (no, not that one) says, "HIPs look like a disaster waiting to happen." Or not happen, I suppose...
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 CityWire runs a nice four-page summary of the situation so far. It quotes CML figures that show only 17% of owner-occupied homes fall into the four-bedrooms-or-more bracket that will require a HIP from August 1. (I wonder how this 17% is represented in the actual market... whether these properties change hands as often as smaller ones... my hunch is that they don't.) CityWire also quotes Rightmove's Miles Shipside thus:
The delay will be galling for thousands of sellers who have now pointlessly rushed to beat the 1 June deadline, and doubly galling for those in the industry who have invested thousands in preparing to meet it.
And Miles Shipside should know. Presumably he's still smarting over the memory of watching Rightmove's share price tumble last July, after a similar HIPs u-turn cost the company dear. Anorak - under the headline Hip Hip Hooray (not to be confused with Hip Hip Hooray) - points to another layer of scam enabled by the announcement. If there was debate, previously, about the meaning of the word "marketed", make way for a whole new battle over "four" and "bedroom":
Wily estate agents and house sellers could try to escape the £300-£600 cost of a HIP by categorising their fourth bedroom as a study or a boxroom or maybe even a transcendental meditation space, thus adding more chaos to the situation.
A wily estate agent? Don't be stupid. The Guardian meanwhile dismisses yesterday's Polly Toynbee column with a scathing leader rubbishing HIps and Ruth Kelly. And why not?
Like a pupil with late homework, her explanations multiplied and got more complex as she went along. First there was a judicial review that had been lodged by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Yet she admitted she had known about the judge's order since last Thursday. Why not come to the Commons sooner? No answer. Then Ms Kelly admitted there were not enough fully certified assessors to provide the energy performance certificates that are a core part of the packs. The shortage, in fact, amounts to just under 2,000 assessors. Ms Kelly would have known of this bottleneck long ago. Why wait until now? No answer.
Meanwhile the Daily Express reveals that Ruth Kelly is now involved in a fresh row with the RICS regarding its judicial review. She claims the RICS agreed to drop the legal action if Kelly humiliated herself in front of the Commons. Kelly kept her side of the bargain, but the RICS remembers the agreement differently. Here's RICS housing spokesman Jeremy Leaf:
“We only agreed to the stay of the Judicial Review on the following terms – that the Government provide a 12-week consultation period on EPCs, that the Government publish a Regulatory Impact Assess ment, including a full cost-benefit analysis, and that our legal costs are paid. We will be examining the new proposals in detail and will continue to work in the public interest on home-buying reform and climate change.”
The Times wonders whether the whole HIPs scheme - after ten years in development (don't you wish you were paid by the Government?) - will be flushed down the toilet as soon as Gordon Brown takes over. It also makes a potential celebrity of one Lydia Edwards... apparently the one inspector listed for London by the Department for Communities and Local Government website.
The stories and angles will continue to dribble in throughout the day. But the Rat and Mouse would like to take this opportunity to offer Kelly it's special chutzpah award for this:
Miss Kelly claimed her decision "gives clarity to everyone about the next steps" and "removes uncertainty".
Here's a Government that actually believes that simply saying something makes it true.
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It might look like a long history of pitiful mismanagement, but actually Ruth Kelly has been "phasing in" well thought-out policy changes. June 1 has been phased back to August 1. And HIPs will only be necessary , at first, for properties of four bedrooms or more. According to the funny little fellow, that's a "pragmatic way forward", not a very last-minute u-turn forced by a half-hatched new system that's the subject of a legal challenge and can't be implemented anyway due to a shortage of assessors. "Clarity to everyone", as Kelly said. |
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Several sources are reporting that the Government will, this afternoon, announce a climb down on the HIPs June 1 implementation date. Expect the announcement to be made by Ruth Kelly, in the Commons. Remind you of anything? If this is true, it's a terrible, potentially very expensive, cock-up.
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Hips are consumer good sense, a way to make property sales easier. Most home-sellers are also home-buyers, so the transfer of costs for a legal search (and later, it's hoped, for a survey) makes no difference. The gainers are first-time buyers who find all these costs paid by the seller. It should make home-buying cheaper, with search costs transparent and not hidden in mysterious solicitors' bills.
Brave debunker of a national hysteria? Or naive voice backing the party line? We'll only know once EPC's have been given long enough to affect either house prices or emissions, once solicitors' fees re-stabalise and we can decide whether they've fallen or not, once lenders/buyers decide whether a Home Condition Report replaces or is an addition to a survey. In the meantime, head over to the comments section below Toynbee's piece... the people are speaking.
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Today's Commons debate ended with a Government majority of 72 votes... and HIPs remain on course for a June 1 launch. Michael Gove MP described them as a "folly", and pointed out the "significant tax take" attached to their VAT status. Meanwhile HIPs have been featuring throughout the day on BBC News programmes. Segments have featured a group of trainee EPC inspectors huddled around a ceiling light. Their expert trainer points to it and tells them that the bulb could be replaced with an energy saving lightbulb. They listen closely and take notes. Holy shit. More monkeys with clipboards.
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The Rat and Mouse has been watching the arrival of Home Information Packs with considerable interest. Not least, we've been amused by the creative bent shown by the fast-growing HIPs service provider sector. We've seen The PartnersHIP (geddit?), Hipstar, Superhips and (our personal favourite) HipHipHooray. Just launched, and one to watch, is TheHipExchange, which bills itself as a kind of "Ebay for HIPs" - in which potential vendors can register, mark their property on an interactive map, and wait for HIPs providers to bid for the job.
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The RICS has launched a judicial review against the DCLG over its cack-handed HIPs implementation. More here. Expect things to hot up during the final countdown to HIPs, with debates scheduled in both the Commons and the Lords.
HIPs? What HIPs? Arses distinguishable from elbows in PropertyFinder survey... [May 1, 2007]
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Lending - down in March [Channel 4]
Outlook? Grim... [Market Oracle]
War on HIPs rages in Lords [Estate Agency News]
UK's priciest property names [This Is Money]
The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house
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PropertyFinder have surveyed 1,800 people about HIPs and discovered that most of them don't really know much at all. Thirty-six per cent thought HIPs were Homeland Immigration Policy and two fifths expected them to contain a full structural survey (duh, then they'd be useful).
Rat and Mouse mail - HIPs [April 30, 2007]
Law Society worries about "free HIPs" [April 27, 2007]
The big HIPs get-out [April 26, 2007]
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Nearly 20% of homeowners have said they would be tempted to put their house up for sale to test the market if they found that their neighbour’s property was getting a good price – even if they hadn’t previously thought about selling – according to a survey by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).
But - according to the NAEA - that's about to be a thing of the past. I'm afraid, it's all about HIPs again.
Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the NAEA, comments: “A significant percentage of sales that go through start with a seller 'testing the water'. The lack of ability to do this without paying for a HIP first is likely to put many sellers off. This will reduce the supply of houses available, cause the market to slow down and lead to additional house price inflation. Both these factors could adversely affect the economy.
Technorati Tags: estate agents, property, real estate, real estate agents |
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Did you see the Sunday Times Home section cover story explaining how the energy efficiency surveys work in practice and what most of us are likely to get from them?
Try to ignore the photo of a typical Hip surveyor from SSH in Hereford, an elderly man (possibly bored by retirement) trying to look professional and competent but actually staring vacantly into the middle distance while ignoring his client (who paid for the survey) and talking on his hands free phone.
It gives the example of a georgian farmhouse and among the proposals 'costing less than £500' is the recommendation that the homeowner spends £40 per m2 to insulate the walls to save £478 a year. Great but this looks like a detached house about 10m long x 5m high plus the same at the rear and, maybe half again on the sides - a total of £6000, not under £500. I very much doubt that this figure includes the cost of replacing all the cornices and skirtings in their new positions or the total redecoration that will be necessary. Whether the local authority would countenance such improvements to a listed building is very doubtful. Still, it seems a better bet than their suggestion that they could save £68 a year by installing photovoltaic cells at a cost of £10-18,000.
I'm surprised they didn't suggest that the homeowner put down the labrador pictured (at a cost of under £100) to save £500 a year on food and vets bills or put her children on a small treadmill to generate electricity.
Your last suggestion might - in particular - be worth further thought. Imagine the scenario... they're combatting childhood obesity and powering the drinks chiller in your La-z-Boy. Perfect.
Unfortunately, we can't bring Rat and Mouse readers the photograph you refer to. But we can bring you the feature... here. It was accompanied by a Q&A, here. Thanks for writing.
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The Law Society has expressed concern about offers of free HIPs, as made by estate agents such as Hamptons and Douglas & Gordon, pointing to lock-in clauses which might result in fines if vendors decide to take their homes off the market or instruct a different agent.
Deputy vice-chairman Paul Marsh said: "Say you go to an estate agency and they agree to pay for the HIP but you want to move to another agent — you ought to be able to take it with you for nothing, not pay a £500 exit fee.
Can Mr Marsh really not foresee a possible circumstance in which such a system might be open to abuse? If not, the Rat and Mouse recommends he gets in touch immediately, since he's exactly the kind of guy we can do business with.
[via Daily Mail]
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Yesterday's reader's question continues to attract comment and opinion. Our view is that it isn't entirely clear... that it will take a test case to really define "action" when it comes to marketing a property. But - here's some more information from Jim, of Properties Direct:
The actual regulations are more specific about the transitional period (June 1 - December 31) and state:
Exception - transitional arrangements
34. --(1) In this regulation, "transitional period" means the period starting with 1st June 2007 and ending with 31st December 2007.
(2) This regulation applies in relation to a property where--
(a) the property is put on the market by or on behalf of the seller before 1st June 2007;
(b) action taken at any time during the period starting with 1st June 2006 and ending with 31st May 2007 by or on behalf of the seller, made public the fact that the property was on the market;
(c) such action was taken with the intention of selling the property before 1st June 2007; and
(d) such action was sustained to a reasonable extent after it was put on the market, during the period starting with 1st June 2006 and ending with 31st May 2007.
Although your reader is OK under a) and b) they fall foul of c) AND d) unless they actually take active steps to sell the property. Incidentally, Estate Agents will probably be more likely to insist on the ECR for new instructions during the interim period because the latest proposal is to increase the fine to £500 for non-compliance by Estate Agents. This is because the original £200 was seen as too low compared with their potential fees for the sale(!) It is proposed to remain at £200 for private sellers but will be reviewed after June 1.
Thanks, Jim.
On HIPs - a question for our readers [April 25, 2007]
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The Daily Mail - a long-standing critic of Home Information Packs - is reporting a last-ditch attempt by the Conservatives to kill plans to make them compulsory from June. The Rat and Mouse would be surprised if they get anywhere with this, but we are constantly shocked at the chaotic, fractured and hostile environment in which the Government seems happy to introduce radical plans... and the way private companies are prepared to invest money (even base their own raison d'être) on those plans long before they're made law.
Friday morning linkage - HIPs and endowments, expensive cock-ups [July 28, 2006]
Pro-HIPs Haarts urges boycott [July 24, 2006]
HIPs fiasco - Rightmove first casualty [July 19, 2006]
HIPs - one giant embarrassing shameful cock-up [July 18, 2006]
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And the Rat and Mouse wonders how many other estate agents will be following suit shortly.
Oh - yeah - just a note in case anybody's thinking of pulling a fast one. From the T&Cs:
Fees may apply if you choose to withdraw your property from sale within 12 months from the date of instruction.
Very sensible.
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