Bucks Property Associates (BPA) was formed in 2001 to support local Independent Estate Agents with advertising and marketing initiatives. Based in Prestwood, Great Missenden, BPA is now expanding further to offer a professional and competitive Home Information Pack (HIP) service. This will encompass all aspects of the HIP requirement as mandated in the Home Information Pack Regulations 2007 and Housing Act 2004.
Our aim is to supply clients with a stress free solution by providing a total and comprehensive service from initial instruction to completed HIP. By providing this complete service for you means that you and your staff are left free to continue with your existing business knowing you are complying with the new government regulations that apply to the property market and with full on-line access to view progress at any time.
From 14 December 2007 all residential properties in England and Wales put on the market, irrespective of the number of bedrooms, must have a Home Information Pack. (There are some exceptions, please check current regulations.)
BPA has responded to bring you a professional HIP with an instruction to delivery system designed to simplify the whole process, allowing properties to be marketed in the minimum of time with the minimum of hassle.
Following the regulatory amendments, the property can be marketed as soon as a HIP has been instructed (provided the HIP has been paid for or an arrangement for payment has been agreed) without the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) having been completed. However, one must be obtained as soon as possible and it must be available before exchange of contracts can take place. (If an EPC is not available, the energy charts need not be on property particulars.) It should also be noted that an EPC may be up to 12 months old when first included in a HIP.
It is now only the energy chart that must be included on all property particulars once the EPC has been received. A full copy of the report must be made available to all genuine interested Buyers. (For Estate Agents to create your own graph once the report has been received please go to the “EPC Graph Generator” tab on the Home Page where you can enter the property ratings.)
Home Information Pack Contents
Quite simply the pack is made up as detailed below.
Mandatory HIP documents are: -
- An Index of the pack contents
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- Sale Statement
- Details of the title to the property
- Local and water searches
Details of leasehold or commonhold information if applicable
Additionally a HIP may include:-
- Home Condition Report (HCR)
- Other searches
- Commentary on legal title
- Replies to enquiries and fixtures and fittings lists
BPA will ensure that all HIPs prepared are fully compliant with the current regulations.
What is an EPC?
The EPC will contain energy ratings for homes. It will outline the cost of heating, hot water and lighting in homes and will give practical advice on how to cut these costs and reduce carbon emissions. It will also provide sellers and buyers with an A-G rating on their homes. By acting upon the recommendations, it is anticipated that the average homeowner will save £300 every year on fuel bills. Recommendations could include information as to how to insulate your loft better through to the use of solar panels etc.
How To Instruct A Home Information Pack
Upon receipt of written instructions through the BPAHIPS website (use the “Order a HIP” tab on the Home Page) we will initiate the HIP assembly and set up client access via the web interface. (This interface can be accessed at any time to monitor progress/status throughout the process directly by our Clients.)
Once a new record has been created and all the relevant property data has been entered the HIP production is started. It is immediately given a unique reference number which is your record, and proof, of the date and time of instruction. At this time, the number of printed copies can be specified with relevant delivery address(es). Alternatively, you can choose the number of copies to be used by all offices, or by brand, as a matter of your policy. (You may download the “PDF” file at any time and print as many copies at you like free of charge.)
Once all the required and specifically authorised documents have been uploaded, the HIP is checked and then printed, bound and despatched.
If all the documents required to complete the HIP are not available, but the conditions for marketing (as specified in the HIP regulations) are met, physical production of the HIP does not automatically commence until all components of the HIP are available. Optionally, a minimum HIP may be printed at this point if requested.
In Summary
Our service has been designed to provide a seamless assembly of Home Information Packs from front-end, web-based IT software through to back office supplier management, quality control, electronic archiving, and both printed and on-line delivery solutions.
We create and manage new HIP instructions securely from any location. The software has two-layer security authentication for gaining access via the internet.
We can apply your own company branding to packs and to the website used to instruct them. These can reflect your own brand, logo, style and colour schemes.
You can strengthen your own existing relationships by choosing to specify your existing contacts for core HIP elements, however, your suppliers will need to agree appropriate terms and conditions and service levels with BPA to ensure that we in turn can meet our service levels with you.
If you do not have preferred suppliers, or your supplier is unavailable, BPA has access to their own local suppliers for EPCs, HCRs and legal information gathering. BPA will, by default, provide all mandatory documents unless otherwise stipulated.
BPA will manage all nominated supplier relationships including instruction and payment through the uploading of all searches and / or EPC/HCR reports into the relevant HIP.
For further information and/or pricing please contact:- info@bpahips.co.uk
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