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Consumer Home
30 May 2006
The introduction of Home Information Packs (Hips) next year will save buyers money, claims consumer group Which?
Hips will make the house buying process quicker and easier by providing sellers and buyers with more information about the property, said the organisation.
Hips are to be brought in to the market as more than 30 per cent of property transactions have been falling through, at a cost of £350 million in wasted money.
Although there will be a shift in costs from the buyer to the seller, it balances out as most sellers will be buying another property, argues Which? in a new book, Buy, Sell and Move House.
"The Hip ought to make buying a property a more efficient process, and reduce the astonishing failure rate that means a third of accepted offers come to nothing in the end," said book author Kate Faulkner.
"Fewer failed transactions means less wasted money. So they're going to save people cash as well as time and effort."
The Building Societies Association (BSA) recently railed against the compulsory introduction of the packs, claiming that they would add extra costs without any benefit.
If you are considering taking out a mortgage on a property, you will be credit checked. Order your credit file first and make sure you're up to date.
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