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Home Condition Report

A Home Condition Report (HCR) was the intended outcome for the Home Information Pack when the Government first drafted the legislation. Provisions for the HCR are still incorporated within statute and once assessment of the current Hips has been completed, it is likely that the HCR may come back. HCRs are currently optional, these cost around £600 + VAT and are authorised to be included the Home Information Pack.

The HCR would be carried out by qualified Home Inspectors who would have undergone a rigorous training process equivalent to degree standard, and who would 'cross the threshold' of the property and carry out a 'light' survey of the property. The idea being that any defects would be brought to light early on in the purchasing process and therefore reduce the chances of any purchaser pulling out. Full Surveys would still need to be carried out by properly qualified surveyors.

28% of purchases were found to have been called off prior to exchange. It has been found that gazumping and / or gazundering (the process of one purchaser offering either more or less money to persuade the vendor to accept the improved offer) only accounted for 2% of any aborted purchases where buyers lost money on searches.

The intention behind the original Hips was to have a very comprehensive Sellers Pack, that could be presented to a future purchaser that would have all searches, report on title, the Energy Performance Report as well as a HCR which would reduce the number of aborted purchases and therefore make the purchasing process less costly, more simple, transparent and fair.

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