The Home information pack (HIP).

The home information pack is a collection of essential information which is a legal requirement made available to buyers of a property. This information should be made available before making an offer on any residential property.

The information which the home information pack contains should be used as a determining factor on whether you are going to commit to buying the property or to make an offer to buy from the seller.

The seller will provide you with a home information pack and it is essential that you take your time in going through the details. Never rush through a home information pack as this will ensure that you do not encounter any nasty surprises after buying the property.

A home information pack will provide you with the following details:

Sales statement: This will provide you information of the type of tenure whether the property is a leasehold or free hold, the property address and other basic information.

Searches: The information in this section contains details on local authority searches which contains 2 sections. This contains information about charges on the property, planning consent, any grants, tree preservation orders and conservation areas.

Proposed housing or commercial developments are also included in the searches. This will include any plans the council has to build any roads or amenities within the locality.

Environmental search.

Drainage search.

Coal search.