Barclays and HSBC happy with HIPs

Two big mortgage lenders, HSBC and Barclays, have denied that they are unhappy with the recently introduced Home Information Packs (HIPs).

The packs require sellers to provide information such as planning permission and copies of title deeds to buyers.

Law society
Despite these assurances, the Law Society renewed its warnings about HIPs that contain personal searches of council information.

It said solicitors, when acting for home buyers, should always point out to their clients that official searches provided a higher level of protection than personal searches, if any of the information in them turned out to be wrong.

"If you are buying a house for half-a-million pounds and you are mortgaging yourself to the hilt for the next 25 years, you can either have a search carried out by the council staff, on which you can rely, or one provided by someone you don't know - the search company," said Paul Marsh, vice-president of the Law Society.

"There is a degree of risk between the two but the buyer's solicitor has a search thrust on them now," he added.

The Law Society said it would like lenders to specify exactly which personal search companies they would be happy with, to remove a lawyer's current responsibility to vouch for a search company's work.

Conveyancing
The local authority search has been a compulsory feature of the conveyancing process since 1925.

It involves a buyer, or their solicitor or other representative, asking a set of standard questions about a property, covering local authority plans for the street or area, and any planning permission granted for the building or neighbouring ones.

This should also show up any restrictions on the way the property can be used, for instance the existence of smoke control orders, conservation areas, tree preservation orders, and any financial charges where the council could recover money owed to it.

The aim is to make sure that the buyer does not get a nasty surprise once they have bought the house or flat.
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