First-time buyers 'cash in on Hips'

14-Jan-2008

First-time buyers are in an almost unique position to benefit from home information packs (Hips), according to a leading property website.

FirstRungNow, which specialises in providing information and guidance to people looking to get on to the property ladder for the first time, has pointed out that new entrants to the market will not be hit by the added cost of Hips.

Sellers' packs, as they are also known, have met with stiff opposition, with critics claiming that they achieve little besides adding further cost and red tape to the homebuying process.

"First-time buyers, in my opinion, are the only people that can benefit from home information packs," said Helen Adams, managing director of FirstRungNow.

"They really need to know what they are getting in to and they won't have to have the cost associated with buying them because they are not selling.

"Everyone else on every other part of the property ladder has to have the expense of buying one," she added.

First-time buyers are facing a difficult year in 2008, with the credit crunch and concerns about an economic slowdown.

Despite talk of further interest rate cuts, lending conditions are likely to remain tight while inflation looks set to push up the cost of living.


FirstRungNow.com - how to buy a house, from finding your first flat or first house, first time buyer mortgages, shared ownership, buying with friends, gifted deposit, part buy part rent - all a first time buyer could possibly need.

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