First time buyers 'will not obtain Home Condition Reports'

24-Jul-2007

Home Condition Reports (HCRs), a once mandatory aspect of Home information packs (Hips) that are now optional, will only be taken up by around one in five home buyers, it has been suggested, with take up among first time buyers likely to be even lower.

The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) has said that the cost of the reports, thought to be around £200 to £300, will mean the majority of buyers will opt not to have such assessments commissioned, despite assertions that HCRs will provide a simple, objective overview of a property's condition.

First time buyers already facing a number of different affordability problems are perhaps especially likely to forego the reports.

"Lots of people will go without it. I think we can quite comfortably say that there will probably be less than 15 or 20 per cent take up across the country of Home Condition Reports," an AHIPP spokesperson predicted.

"The main reason is cost. People are already spending £5,000 on their home and they don't realise that an extra £200 could improve their house no end," the spokesperson added.

"The Green Paper states that 'first time buyers will be amongst the bigger beneficiaries of the Home information pack'. I would have agreed with this when the Home Condition Report was compulsory […] Hips are now of far less value than they were once meant to be," advised Helen Adams, Managing Director of FirstRungNow.com

Meanwhile, Hip provider LMS has announced that it is to launch new aerial photography technology which will allow prospective homeowners to investigate potential properties from all angles as well as information about the surrounding area's services and amenities.

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