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Tuesday May 15, 2007

Oh the joy of the housing market

*UPDATE - Well since I ranted about the HIPs on this blog, the government were forced to backtrack on its original plans and now you only have to be selling a house of four or more bedrooms in order to provide a HIP. Mmm now we're going to have people marketing their house as a 'three-bedroom plus storage room' to avoid having to get one!*

Buying a house when you're under the age of 25 is not an easy task. Unless you're earning a fair whack, you've come into some money, have very supportive parents or a well-off partner, it can be an almost impossible task.

I guess I can't moan too much though – I rent off my other half who bought a flat a couple of years ago when prices weren't quite as ridiculous for the space of a cupboard. Unfortunately, because of my huge love of clothes and shoes, we have to move to a bigger pad. You'd think my other half would be in a good position to sell up and buy a new property with little-old me, but now he has to fork out up to £500 on these new Home Information Packs and pay towards a new survey on the potential house (with huge wardrobe space, and a garden for my guinea-pig, of course).

The Government says HIPs will make the home buying process a lot easier, but hang on a minute - since they changed their minds about making the Home Condition Report a compulsory part of the pack, now many sellers will get away with putting their house on the market without letting buyers know about its major faults. For people like us who can't afford to get the top end of the scale surveys, some of these faults may not be revealed until you move in and the roof starts to collapse! (OK maybe an exaggeration, but you get the picture). Now The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says its seeking a judicial review of the decision to introduce HIPs, claiming that the Government failed to consult properly on the new law.

It will no longer be a case of, "Oh we want to sell, let's put it on the market tomorrow". Now the packs have to be compiled before you even think about advertising. Way too much bother. I guess on the bright side, the Government is fulfilling its aim to reduce carbon emissions. Soon buyers and sellers will know just how environmentally friendly their house, or potential house, is. Then I guess the ones at the top end in A will be able to ask for even more and the bad houses in grade G will be blacklisted. It's a shame the Government trials of HIPs weren't completed before June 1. This is going to be interesting...

Posted by Julia ( 12:14 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]