Press Release: Cost of Home Information Packs drop

05/11/2008

Reallymoving.com - the leading site for comparing moving home services - has witnessed a significant drop in the price of a Home Information Pack (HIP) since their launch on 4 bed properties in August 2007.

Reallymoving.com currently holds the pricing schemes for over 40 HIP providers across England and Wales. When we first provided instant quotes for HIPs on 1st August 2007, the average price per Home Information Pack was £345.00(+VAT). Fifteen months later, the average price of a HIP has dropped to £217.00(+VAT).  That is a reduction of 37%.

Reallymoving.com has also seen the average fee for an Energy Performance Certificate drop from £110 in August 2007 to an average price of £70 per EPC.

Due to the price comparison service offered by reallymoving.com, our network of partner companies tends to be at a discounted price to the average UK price for each type of service. However, when HIPs were first hotly debated early in 2007 (before they became mandatory), prices per HIP were discussed at being as much as £1,000.

Reallymoving.com only works with companies registered with the Properties Codes Compliance Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Home Information Packs must be commissioned on all homes in England and Wales that are marketed for sale. They include an Energy Performance Certificate which gives your home a rating for its energy efficiency, plus a sale statement (summarizing terms of sale), evidence of title and standard searches (i.e. local authority enquiries and a drainage and water search). Where appropriate, you can also expect: commonhold information (including a copy of the commonhold community statement), leasehold information (including a copy of the lease, information on service charges and insurance), or a New Homes Warranty. 

Energy Performance Certificates included within the HIP are also known as an EPC. An EPC gives home sellers an “A to G” rating for their home’s energy efficiency to help cut carbon emissions and fuel bills, similar to those labels on new fridges. Only qualified and certificated Domestic Energy Assessors are allowed to prepare Energy Performance Certificates and reallymoving.com checks the qualifications of all their DEAs on the system.

reallymoving.com was launched in 1999 and gives multiple instant quotes for removals, conveyancing, surveys, Home Information Packs and Energy Performance Certificates.  Reallymoving.com generates around 40,000 quotes a month for these different services. The company is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Reallymoving.com is independently owned and financed.

For more information contact Rosemary Rogers, Marketing Manager on 01727 238010 or email: rosie@reallymoving.com