Hi Everyone,

I have recently put my house up for sale & my estate agent is compiling the HIP. My house is Leasehold which I had told the estate agent from the start. I signed an agreement which states that the cost would be £349+vat plus a deferment charge of £50. I got a phone call from the estate agent yesterday saying that they had stated that my property was Freehold to try & save me money. They said that they were unable to get away with this & they want me to go into the estate agents to sign a new contract, stating that the price is now £399+vat. I never asked the estate agents to 'try & save me money' & I wasn't told that a HIP for a Leasehold property would be more expensive. Should I go & sign another contract, I feel like they are trying to rip me off!

Also as I am not happy with the service of this estate agent, can I pay for the HIP in full & go with another estate agent or does my HIP tie me to them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance,

Lisa

Hi --- Have a look at the article from,"The Mail" below, if you are wanting to change estate agents do it before you sign a valid contract that ties you to their services or before they provide a HIP pack.

These packs can be bought individually from other companies meaning that you can then use any estate agent of your choice, without giving them the sole rights to market your property, which can be the case if you get tied to in by a HIP that the agent has made up, and often considered non-transferable.

You may be better off ringing a few Solicitors asking for a fixed fee that they will charge for drawing up a HIP, that is independant, becomes your sole property and you can use whoever you decide to let market your property, yourself included if you want to cut out the estate agents costly fees. ?

 

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=451175&in_page_id=1770

Hi Lisa,

As a HIP provider myself I can tell you that HIPs for leasehold properties do cost more to compile so the agent may well be telling the truth in that regard.  The agent should know this too but many do are as yet unfamiliar with leasehold properties since most leaseholds are currently exempt from HIPs (one and two bedroomed properties). 

Having said that the price they have quoted even for leasehold seems overinflated.  You could certainly save money

As Conmankiller quite rightly says: the thing about HIPs is that generally speaking if you order and pay for it yourself then you own it so you can take it to any agent you like so its 100% portable between agents if you become unhappy with them.  Since you've signed a contract with the agent, your contract will tell you if you can pay for your (updated with leasehold documents) HIP and take it to another agent. 

You can indeed commission your HIP from a Solicitor or alternatively find a dedicated HIP provider. 

Hope you find your way out of this tangle.  Regards,

Chris. 
 

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Happy to help.