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Newsletter 3 - October 2006

Firsthips is live!

Welcome to the third issue of our newsletter in which we bring news of exciting developments in our Firsthips system, the web application aimed at changing the process of house selling and conveyancing in the 21st century. We will also be covering developments in the world of e-conveyancing and Home Information Packs as the target date of June 2007 draws closer.

On behalf of all the Firsthips team we'd like to thank you for helping us make this year a successful one, with the launch of the new Firsthips state of the art online portal which has become a leading solution through your dedication, referrals and feedback.

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Firsthips launches national marketing campaign In late September Firsthips launched the start of a new national marketing campaign to Estate Agents, Conveyancers, Home Inspectors and consumers, announcing our new online demo which gives a preview of some of the advanced features of our solution, followed by the opportunity to take a FREE test drive of the Firsthips system from now until HIPs day. To register your interest in viewing our online demo or for a free test drive visit: www.firsthips.com/preview_login.asp.

What the consumer thinks
Acknowledging that currently there is very little data available from the consumers point of view - and recognising the importance of having this data to consistently keep astride and ahead of market demands - Firsthips, as the next stage of our national marketing campaign, will be sending a consumer survey to over 180,000 consumers to gauge their feedback on some of the key elements in making HIPs a success. Watch out for the results in our Christmas issue...

About-turn from NAEA members
At the recent PCS Expo HIPs conference in London on 18th October, Yvette Cooper (the Housing Minister) delivered a keynote speech with a clear statement that HIPs will be going ahead on time. Peter Bolton King (CEO of the NAEA) is still strongly opposed to HIPs, but following a panel debate a clear message started to emerge from members of the NAEA that it should accept that HIPs are clearly going to happen, and they should now be concentrating on advising their members how to get ready for June 1st deadline instead of opposing the scheme.

Dry run to boost Home Inspectors' confidence
An additional £4 million has been committed in funds by the Government for the HIPs Dry Run which will start this November in six counties across the UK to kick start the take up of the HCR and Energy Performance Certificate. Although how the money will be divided up is still under discussion, it seems that the majority of the funds will be used to subsidise the packs and build extensive local marketing awareness campaigns, ensuring that Home Inspectors can expect to start work well ahead of schedule. The three main criteria for the dry run are:

Energy Assessors
Neil McDonald (Director of HIPs at the DCLG) has announced that he expected the standalone energy assessor qualifications should be ready for implementation by January/February 2007. Peter Bolton King (CEO of the NAEA), suggested that the NAEA may also shortly be making a bid to become an awarding body for the EPC, although it was still under discussion.


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