News

Firsthips Review 1 - March 2008 - For Agents


Agents' Review Welcome to the March 2008 issue of the Firsthips Review. Each month we will include news, advice and articles from the HIP industry front-line. We welcome comments and suggestions for additional content.

 

Pricing

Due to the overwhelming success of the winter promotion we are pleased to announce that the promotion is extended until the 30th April 2008. To refresh your memory freehold HIPs are £275 and leasehold HIPs are £299. (As always this is subject to local authority council disbursement charges and VAT.)

Money, Money, Money!

After receiving welcome feedback from estate agents for the cashback offer, it will also be extended until 30th April 2008. All HIPs ordered since 1st January 2008 will carry over so if you have ordered 9 HIPs so far you only need one more to receive your first £100 cashback.

Quality Matters

Estate Agents are starting to appreciate the added value of the Firsthips system when receiving HIPs that have been compiled and approved by property lawyers. This proves to be critical in achieving quicker exchange and completion times which is, after all, the main purpose of HIPs.

Some of our newly registered estate agents reported having experienced problems with buyer's lawyers rejecting unqualified HIPs. Clearly this problem has been experienced by many as the government has published the following warning regarding the use of valid documents:

"It has come to our attention that some HIP providers are including 'Register Views' obtained from Land Registry Direct as evidence of title for the purposes of regulation 8(e) of the Home Information Pack (No.2) Regulations 2007. However the regulation requires the inclusion of an 'official copy' of the individual register and title plan and a register view is not sufficient for these purposes in our view.
     Official copies are required as these are encrypted documents that the Land Registry will stand by - if there are any errors in the register for example - and are therefore acceptable during the conveyancing process. Although the information they contain is similar, register views have no such status."

It's Not Just The Price

We are delighted with the growing number of excellent comments/feedback from our clients confirming that our investment in outstanding customer service and account management (compared to the dreaded call centres) has been worthwhile and appreciated. Such comments include:

Like all agents I was dreading the introduction of HIPs. However, it couldn't be easier when ordering one through Firsthips, any queries are answered in as quick a time as possible and Robert has been a pleasure to deal with. The system online is easy and straightforward, it's clear the designers had this in mind, and it's a credit to them and everyone at Firsthips.
(Bob Mash, R House Estate Agents)

Getting the most from Hips
Buyers' lawyers can access HIPs directly

To speed up the selling process, the current version of the Firsthips system enables adding a buyer who in turn has the ability to add their solicitor to the system. This means that the buyer's lawyer has immediate access to all of the relevant documents with the added benefit of instant communication with the seller's lawyer (where applicable) or HIP provider and even their client.

Did you know?

Sellers can play a bigger part in the HIPs process. When adding a property if you enter a seller's email address we give them the option to register themselves to the system.

Registering to Firsthips enables the seller to share the interactive experience. They can pay for the HIP, track its progress, see when certain documents will become available and use the message centre to communicate online in real-time with all the relevant parties including the estate agent, lawyer or HIP provider and energy assessor.

Important - enhanced security! If your client prefers not to disclose their card details they can use their login and pay online.

HIPs Work!
Legal Questions?

Please remember that we have a free legal helpline available to our clients through legal@firsthips.com

Any Feedback?

If you have any feedback regarding this newsletter, the firsthips system, HIPs in general or any stories you think are relevant and would like us to publish in the next newsletter, then please contact us.

Help and Advice?

We regularly update our FAQ section with useful and relevant information for our clients. Recent entries include some of the latest government clarifications regarding market concerns such as:

Go to firsthips FAQ


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