HIP free at last

Home Information Packs (HIPS) have now been abolished although properties for sale will still require an Energy Performance Certificate so all those energy assessors out there will still be needed to carry out this part of the transaction. I was never sure how much notice people took of the energy certificate : it certainly is not the most important factor when deciding whether to buy a house but I have seen a couple of properties now where extra loft insulation or cavity wall insulation was put in after the original certificate was carried out so someone was be taking notice.

I'm glad to see the back of HIPS. They caused so much confusion from the conveyancing point of view and often seemed to slow up the process which was not what the ( then )govermnment said was the stated aim of the things.

There now seems to be a flurry of properties going on the market before the emergency budget to try and avid the likely increase in capital gains tax so it's a good thing I'm not planning a holiday in the next few weeks.