Home info packs are not a big deal

Home Information Packs have proved a permanent embarrassment for the Government ever since the idea was first conceived almost a decade ago. Nine years on, and numerous redesigns later, they are now finally within days of launch – as of 1 June, anyone selling their home will have to have one.

But while the implementation of Hips and the various U-turns in policy have indeed been a shambles, seller's packs – as they are also known – are in fact no bad idea, and no big deal.

Although the shock-horror red-top headlines over the past few weeks have warned about Hips costing homeowners hundreds of pounds in extra costs just to put their homes on the market, in reality most of these charges would have been incurred in buying your next property anyway.

The only additional cost that Hips will add into the home-buying process is the cost of Energy Performance Certificates – which will provide prospective buyers with an idea of how energy efficient their new home is going to be.

Few people now dispute the reality of global warming, and the fact that we need to take proactive measures to tackle it. All homes across the EU will have to monitor their energy efficiency by the end of the decade, and the introduction of the EPC is simply Britain's effort to make sure we fall in line.

On average, getting an energy assessment of your home is expected to cost £150. However, the Energy Savings Trust estimates that the average British household could save around £350 a year by making their home more energy efficient – so those who make the most of their EPC will be able to recoup the costs in a few months.

In many cases, sellers will not have to directly bear the cost anyway. Several estate agents have already declared that they intend to offer them to their clients for free, paying for them out of the fees they receive when they sell your home.

But if you do have to pay for a Hip, the additional £150 or £200 that you end up paying during the buying and selling process will still be almost nothing in comparison to the price of the property you are buying.

Although the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors are taking the Government to court, claiming it has not provided the industry with sufficient time and consultation to properly implement Hips, even they agree with the idea in principle.

In fact, the biggest scandal is that the Government did not have the gumption to go ahead and make basic structural surveys a compulsory part of Hips. Many people waste hundreds of pounds carrying out surveys on properties that they never buy – and preventing this was the whole reason that Hips were cooked up in the first place.

I imagine that the doom-mongers, who predict mayhem in the housing market this summer, are sure to be disappointed. The launch of Hips in their current state is no big deal at all.

* Sanjeev Shah was unveiled as the new manager of Fidelity's Special Situations fund this week, taking over from the mighty Anthony Bolton, Britain's answer to Warren Buffett.

While some have urged investors not to jump ship yet, claiming that Shah should be given a chance, I disagree. If you have been lucky enough to have Anthony Bolton looking after your savings for the past three decades, you'll probably be very rich by now. His fund has returned 20 per cent a year since it was launched in 1979 – an unprecedented record in the British equity markets.

While Shah may well be a talented fund manager, he is not a Bolton or a Buffett. Why not have a look at Nigel Thomas at Axa Framlington or Neil Woodford at Invesco Perpetual. They have the experience and performance to call themselves true A-listers.

j.daley@independent.co.uk

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