The United Kingdom passed a law known as The Housing Act of 2004. Among its provisions is something known as "Home Information Packs" (HIPs).

Previously, the home buying/selling process was painfully slow due to unforseen problems that arose. Most of these problems were due to insufficient information about the property before a buyer made an offer. Historically, buyers were not privy the details of a property until after an offer was made.

To reduce this problem, the Housing Act of 2004 required all home sellers to prepare a HIP before putting their property on the market. The HIP includes such as information as...

• Evidence of title


• Standard searches including possible environmental problems like contamination or subsidence


• Planning consents, agreements, building control certificates etc.


• Seller's information form to include details of any taxes or service charges payable in relation to the property


• All Warranties and guarantees for items such as damp proofing, boiler maintenance, double glazing etc.


• A Home Condition Report


• An energy efficiency assessment

The law doesn't go into effect until 2007, and as it stands right now, the government hasn't fully identified what pieces of information are required in a HIP.

But the creation of the HIP requirement has many independent agents worried. Obviously, homeowners don't have the resources or expertise to obtain all this information on their own. Hence, the listing agent will be assume this task.

Obtaining this information could take weeks, since much of the information is divided up amongst various organizations. It therefore stands to reason that the large brokerages, who plenty of resources in funding and personnel, will be able to assemble these HIPs quickly, whereas independent agents may need weeks to get this done. The agents able to produce HIPs more quickly will eventually enjoy the lion's share of properties.

One particular agent, Rob Hailstone, started a group called Home Information Pack Action Group (HIPAG). With a membership fee, agents can ally themselves with HIPAG, and HIPAG will dedicate itself to assembling HIPs for them.