Replacing Lost Hips Commission A “No Brainer”
There was a sign of relief with the recent announcement by the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles and Housing Minister, Grant Shapps suspending the requirement for homeowners to provide a home information pack (HIP) when selling their homes. Mr Shapps said: “This is a great example of how this new government is getting straight down to work by cutting away pointless red tape.”
Homes marketed for sale on or after 21 May 2010 no longer require a HIP and many see this latest move as helping along the troubled property market. The absence of HIPs will result in an increase in the availability of stock as more properties come to the market where vendors might have otherwise hesitated. This in turn will arrest the recent short-term house price growth that has resulted from a lack of supply. (source: Roger Wilkinson, Express & Echo)
Since HIPs were introduced in 2008 there has been a lot of anger in the sector with many people such as landlords and homeowners viewing it as an unnecessary expense. It was no surprise then that there was great relief when the new coalition government signed off on the suspension of HIPs last month.
However, as stated in the coalition agreement, the Conservative and Lib Dem ‘partnership’ did agree to the retention of energy performance certificates (EPCs) while scrapping HIPs – sellers will still be required to commission, but won’t need to have received, an EPC before marketing their property.
The move has left many estate agents in a quandary: how do we replace the lost HIPs commission?Simple: target the homebuyer with a selection of essential safety and energy products/ services that will, for example check a property’s gas and electrical installations or help in the effort to reduce heating bills.
It is now estimated that 92% of new homeowners spend in access of £500 immediately after purchase, and 70% spend more than £2,500 immediately after buying a new home. This is therefore the perfect opportunity to establish an ongoing relationship with the buyer and market a host of gas and electrical safety products and services to them.
Agents can earn commission by offering a full range of additional gas safety services/ and products. Such services would include gas and electrical safety inspections, EPCs, boiler exchanges and services, smoke alarms, homeowner insurance and many more.
gas-elec can help with homeowners looking to save money on their gas and heating or have a gas safety check. They offer a service delivered by locally-based safety inspectors, uniquely qualified to carry out a combination of safety inspections.
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