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HIPs expose ownership mistakes

Submitted by: MikeC (Admin) on 07-Feb-08 04:42:07 PM

Forget the recent (unsubstantiated) press release from the National Association of Registered Home Inspectors (NARHI) which claimed HIPs were exposing problems to home-sellers before they threatened the sales transaction.

(Come on NARHI - You can do better than that, surely!)

Previous podcast guest, Malcolm Scott of Mascot Property Services, has kindly agreed to share some of his own real-world experiences.

Stick these in your pocket for when you are challenged.

Incorrect property ownership - Sorted

We had one at Christmas (unregistered property) where the land registry had registered (by accident) part of the land to another owner.

This was discovered during the SIM and highlighted for the conveyancers to sort out, but is the sort of thing that would de-rail proceedings at the last moment and potentially drag on for months whilst being sorted out.

Mis-spelt name - Sorted

Had one a week or so ago, the Land Registry had mis-spelt the owner's name. Again, a thorough review during the HIP compilation has revealed a potential banana skin.

Wrong name - Sorted

Had one last week where the owner has now changed his name by deed poll, but his previous name is the one on the title documents. Again, another potential banana skin.

The anti hip brigade don't publicise these events where quite clearly potential disputes and delays are being discovered at an early stage, and being flagged up by us.

By doing so, we are eliminating possible delays and shortening the time-frame between acceptance of an offer and actual completion.

Precisely the rationale behind HIPs.

Many thanks to Malcolm - The industry needs more of these stories.

You can hear Malcolm Scott on the DEA Roundtable podcast.

Posts: 2

Re: HIPs expose ownership mistakes
Reply #1 on : Sat February 09, 2008, 12:56:32

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Nice examples of one-off situations - Not sure these are relevant to improving turnaround times for all transactions across the whole industry.

This has always been easy, put your house up for sell, engage your solicitor and get him to order the searches up front for review and then pass these over to the purchasers solicitors.

We did not need HIPs legislation to do this.

Posts: 2

Another Positive Story
Reply #2 on : Sat February 09, 2008, 19:37:44

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Did a HIP last week and discovered that the property was leasehold - owner had no idea! Could have had significant implications for any prospective purchaser who discovered this at the tail end of the process. HIPs are here, and while they are, we might as well share our positive experiences.