Home Reports to be scrapped too?

[achingale]

I read that in England the Home Information Packs are to be scrapped and with 40-1 Scottish solictors against them, will it happen here? The EPC's are still to be done as this was a European directive but do you think their scrapping would help the housing market? I do. The new government has pledged to do this and estate agents are calling for it to be done sooner rather than later. What are your thoughts?

[LMS]

I think home reports are a great idea. It means that prospective buyers can weed out the unsuitable houses before getting the right house lined up.

My sister was looking at two houses of a similar age and design, which looked more or less the same to the untrained eye. House A was infact in need of quite a bit of work (damp, woodworm etc.). House B was in tip-top condition. The Home Report meant that they could crack on with the right house without wasting time and money on surveys before deciding on the house to bid on.

The only loser in the Home Report is the surveyors who were maybe doing quite a few smaller surveys for the same property. The buyer maybe has to stump up for the Home Report but if you are buying somewhere else, you have the benefit of someone else's report and so the chain continues.

Would scrapping them make a difference to the market - I don't think so. If you are selling a house I don't believe that the cost of a home report really deters people. I think the market is slow because the penny has dropped that too many people were taking on too large mortgages.

[ducati]

I kind of agree, I never buy a house in Scotland that is 'offers over' because I don't want the expense of multiple surveys on houses you don't 'win'. :~(

However, I don't really want to pay for a home pack when I sell either :mad: