Clarke and Son News

The implementation of Home Information Packs (HIPs) should be postponed until full evidence from research and the area trials are available, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

In its response to the latest Government consultation on HIPs, the CML says this evidence is required before an informed decision on the effectiveness of the scheme can be made.

The CML says the Government has been slow to recognise the problems with local authority searches and the HIPs timetable is increasingly lacking credibility as proposals for change are still being made less than four months before full implementation. CML head of policy Jackie Bennett says: “This close to the implementation date, there are still far too many unknowns about the potential market impacts. We call on the government to postpone the introduction of HIPs until they have been properly trialed and reviewed."

Paul Cowdery, Conveyancing Partner, comments: “The view from CML is what we expected to see.  CML is particularly concerned about the impact on the market generally as this could affect not only future business but also bring about a downturn in property values generally which could adversely affect the value of the security taken by lenders on existing loans.

There is a feeling that CML has little confidence in the Government which was confirmed when I spoke with a CML representative last November. CML’s lack of confidence is translating itself into a lack of co-operation I suspect and this has some important consequences for the cost of HIPs.

For example, it was hoped that CML would provide guidance for validating searches carried out at the start of the marketing process but which may not be used to complete an actual purchase for more than 6 months (which is the maximum current life span - some suggest that 3 months is the life span). Without this guidance, buyers will have to repeat searches, which will double costs!

From our view point, we are able provide all the legal elements of the HIP. The main challenges at this stage are being able to deal promptly with the provision of an Energy Performance Certificate (apparently lots of inspectors are about to commence training to meet the demand!) and a change in culture where sellers are providing payment for searches at the outset of marketing.”

Clarke & Son’s trainee solicitor Julie Mehrabian attended the match against Clevedon last Saturday 18th February where Basingstoke won 82-0, their best result of the season. Julie had won the prize of lunch for two at the club in the raffle at Clarke & Son’s staff Christmas party in December. She was lucky enough to meet some of the players who were very welcoming and told her about their plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in the summer as part of their fund raising activities for various charities.

Julie joined Clarke & Son as a trainee in September 2006 and is currently working in the Family Services section of the firm. She is very busy as post Christmas is the peak time for couples to file for divorce!
Julie is a keen long distance runner and completed the London marathon last year in four hours forty three minutes. She is taking part in the Tunbridge Wells half marathon this coming Sunday and the Windsor half marathon in the autumn.

Almost half of UK organisations could be vulnerable to litigation by
primarily using their intranet systems to manage corporate policies .

The report discusses a recent study by NETconsent that concludes
that many organisations "have a passive and potentially dangerous
attitude towards managing their policies".

You can read more about the report at HRM Guide.

Clarke & Son’s Residential Conveyancing Partner, Paul Cowdery, recently ran three Home Information Pack (HIP) seminars for property professionals to help them get to grips with the new legislation.  The discussions included the latest draft regulations and the consultation paper issued by the government in late January.  Attendees voiced their concerns and gave feedback regarding their planning for the implementation date.

The general opinion seemed to be that HIPs could now be managed in a more effective way at a local level and there was no reason why property professional in Basingstoke could not provide an all-encompassing solution for clients.  The HIP itself is now very much a “Legal Information Pack”, which solicitors are used to putting together, except for the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) requirement.  It is expected that there will be further announcements in relation to the EPC as there are still doubts as to whether there will be sufficient inspectors trained and available by 1 June 2007 when HIPs become mandatory.

Paul Cowdery will keep his contacts up to date with updates as and when they are received.  If you would like further information then please email Paul.

As you may be aware, the Financial Services Authority has recently decided to take action on unfair mortgage closing fees.

When borrowers close their mortgage accounts on a sale or re-mortgage, lenders have been imposing redemption administration fees of up to £295. However, the real cost of closing mortgages has been estimated at nearer £50.

In the last few years there has been an increase in these fees and often borrowers have been required on the redemption of a mortgage to pay a higher fee than applied at the time they entered into the mortgage.

Borrowers who have paid the higher fees are eligible for a refund (but must claim this).  Those likely to be eligible would normally have signed up in most cases before 2005 and switched lender since.

If:

• you have sold your property or re-mortgaged from January 2005;
• we acted for you when you discharged your previous mortgage; and
• you believe you may have been overcharged

then we suggest you write to your lender immediately. We can deal with this for you (in which case please e-mail Paul Cowdery providing the information requested) and our charge for retrieving your old file and writing to your previous lender will be £25 plus VAT.

You can find out more about Mortgage Administration and Closing Redemption Fees on our website.

Clarke & Son were part of the jubilant crowd at the rugby match of the season toasting the triumphant win of Basingstoke (29) over Mounts Bay (25) last Saturday 27 January.

Partners Peter Turner, Charles Marchant-White, Paul Cowdery, Nick Bowers and Bhupendra Sankhla were joined by colleagues Peter Brown, Lisa Griffin and Angie Doyle at Down Grange for the exciting game which was hailed by the Basingstoke Director of Rugby as an ‘outstanding’ display.