Before you rent out or sell a house, the first thing that is asked for in UK, is the Home information Pack also known as HIP. It involves a set of documents that provides the buyer with key information on the property and must be provided by the seller or the seller's agent. It is also considered an important marketing tool to promote your house and is definitely a legal requirement too.

These set of documents allows the buyers to see important information on the property at the start of the process, to get an idea of what the house comprises of and how much it's worth in the UK property market. In one way, a landlord or the seller in this case, provides all the information related to his house and averts any confusion which may other wise arise due to lack of information. These things can be set right in the beginning itself and avoid any delays and extra expense to both buyer and a seller. It gets clear on the side of the buyer where in he can't crib about not having provided with certain details, when every thing is clearly written in the document.

HIP contains official information, some are mandatory while others are optional. A landlord can opt to provide or opt out of it based on his convenience. Such HIP will also have Energy Performance Certificate as part of its content.

Compulsory items in the HIP are seen as below

These are the documents to be present compulsorily:

In case of Freehold properties

? Index of Home Information Pack

? Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

? Evidence of title

? Your sales statement

? sustainability information (required only for newly built homes)

? Standard searches (local authority and drainage and water)

In case of Leasehold properties:

? All the compulsory documents as seen above

? And a copy of your lease

With more information upfront and the costs incurred in gathering and providing information such as searches transferred to the seller, first time buyers will find their first step onto the housing ladder a more affordable and more informed one. Your home pack information will also have a home condition report and mentions all the contents in the house. Important information to a buyer is that, if you are buying a property, just ask whoever is advertising it for sale for the Home Information Pack. This is usually an estate agent, but could be another business or individual. Such copies of Home information pack are given to you free of charge. However, they may make a reasonable charge to cover the costs of copying and posting it to you.