Shepherd Chartered Surveyors has urged house sellers in Scotland not to confuse Home Information Packs (Hips), which have been scrapped by the coalition government, with Home Reports, which have been an acknowledged success since their introduction in Scotland.

Introduced in England and Wales in 2007, Hips aimed to speed up the house selling process by obliging sellers to provide much of the required conveyancing information when properties are first put up for sale.

The packs are paid for by sellers and contain property information, title deeds and local searches but, crucially, do not provide any information about the value or condition of properties that is provided within Home Reports.

Ian Fergusson, Managing Partner at Shepherd, said: “Following the scrapping of Hips south of the border, we’ve received a number of enquiries from house sellers who have confused Hips with Home Reports. It is worth reassuring house sellers and buyers in Scotland that Home Reports are very much here to stay and continue to play a significant role in the resilience of home values in Scotland.

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“Hips failed because they were effectively an empty product which did not provide the information about valuation and condition that Home Reports do, which is why some of the major surveying firms south of the border are presently seeking a version of the Home Report to be introduced in England and Wales.”

And whilst Hips were subjected to sustained criticism for having been deemed to incur unnecessary expense for sellers, this is far from the case for Home Reports. Indeed such criticism is invalidated further by the fact that Shepherd has now introduced a deferred credit option for Home Reports.

Mr Fergusson said: “The launch of the Shepherd Home Report Deferred Credit Option offers sellers a period of up to nine months before they are required to pay for their Home Reports. The aim of this initiative is to act as an aid to make it easier for sellers to re-enter the housing market.”

Introduced in December 2008, there is now mounting evidence to suggest that Home Reports are assisting the recovery of Scotland’s housing market by providing a clearer and more comprehensible system for buying and selling homes that has been welcomed by home buyers, sellers, surveyors and estate agents alike.

(GK)