Welcome to Homes Inspectors Wales

New House Interior From 2007, the new Home Information Pack will make it easier for people to buy and sell homes in England and Wales. At the core of the Home Information Pack is the Home Condition Report, prepared by impartial, licensed Home Inspectors. We believe we need 50 Inspectors to meet the potential demand for the services of Homes Inspectors Wales Ltd.

Under the new Housing Act, from 2007, home-owners or their selling agents will have to produce a Home Information Pack when marketing a home for sale. The pack will contain a number of documents, such as replies to standard searches, which will help make the buying and selling process clearer, easier an cheaper.

The pack will have to contain a Home Condition Report (HCR) which will contain information which can be used by lenders in their underwriting processes for mortgage lending, including an energy efficiency assessment. It means that for the first time, sellers and buyers will have a clear picture of the condition of the property before negotiations begin.

The HCR is based on a Level 2 inspection which gives a similar volume of detail to that provided in the RICS Homebuyer Survey and Valuation. However, the HCR does not cover valuation. It falls between a mortgage valuation report, arising out of a Level 1 inspection, and the more detailed Level 3 full structural survey.

How to get Involved

Homes Inspectors Wales Ltd will be offering the services of its contracted Homes Inspectors to all independent estate agents, the National Association of Estate Agents, TEAM Estate Agents, home owners, solicitors and anyone who needs a condition survey pack. The company will also be linking its services with those of e-conveyancers.

To find out more, contact Homes Inspectors Wales:
Tel: 01639 841 426
e-mail: info@homesinspectorswales.co.uk

The Home Inspectors Role

When preparing a HCR, the home inspector will be required to follow prescribed reporting standards on which guidance will be published.

All reports will be electronically produced and delivered. This helps ensure consistency, clarity and transparency, along with the data which lenders are likely to want if, as is expected, they use some of the information in the home condition report to inform their lending decisions.

The reports are written in clear objective language, describing the defects as seen, without commenting on whether these defects are likely or not to affect the marketability of the property. The reports have to be impartial, as they will be used by both the seller and the buyer of the home, both of whom are entitled to rely on the report under the Contracts, Rights of Third Party Act, 1999.

Lenders will also have a right to rely on the reports. Consistency in reporting is helped by the use of standard text facilities in those parts of the report where appropriate. The use of technical jargon will not be allowed.

Completed HC reports will be submitted electronically to a central electronic databank. This is to ensure that:

Reports can be prepared only by licensed home inspectors whose conduct, competence and work can be constantly monitored.
The reports themselves are controlled so that consumers and others relying on the reports can rely on their authenticity. This helps to ensure that unscrupulous sellers do not attempt to alter the reports after the home inspector has prepared them. The databank will flag up to buyers and their advisers if more than one report has been prepared on a home.
Access to home condition reports, and the purposes for which information obtained is used, can be strictly controlled.

What does the Home Condition Report Entail?

The HCR will have a standard format with the flexibility to accommodate all sizes and types of properties, from the studio flat to the listed country home. It is designed to be easily understood by the lay reader, and comprises several sections which cover:

The Terms of Engagement
General information
Matters requiring further consideration
The exterior condition
The interior condition
Services connected to the property
Outbuildings, grounds, boundary walls and fences
Energy performance

Section A contains the terms of engagement, which will match those that will have been sent to the client with the mandatory 'Confirmation of Instructions' letter.

Section B looks similar to some lenders’ mortgage valuation forms and provides general information about the property – its age, size, accommodation, re-instatement cost for insurance purposes and general construction, including whether it is a system built property. It also provides an overall opinion. Further, it lists all the condition ratings from the main body of the report.

Section C identifies matters that may require further consideration by the conveyancer, any environmental issues apparent from the inspection that need further investigation, and any health and safety matters that potential buyers should be aware of.

Section D goes into detail on the condition of the exterior; chimney stacks, roof coverings, rainwater pipes and gutters, main walls, sub floor ventilation, windows, exterior doors, all other woodwork, claddings and external decoration.

Section E covers the interior of the property; roof space, ceilings, internal walls and partitions, floors, fireplaces and chimneys, built in fitments, internal woodwork, bathroom fittings, dampness, internal decorations and cellars.

Section F covers the services connected to the property; electricity, gas, water, heating, and drainage. When completing these parts of the report it is necessary to describe the construction in simple terms to help the reader identify what is being discussed, along with justification for the rating given and comments on the condition, identifying, in particular, the serious and urgent defects seen. Each element, with the exception of internal decoration, will be given a rating.

Section G of the report deals with outbuildings, grounds, boundary walls and fences. The home inspector will look at all of these, with the exception of leisure facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts and non-permanent outbuilding such as timber garden sheds. He or she will comment on their general condition but is not required to ascribe a rating to them.

Section H of the report will provide an energy performance certificate for the property. This will be in line with the requirements of the 2002 European Union Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. To do this, the home inspector will collect the appropriate data required and either submit it to one of the Government-approved energy rating software organizations or use the licensed software from one of these organisations to deliver the energy efficiency rating for the property. The software will generate recommendations on how energy efficiency can be improved, but the home inspector will have the opportunity to remove any inappropriate recommendation before the report is signed off. The final part of the report is then signed off by the Inspector.