Energy price rises anticipated

July 25th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Energy Saving, EPC, Financial Products, News 6 Comments »

Energy prices continue to rise and there seems to be no signs of them slowing. Channel 4 News recently reported that an independent report commisioned by Centrica shows that gas prices are set to rise 70% from current costs.

Is this yet another catalyst for consumers to further look at how they utilise their gas and electric supplies to their properties?

Energy prices have surged since Feburary of 2007 and all the customers of the major players British Gas, Npower, EDF, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy and E.On have had to support big increases in fuel prices.

Certainly at present many households are feeling the ‘credit crunch’ and are often looking at making cost savings that they can make within their current lifestyles . Energy saving and efficiency is becoming a higher priority amongst many; not only looking to compare energy prices within the market place but how they can become more efficient and ultimately use less energy.

So how do we use less and cut our bills?

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Carsberg Review

July 10th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, News Comments Off on Carsberg Review

The Carsbergy Review, written by the author Sir Bryan Carsberg is recommending a  number of reforms for the property buying and selling industry of the residential property sector in England and Wales.

The Carsberg Review was commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). This fact has brought into question the independence of the report and the following findings contained within it.

Timeline
July 2007 The Carsberg Review is commissioned
September 2007 Sir Bryan Carsberg publishes the consultation paper ‘Residential Property: Regulation, Redress and Competition in the 21st Century’
January 2008 Deadline for submission of responses to the consultation paper
June 2008 Launch of the final report
July 2008 RICS, alongside NAEA and ARLA, host a stakeholder meeting to discuss Sir Bryan’s recommendations
Autumn 2008 RICS publishes a formal response to the report.

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Property market stable but consumer confidence still shaky

May 27th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in News Comments Off on Property market stable but consumer confidence still shaky

Members of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) reported that the picture is still very regional but elements of the market are stabilising. Members reported stability in the sales agreed, the number of viewings before a sale is secured and the average difference between asking and sales price.
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vlume is launched

May 22nd, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in News Comments Off on vlume is launched

I am proud to announce that my brother and the other founders have launched their new website, vlume.

vlume aims to bring together a large community of people, who will then use their collective bargaining power to try and get better deals for services such as mobile phone subscriptions, broadband access and premium tv packages.

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Increase in HIPS ordered from private home sellers

May 21st, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in News Comments Off on Increase in HIPS ordered from private home sellers

HIP-Consultant.co.uk have seen a big upturn in the level of direct instructions we have recieved.

So why is this? – this is a question we have asked within our team, I have written some of our thoughts and views in this post.
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Government support for Home Owners

May 9th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, News 5 Comments »

A new £10 million package of measures to support home owners who may be facing difficulties with their mortgage, is announced today by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling and Housing Minister Caroline Flint.
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Home Information Packs – benefiting consumers

May 8th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, News, Property Market Comments Off on Home Information Packs – benefiting consumers

The Government today announced a package of measures to help ensure consumers are seeing the vital information in Home Information Packs and are receiving a higher standard of service in the home buying and selling process.
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NAEA supports measures to improve industry

May 8th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, News, Property Market Comments Off on NAEA supports measures to improve industry

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP), is disappointed that first day marketing is not going to be scrapped completely, but welcomes the move by the Minister for Housing and Planning to work with the industry to make HIPs more effective.
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AHIPP First Day Marketing Statement

May 8th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, News Comments Off on AHIPP First Day Marketing Statement

The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) has welcomed today’s statement by Housing Minister, Caroline Flint.

The extension of the transitional arrangements covering first day marketing and leasehold documentation is a sensible move. It is encouraging to see that government recognises the issues around timely procurement of searches and leasehold information that Home Information Packs (HIPs) have highlighted, and are taking steps to address these issues by the end of the year.
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