The Home Condition Report
IS THE HOME CONDITION REPORT (HCR) COMPULSORY?
When the scheme is implemented, there will be a mandatory requirement to include a Home Condition Report (HCR) within the Home Information Pack, and both the inspection and report must be carried out and must be made available before any residential property is placed on the market. The Home Condition Report is the only part of a Home Information Pack not currently supplied during the existing home buying and selling process.
IS THE HOME CONDITION REPORT A FULL BUILDING SURVEY?
The HCR is the end product of considerable industry research and development and will not be a full building survey, but is a "level 2" inspection and report. In other words it is intended to occupy the mid-ground between a market valuation type report (known as level 1), and a building survey (level 3). In some ways the HCR is therefore pitched at the same level as the RICS Homebuyer Survey and Valuation (HSV), except that it does not contain a valuation. It is important to appreciate, however that the HCR is not an HSV under another name, as new skills are required to fulfil the requirements of the new service.
The HCR has a number of innovative key features:
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reports will be in a prescribed, standardised format, with the intention that it is flexible enough to be used for any style and type of property from studio flats to large mansions;
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reports will be delivered electronically, through a secure web site;
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reports will be prepared under a strict licensing and quality assurance regime;
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it has been designed to be consumer friendly, consistent in its presentation and transparent in what it offers;
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it introduces the concept of "condition ratings" intended to help buyers focus on the key issues relating to the property's condition;
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it should be free of unnecessary technical jargon, use plain language and "controlled" text wherever possible.
HOW LONG WILL THE HOME CONDITION REPORT INSPECTION TAKE?
The inspection itself will take considerably longer than the current Mortgage Valuation Inspection required by lending institutions, and, whilst no specific time is set out in the standards for Home Inspectors, the HICB have stated that a typical 3 bedroom, 2 reception house of around 90 - 100 square metres should usually take around 75 minutes to 2 hours to inspect. In addition to this inspection, the Home Inspector will be required to undertake research about certain aspects of the property, but this can often be done away from the property, perhaps including a desk-based exercise.