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A Helping HIP

Furness Building Society is now not just offering some of cheapest home information pack (HIP) deals on the market to its customers but has also brought out a special HIP free mortgage to enable house sellers to obtain a HIP free of charge.

Following the Government's introduction of the much revised Home Improvement Pack, regional mutual, Furness Building Society has joined forces with Lancaster based PSG to bring HIPs to the high street. The introduction of HIPs was delayed as the Government changed the criteria of their content and the types of property to which they applied. This seems to have caused some confusion for people wanting to sell their homes. In essence, anyone now wishing to place a home with 3 bedrooms or more, for sale on the open market either through an estate agent or privately, must have a HIP before they can start to market the property.

For this reason, Furness Building Society is now able to provide HIPs to anyone who needs one. It is a simple process that can be done online within any branch or over the telephone. One of the local branch managers, Hayley Watson said 'People do seem initially a little confused about what they have to do, so it is great that we can help them with their HIP in order that they can get on with selling their house'.

There is a charge for a HIP which can vary but the Furness believes that the cost of their HIPs is considerably less than the initial expectations of the market. However, there is no need to pay anything for a HIP with the Furness' innovative HIP free mortgage.

Rob Cairns, Chief Executive of the Furness explained 'We recognise that many people who are selling homes may not want to pay for a HIP. So we have developed a special HIP mortgage that ensures that borrowers can have the HIP free, on the property they are selling, when they select a HIP mortgage for their new property. This is yet another example of the Furness trying to offer the very best deals to our members.'

It is not clear yet whether HIPs will be extended to smaller properties, but it's certainly a case of 'wait and see'.

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