Grant Shapps challenges democratic right to lobby

News broke today of a rather bizarre development in the ongoing debate on the future of home information packs.

In response to a well meaning letter sent by, and seemingly sent on the advice of, the London based PR lobbyists Luther Pendragon, and on behalf of their client, Association of Home Information Pack Providers, to Conservative MPs and Prospective candidates, Grant Shapps unleashed a scathing attack on what he described as a ‘crass’ lobbying campaign.

Commenting on the letter (as set out below) Shapps, a former American style online marketing guru, stated:

‘This is one of the most crass examples of public affairs I have ever seen from a lobbying company. Spamming parliamentary candidates with political abuse from a company email address hardly displays the intelligent political awareness that Luther Pendragon proclaim on their website.'

He added:

‘Email has great potential to engage Parliamentary candidates with the public in the forthcoming general election. Yet the public affairs industry needs to realise that like poorly targeted, unsolicited press releases, email also has the potential to annoy and undermine the very issues you are championing.

Conservatives are happy to talk to the housing industry over our plans to scrap Home Information Packs, but personal, angry campaigns are not a great way to win friends and influence people.'

Rich coming from a shadow cabinet member who not too long ago was involved in his own ‘crass’ example of public affairs when he was photographed wrapping red ribbon around a house! Cheap publicity and a stunt clearly determined to infuriate those who are working hard to bring about reform and save businesses they have worked hard to establish and develop.

It is also hard to understand why a man who has plenty of personal experience in using spam type emails and other types of marketing tools to run past and present campaigns can express outrage in such alarmist terms at a perfectly legitimate use of a public database.

Perhaps the decision to take this step has unsettled Mr Shapps. Perhaps the pro-hip lobbyists and those within his Party who secretly support the HIP are finally getting to him?

Lobbying of political parties is part and parcel of a democratic society and the practice has been around from centuries. In attacking AHIPP and its actions is Mr Shapps not challenging a very fundamental democratic right? Does this not smack of sheer arrogance on his part?

What is perhaps more worrying is the decision of the lobbying company Luther Pendragon to respond to the outcry by ditching AHIPP as a client. How comes? One can only speculate that some political pressure has somewhere along the line been applied. It will be interesting to see how Luther’s other clients react to this rather public denunciation of a client who had for a healthy fee placed its confidence and trust in its hands.

THE LETTER IN FULL

Dear XXXXXXX

Many thanks for your response to my earlier correspondence on Home Information Packs. Whilst I appreciate there is an established Party line on this issue, I am disappointed that you did not take the opportunity to review the evidence for yourself and come to your own informed conclusion. I hope you will consider this letter and take a personal stance on the issue.

Grant Shapps, the Shadow Housing Minister, believes that scrapping HIPs would be a popular and inexpensive manifesto commitment. Having adopted a perceived vote winning policy in a neglected area, Mr Shapps has chosen to ignore the many voices and reams of evidence pointing towards the need for further reform through the development of the HIP product. Consumers, stakeholders across the property industry and the press are clear that the future of home buying and selling lies in Exchange-Ready products. These products reduce cost, delay and stress from the process of buying a home, and the removal of the requirement to produce a HIP provides an ideal opportunity to introduce them. Grant Shapps' refusal to introduce Exchange-Ready products is irrational and regressive.

A policy to scrap HIPs with no mandatory replacement will cause enormous short term damage to the housing market. Following the election of a Government with a commitment to scrap HIPs, homeowners will delay selling their home until they are scrapped. This would stifle any hopes of a long-overdue recovery in the housing market.

The market will also suffer damage in the long term. Before HIPs, the unavailability of reliable information and legal documents early in the home buying and selling process were the prime cause of stress, delay and abortive transactions, which cost consumers approximately £1 million every day. With this information provided in the right format, at the right time, and at the right price through a HIP, costs are kept down, transactions run more smoothly, and professionals like lawyers and estate agents are freed to carry out their specialist work.

Critics of the HIP claim that the searches included are not authoritative, and lawyers are commissioning their own searches. The most recent report by the Property Codes Compliance Board, which regulates property searches, showed that there were no differences in quality between the searches in HIP Code compliant HIPs and searches provided by the Local Authority. Critics also say that HIPs add cost to the home buying process. This is simply not the case, as the savings made through efficient search delivery outweigh the upfront cost of the packs. The reduction in the cost of moving home seen over the past two years has been as a direct result of the introduction of HIPs, and scrapping HIPs would increase costs once again.

Finally, Grant Shapps assures voters that he will retain the Energy Performance Certificate element of the HIP, as he accepts that it is a crucial tool in reducing carbon emissions. He has, however, ignored evidence from all other European Union member states that have attempted to introduce the EPC as a stand-alone document. In Northern Ireland, where there are no HIPs, 45% of houses are sold without an EPC, versus less than 5% in England. Indeed, in the rental or commercial property sectors in the UK, where HIPs are not required the levels of non-compliance are over 40% and 73% respectively. No member state has managed to achieve meaningful levels of compliance with the requirement to produce an EPC, except for states that require it as part of a HIP-style pack. There is no reason why the UK would be different.

Grant Shapps has ignored calls from the HIP industry, the Law Society, Which?, numerous estate agents and consumers, for further reform taking into account the progress made through the HIP. He has ignored his own research and consultation exercise, the 2007 Home Buying Review. This exercise, which sought to investigate the possibilities for further reform, was cancelled shortly after Owen Inskip, an independent expert, submitted his report. This has never since been released, despite repeated requests. Should he be elected, by the time Grant Shapps consults on his proposals, with the market in turmoil and jobs already under threat, it is likely to be too late to build on the achievements of the HIP.

I hope you will give all of these issues your urgent attention. Grant Shapps intends to make a national election issue of his opposition to HIPs, but he underestimates the industry's ability to make the case for itself with voters. I hope, that having considered the issues, you will write to me outlining your own position on the issue.

Yours sincerely

Mike Ockenden

Director General

Has Grant Shapps lost the support of estate agents?

HIPs – it’s a funny old game!

It was not too long ago when the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) was falling over itself to knock at every given opportunity the beleaguered home information pack. There were constant accusations that the HIP was nothing other than an unnecessary and costly barrier to speculative sellers and how this was in turn causing a major housing shortage.

On top of this we were seeing Grant Shapps and his loyal band of supporters proclaiming that the estate agents they spoke with were all united in their view that the HIP was not wanted and was making a major contribution towards the failing property market.

What a difference a couple of months of a recovering property market has had on estate agents as we have within the past couple of days seen Gary Smith, the President of the NAEA, write an open letter to the OFT in response to its survey on home selling in which it would seem estate agents are beginning to see the HIP in a more favourable light.

The letter that can be viewed in full below was written in response to concern over the lack of regulation within the Estate Industry ( I wonder what Grant Shapps makes of this !!) and of how this will allow the likes of Tesco to set up in competition.

Mr Smith says:

‘Presumably the OFT will also be excusing the supermarket chain the bother of having to comply with the Money Laundering Act and having to provide an Energy Performance Certificate or Home Information Pack. For a senior Director of the OFT to be happy to advocate the sweeping aside of carefully considered legislation aimed at consumer protection, energy conservation and anti-money laundering, defies belief’.

What a turn up for the books – the NAEA saying for the very first time that the HIP Regulations should be viewed as ‘......carefully considered legislation..’!

Is this really a turning point, can the NAEA really now be saying it recognises the importance of the HIP and of how this is providing protection and benefits for the consumer. If it is, I am not surprised as many of the estate agents I have spoken with clearly support the aim of the HIP. Though they feel it could be improved, they are firm in their view that it should remain. Returning to a system that was clearly not working is simply not an acceptable option.

The letter also brought a smile to my face as the call for further regulation clearly does not sit comfortably with the dislike Grant Shapps and other Conservatives have for regulation and of how they see the HIP as a symbol of over regulation. Perhaps the NAEA has woken up to the hypocrisy it would be guilty of if it were to persist with an anti-HIP campaign whilst calling at the same time for additional regulations to protect its members.

It will be interesting given his well know connections with the estate agency community how Grant Shapps deals with this rather interesting development.

'Dear Sir/Madam

The Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) proposals (18th February) to change the laws under which properties are sold in the UK to favour the involvement of Tesco, seriously both negates and brings into question the OFT's role of consumer protection in the UK.

Under the Property Misdescriptions Act of 1991, it is a criminal offence for estate agents to make false or misleading statements regarding properties placed on the market. The OFT is advocating a change in this law to allow certain corporations such as Tesco to be exempt from the Act. This would place the burden of responsibility on the seller to ensure that all information on the marketing of the property is accurate.

Presumably the OFT will also be excusing the supermarket chain the bother of having to comply with the Money Laundering Act and having to provide an Energy Performance Certificate or Home Information Pack. For a senior Director of the OFT to be happy to advocate the sweeping aside of carefully considered legislation aimed at consumer protection, energy conservation and anti-money laundering, defies belief.

The average home owner cannot be expected to have the skills to assess the state of their own property, nor navigate their way through the complex regulations that they would need to abide by in order to sell a property.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has always been in favour of protecting consumer rights. We recognise that buying or selling a home will, for most people, be the most complicated and greatest financial transaction of their lives. But these OFT proposals have been ill-thought through and do not take into account the complexities of the buying and selling process which a private seller would have to face.

The NAEA has been calling for more stringent regulation of estate agents to offer additional and necessary protection for consumers, which is why we will be introducing our own licensing scheme for NAEA members later in the year.

The OFT really should not be seeking publicity with these wild headlines but should instead concentrate on fulfilling their role - that of consumer protection and adherence to Trading Standards.

Yours faithfully

GARY SMITH

President, National Association of Estate Agents'

Home Information Packs help to reduce 'bribe' culture

The Daily Mail carried an article over the weekend in which it highlighted a long running but very rarely reported practice of solicitors paying to estate agents fees of £100 plus for referrals.

Some lawyers consider this part and parcel of running a modern day practice and see the payment of a fee as nothing other than a marketing expense. Others however look upon referral fees as ethically indefensible and are concerned about the quality of commercially motivated advice.

Many smaller practices with limited resources also find it difficult to compete with larger ‘conveyancing practices’ and believe that unless the Law Society act quickly to outlaw referral fees they will be left out in the cold.

Solicitors are allowed to pay referral fees providing they disclose this to the client at the outset of the instruction.  Unfortunately many get around this through hiding the disclosure in very long terms of retainer.  One large conveyancing practice in London for instance has terms and conditions that run to around 30 pages in which if you look closely, and have time to spare  to read the small print, you will see they pay for leads.

On balance payment of ‘bribes’ of this type have been part and parcel of our commercial world for centuries and any outright ban on referral fees would only lead to forcing the practice underground.  They should therefore continue, but if a fee is payable the payer should disclose the fact and be required to make this perfectly clear and to provide the client with options.  This is my view. 

It is argued that thelead fees inflate the cost of conveyancing.  This is nonsense, as the money used to pay for the lead would otherwise be used for other marketing initiatives.  Payment for leads is nothing other than a marketing expense – it does not add to the cost of the fees.  In fact since the introduction of home information packs the cost of selling and buying has come down.

The HIP has also helped to reduce the practice of referral fees as may solicitors and estate agents now work in local networks and instead of paying fees to each other they simply make fee-free cross referrals.  The solicitor will do the HIP for the estate agent and the estate agent will refer the client back to the lawyer for the conveyancing work.

Local established networks born in the post HIP era are good for the property professionals and the consumer in terms of keeping cost down and quality of service high. Hopefully Grant Shapps will keep this in mind, as a factor, when he comes to review his policy on the future of HIPs.  

OFT Report casts further doubt over the credibility of Grant Shapps' policy on home information packs

Today sees the release of the OFT’s Report on the home buying and selling process and as expected this highlights the problems faced by consumers when it comes to engaging with our very antiquated process for selling and buying residential property. In particular it stresses the fact that until exchange of contracts has taken place either party to the transaction can pull out without being liable to the other party for losses incurred.  It records the fact that about 20% of transactions fail between offer and exchange.

The OFT consumer research found that almost half of those contacted were of the view that their transaction was part of a chain of transactions. This is of importance, as a chain seems to be where there is the most evidence of wasted costs and time as well as stress to both seller and buyer.

The conclusion was that change is needed to ensure there is an earlier binding commitment between the parties to make it more difficult for either party to pull out. The OFT recogonise that bringing about this change may be difficult without the appetite for change from buyers and sellers as well as the property professionals.  They add it is difficult to quantify the benefits of such change but are confident in their presumption that the benefits of this would be ‘substantial’

On the subject of home information packs the OFT was unable to form either a positive or negative view on their impact but were able to recognize the benefit behind the requirement of early disclosure and delivery of information to the prospective buyer and specifically noted that some buyers said they found the HIP information useful and that it had influenced their decisions.  The OFT summarised their conclusion on the role of the HIP within the home buying and selling process by saying: '…so it could be argued that HIPs in their current form have a positive impact’.

Hopefully this will now mark the end of Grant Shapps’ contention that the HIP is not serving any useful purpose and has no role to play in helping and aiding the consumer.  Surely a failure to take note of these findings must question (once again) the credibility of a man who may very well be our next housing minister.

The OFT Report must also signal to Grant Shapps that the consumer is not happy with the home buying and selling process and there is, as there has always been, a hunger for change. The HIP provides an excellent vehicle for bringing about further change that would definitely help to improve the certainty and transparency of transactions as well as speeding up transaction time.  There is no doubt that it has already helped to reduce loss incurred on failed transactions.

The public should be asking Mr Shapps what further evidence does he require before he will begin to take this issue seriously.  One can only go so far with political rhetoric based on unsubstantiated claims about the so-called evils of one small part of the overall home selling and buying process, that is the HIP.

Would a home infomation pack product within the commercial sector help to reduce carbon emissions?

Evidence emerged over the weekend that confirmed the belief held by many working in the commercial property sector that only around 1 out of every four commercial properties are sold or leased with an energy performance certificate.

The study conducted by the accreditation agency Elmhurst concluded that only 28 per cent of commercial buildings marketed for sale or lease carry the legally required EPCs.

Gavin Dunn, operations director of Elmhurst Energy, said the drive "is very much part of an attempt within the European Union and the UK to move towards decarbonising the economy. We need to reduce the energy consumption of every building, and the first step is to get the information about their efficiency'.

Non compliance at this level must raise grave doubt about the country's ability to meet a European Union target of reducing emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020. Nearly one-fifth of UK emissions come from business and industry.

This also illustrates the major problem the Country would face in the domestic market if the Conservative Party proceeds with its intention of removing the home information pack. It is clear that the HIP has proved to be an effective mechanism for the delivery of the domestic EPC and has helped to achieve a major contribution towards the reduction of carbon emissions. In Northern Ireland where there is no HIP one out of every two properties are marketed without an EPC.

Asked about the high level of non compliance within the commercial market Grant Shapps, the Shadow Housing Minister is reported to have said:

"If we're going to meet our legally binding climate-change targets, then we'll need to see urgent action. We know that meeting the challenge of climate change requires thousands of small steps to be taken. We will start by recognising the energy performance of all buildings, domestic or commercial."

Not very reassuring, and as we have seen in other areas, there is little detail of what the Conservatives would do instead. Grant Shapps should first consult with the Law Society and find out why so many lawyers are exposing themselves and their firms to possible negligence claims by allowing their clients to become legally committed to a transaction without first ensuring the energy rating is in place.

Why not also increase the fine for non compliance from £5,000 to £50,000?

The time has come for present or future government to get tough and to begin taking energy ratings and carbon emissions seriously. Unfortunately with news that many Conservative MPs do not rate carbon emission reduction high on their political agenda, and with Grant Shapps finding it difficult to see and recognize the importance of the role of the HIP, the future for effective energy savings under a Conservative Government does not appear too hot!

Further nail in the coffin for Grant Shapps' policy on home information packs

More evidence has today emerged that throws doubt on the credibility of the Conservative Party’ s flawed Policy on home information packs.

Data released today from leading conveyancer myhomemove reveal that failed property transactions have dipped into single figures since HIPs took full effect in April last year.

Since first day marketing without a HIP was removed, and the full search regulations became effective, this new set of figures show that only 9% of this company’s transactions failed between acceptance of offer and exchange of contracts. This contrasts favourably against the 23% of transactions failing as reported in Government’s Baseline Review published in February 2007.

No surprise here for those working within the industry, but yet a further credibility problem for Grant Shapps who continues to bang on with his blinkered assertion that the HIP must go as it is costing the house owner millions and millions of pounds.  These statistics show otherwise, and prove that the home information pack continues to deliver and is helping to save millions of pounds each day in abortive sale costs. Not only is the consumer now saving a lot of time and money, but is also seeing and benefiting from quick and stress free transactions.

Unless there is an immediate review of policy Grant Shapps could very well find that this unwise policy decision could very well back fire and cause embarrassment. 

Government help Grant Shapps understand energy performance certificates

One would expect the shadow-housing minister, Grant Shapps, to have a basic understanding of the workings of an energy performance certificate, particularly in the light of the repeated assurances he has given of late that the role of the 12,000 energy assessors working in the industry will be safe under a Tory Government.

You would also expect a man who is bright and ambitious, and who sits in the shadow cabinet to have taken the time to talk with energy assessors, to understand the work they do, and to look at and comprehend the content of the energy performance certificate.  Quite important to know what you are talking about when a flagship policy – Refit Policy - is very much based on the energy rating contained within an energy performance certificate.

Expectation along these lines is not unreasonable when the man the electorate is being asked to trust with future housing policy is involved, and in whose hands the livelihoods of many within our industry could very well rest.

Unfortunately expectation does not often in the world of politics equate to reality, particularly when an experienced shadow minister makes an almighty big faux pau when asking a straightforward question about the energy ratings of domestic property.

In an attempt no doubt to obtain information to feed his obsession with the HIP and EPC, Grant Shapps tabled yesterday the following question:

‘Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of properties entered onto the domestic Energy Performance Certificate database to date have had an energy rating of more than 450. [315661]’

Fortunately for Mr Shapps there was somebody at hand who knew his stuff  and who  was able to come to his rescue with the following explanation:

‘John Healey: Domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) provide a rating for the energy performance of a building in the form of a rating from A to G using a scale of 1-100. It is not possible for a dwelling to have a rating of more than 100 and therefore, none of the properties that have had an EPC lodged on the Domestic EPC Register have been given an EPC rating of more than 450.’

I know that this was probably down to an error on the part of one of Mr Shapps’ researchers, but it must beg the question of whether he is genuinely interested in energy efficiency and carbon reduction, or whether all we have here is another ordinary politician whose only real interest is to win votes with populist and substance lacking sound bites.  

Is Joanne Cash still in line to replace Grant Shapps?

The woman tipped to take over the role of Housing Minister from Grant Shapps in the event of the Country being left with a Conservative Government after the next election, Joanne Cash, has it is reported within Inside Housing, fallen out with the constituency Chair of Westminster North.  

At one point she announced she would not be standing at the election and it was only after intervention from Conservative Central Office that the matter seems to have been resolved.

She is viewed as one of David Cameron’s rising starts and according to Inside Housing this ‘in fighting’ highlights the tension that still exists between Tory Central Office and some on the constituency parties.

Unfounded IPSA attack on the HIP Industry

I was incensed by remarks recently made by the Chairman of the Independent Personal Search Agents in response to news of the collapse of an energy assessor training organization. Using this news that was upsetting enough for the trainee energy assessors left high and dry, the Chairman Mr. Lister took the opportunity to lambast the home information pack industry for lacking ‘honour’ and ‘morals’!  His anger appears to stem from his belief that members of his industry have lost money because of rogue HIP providers.

Commenting on an article Mr. Lister, a director of a personal search company with franchisees spread across the country wrote:

‘The DEAs who gave up paying work and took the entrepreneurial leap in to a new industry and the search companies who have been left with close to 1 million pounds worth of bad debt, who also took the entrepreneurial leap to support the industry entrants with no track record, no credit history, no honour and no morals, leaving last but not least the consumer with a very justified sense of frustration and anger’.

What irritates me the most is the self-righteousness that sits behind these comments and the total disregard he has for the greed I have witnessed in my dealings with certain suppliers of personal searches within the HIP industry.

In fact it is the greed and how this has blinded otherwise ‘streetwise’ businessmen that lies at the heart of the problem. It really has nothing to do with ‘entrepreneurial leaps’

Mr. Lister members who have suffered with bad debt through the collapse of customers only have themselves to blame.  The HIP came along and personal search companies saw this as an opportunity to expand their operations and join what many saw as a lucrative ‘gravy train’. They took on new staff and invested heavily in technology.  They then went about courting business from HIP suppliers and in the process and despite the recession made far more money than they ever did before the HIP was introduced. Unfortunately greed got the better of some and basic commercial considerations such as credit checks was thrown to one side.  This combined with over capitalization and bad business decisions led to some businesses struggling.

I find it insulting to energy assessors for Mr. Lister to make a comparison between his member’s plight and the uphill struggle faced by this group of individuals who have consistently been let down by Government.  I bet certain energy assessors would love to be in the position of some of Mr. Lister’s members despite their apparent hardship caused by bad debt. The fact is that search companies have in the main done very well out of HIPs and the only reason some are reminiscing about their lost past is that they are now finding it difficult to compete in a market that has become very competitive.

Mr. Lister may be better off focusing his time and efforts on re-educating some of his members on basic business considerations. 

Research strikes blow to Conservative policy on home information packs

Home information Packs are not hampering the property market is the message that emerges loud and clear from the results of research conducted by national estate agents, Connells.    Figures released show a 9% increase in the number of new valuations carried out on residential property in January 2010, compared to January 2009.

In fact this is the fifth time in a row that monthly valuations activity has exceeded that of the same month the year before.   This news must come as a bitter blow to Grant Shapps policy stance on home information packs as it clearly undermines his repeated assertions of late that the cost of the HIP is deterring the home owner from taking steps to enter the property market.  The argument with its origin in misguided political rhetoric has always lacked credibility and is now hopefully one that will finally be put to rest.

Is it not now time for the Conservative Party to admit defeat and begin to look at ways to impress the electorate with some positive and progressive policy? 

Will the real Grant Shapps please stand up!

I had not heard of Grant Shapps six months ago.  He had not registered on my radar. It was only after attending a dinner in London last year, at which he also attended, that I became aware of him and of how he had already, and would continue to play a major factor in the running and future planning of my business, as well as the businesses of many others operating within the home information pack industry.

So who is Grant Shapps, and why is it so important to understand how he ticks. More importantly is there any evidence available within his past, or with regard his approach to business, that could help us understand why he has become so obsessed with repealing the home information pack legislation, and in the process, destroying the heart and soul of a thriving industry. Some argue that the HIP policy is not so much a Party backed policy, but is rather a policy that has fast become a personal crusade on the part of this bright and very career minded MP.

Well we all know he has the important position within the Conservative Party of Shadow Housing Minister. Some may know that he has an ‘at arms length’ interest in a London based Printing Company called Print House that, much to his credit, was founded by him in 1990.  Perhaps not so well known, and which may surprise some, is his former role as an Internet marketing guru in the company - How to Corp Limited. He held at least at one time a  shareholding in this company in which he promoted marketing aids under the pseudonym, Michael Green.  More on this rather interesting aspect of his life later!

He was born in Watford in 1968 and was educated in a Grammar School before obtaining a Higher National Diploma in Business at Manchester Polytechnic.  In 1990 he founded the printing company in a way best described by the text which you can find on the home page of the company website at www.printhouse.com:

‘Way back in 1990 our founder, then a young entrepreneur, started us up during the days when design and print was just emerging from the dark ages.’

Looking at this there is, interestingly, a direct parallel to the approach adopted by many of us, who relying on brave legislative reform, took the opportunity it presented to invest time and money in building IT systems and recruiting people to do what others have failed miserably to do in the past (e.g. Law Society), and that is try and take the home buying and selling process out of the dark ages and into the modern age.

He remains a shareholder of Print House, and in a rather cynical marketing trick, the website contains passing mention of his role in politics:

‘Oh, and that founder of ours, he left us and went off to work elsewhere - as a Member of Parliament!’

The major break through in his political career, that started the same year as his marriage in 1997, came in 2005 when he was elected as the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield at the 2005 election defeating the Labour MP and then Minister for Public Health, Melanie Johnson. He had as a result of the success access to large funds for printing and consequently spent, so it is said, an estimated twelve times what Johnson was able to invest in her campaign.

Now on the shadow front bench and a close supporter of David Cameron, Grant Shapps has sought to make a name for him self in the role of shadow housing minister, focusing his attention on several populist issues such as the homeless, and not forgetting of course, the abolition of home information packs.

Though his history does not give many clues behind this unhealthy obsession with HIPs, there is plenty from his background that makes his complete and politically driven disregard of the consequences his policy will have on an industry packed full with innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, difficult to comprehend, and indeed stomach.

Not only does this evidence lie within the success he has had with his multi- million pound print company, but also in a less publicised part of his life, that is, his former shareholding in the internet marketing company How to Corp Limited, established in 2002 at the same time he was beginning to rise within the ranks of the Conservative Party.

So what is How to Corp? Where do I start! Perhaps it’s best for me to quote Mr Shapps, or perhaps I should say,  Michael Green:

‘If you are like me, you dream about making money on the Internet!

But maybe you're still wondering whether it is possible to really make big money online -- I mean, to achieve an outstanding and superior standard of living from the Internet.

Who am I?

My name is Michael Green, and the reason I dream about making money online is because I happen to know for sure that when I wake up each morning, there will be a pile of new orders just waiting for me in my email inbox!

So, you could say that not only do I dream about making money while I'm sleeping -- I do!

Better still, those shiny new orders populating my inbox don't even require any input from me. In fact, the only thing I do in the morning is file those credit card receipts in my new SALES folder. And...err....well that's it!’

Its fair to say that although Mr Shapps originally wrote under this alias, the company now uses the name Michael Green as a publishing name, with the products primarily commercially written by third-parties and marketed by How To Corp Ltd.

Interestingly however the website which gives the impression through fake US telephone numbers and the use of dollars as the primary trading currency, it is of USA origin, still contains a biography that makes mention of Mr Shapps, sorry Mr Green, as being a person who seems wholly unconcerned about people making a connection with his real identity and political life. His self-penned biography (well as afar as I can see it is self-penned) reads:

‘Michael Green is a 35 year old Brit who lives in London, England.

When he was just 21, he set up his own printing business. Today that same business has developed into offering Design, Print and Website development services and has a turnover measured in the millions.

Nowadays Michael works on a part-time basis as Chairman of his printing company and in his spare time he's developed http://www.howtocorp.com

Michael discovered that his offline, real-world, business experience helped make him an overnight online success. And the facts speak for themselves because he established his online How To Corp enterprise as recently as the Spring of 2002, yet today he has created over 16 toolkit products and these are marketed and sold worldwide via the internet.

Michael Green has achieved a #5 position in the much coveted ClickBank MarketPlace, which lists literally tens-of-thousands of other online products, so the chances are that by the time you've finished reading his biography, he will have made yet more internet-based sales!

Michael explains:

"Doing business both on and offline is much more similar than some people would have you think. You still need to provide good products and a great service. In addition it's important to be courteous, polite and responsive when prospective customers contact you by phone or email. These same rules all apply no matter which environment your business operates in."

Michael says that there are however some very big differences to doing business online. He confesses that he still struggles to believe how it has been possible to build such a profitable company, without the need to employ staff, hold physical stock or deal with so many of the other regulatory issues that surround traditional 'real-world' businesses’.

Lucky Grant Shapps that is what I say! Fortunately he operated and made a load of money in a world where he was totally unaffected by the political whim that he has and continues to impose upon hard working people like myself.  The insult is even worse when you look that what he was doing is not too far off what we are doing within the HIP industry – that is, looking to use the Internet to make a living!   Technology to provide an information-based product is what we do and what we do well!

The only difference is that we sell a product that is demonstrably helping to improve a system desperately in need of improvement, whereas How to Corp seems to be praying upon and selling to unsuspecting people who are persuaded through clever marketing techniques to part with hard earned money in the belief they will make their millions.

Not sure what this tells us about the type of person the electorate is being asked to elect as the Country’s next shadow housing minister – perhaps it is best to leave it to my readers to make their own mind up. 

Another major blow to the survival of the Home Inspector

Yesterday’s news that Property Professionals has gone into administration will leave a large number of Home Inspector candidates that they were training left high and dry. Yet another unwelcomed blow, and one that follows a series of setbacks for the beleaguered Home Inspector.

Encouraged by Government to train and acquire qualification to meet the demand that was expected when the Home Condition Report featured as part of the home information pack, the Home Inspector has for the past year or so been left in limbo facing little prospect of seeing any increase in the very low level of demand for condition reports.

There may it seem however be some light at the end of the tunnel with the establishment of a new organisation known as the Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA). As part of FPIP the RPSA has been introduced to represent the interests of Home Inspectors (whether part or fully qualified and registered).

Upon hearing news of the demise of Property Professionals RPSA has I am told taken the initiative to arrange an emergency meeting to see if they can come up with an immediate solution that will help the people affected.

 

A Spokesman for RPSA has told me:

 

‘We are sincerely concerned for the people that have been affected by the Government’s dire treatment of HIs and our members have some good friends amongst them. We are determined to try and achieve for them what they are entitled to – which is support from Government (whether by way of compensation or other means) and a long term and rewarding career in condition reporting.'

Though no guarantee RPSA holds all the answers, it must be reassuring an organisation now exists that is looking to see if it can provide support and direction for the Home Inspector and hopefully ensure the HI does not become a forgotten professional.

The RPSA can be contacted via e-mail or by telephone 08709 507739.

More news from the Conservative Party on home information packs

Further clarification on issues surrounding the HIP have today emerged from Grant Shapps’ office. In reply to a letter sent to Mr Shapps by an energy assessor who like many of his colleagues is concerned about the loss of livelihood if the HIP is abolished, the Conservative Party has once again questioned the necessity for the HIP stating it:

‘.... believe(s) that if they (HIPs) are in fact an effective and efficient means of compiling important documents relating to a home and a useful source of information in the home buying process then they will survive in the market without the need for legislation’.

Ignoring the fact all attempts over the past 75 years to introduce, through voluntary take up schemes, such as protocols, have failed miserably, the letter then goes on to explain the reason for wishing to implement policy that will clearly throw us all back into the dark ages:

‘To clarify, we do not claim that HIPs have caused the financial problems which have pervaded in the economy over the period of their existence, but the continuation of such a costly piece of bureaucracy has harmed the market and created unnecessary costs for sellers in an already depressed market. All of the figures quoted have used the Government’s own estimates of HIPs produced and estimated average costs, obtained via Parliamentary Questions. Any problems with their basis should therefore be taken up with the Department for Communities and Local Government’.

At long last we have official acknowledgement from the Conservative Party that the HIP is not the cause for the collapse of last year of the property market. Halleluiah! Instead the focus is on how the HIP is costing the consumer more to move home. When will the Conservative Party ‘get it’, the HIP has led to lower conveyancing costs and the removal of the 1 million pounds per day lost in failed transactions. It is a simple set of fact but one that is continuously overlooked.

Asked about the Home Buying Survey commissioned back in 2007 and why the Conservative Party has consistently refused to disclose the findings Mr Shapps explains:

‘We undertook to review home buying during a very different climate for the market and we continue to monitor the market’s recovery and regularly receive testimonials from buyers and sellers describing their experiences and offering their thoughts on how the system could be improved. Grant will always pay keen attention to such correspondence and it is used to inform future policy.’

Sorry, but this is nonsense and Mr Shapps knows it is. We are all bright enough to view results in light of changes in market conditions and as the market is picking up and will inevitably go through a similar cycle why not let us see what the survey revealed. The truth must be that it does not support the policy Mr Shapps is pushing.

Strangely when asked about the affect his policy will have upon the spirit of entrepreneurialism, and how it will lead to job losses, instead of offering to see if there is an alternative route of achieving his aim but one which would have less impact, the response focuses on how political ideology seems to be the only factor that is important to Mr Shapps. His office writes:

‘ As you so rightly point out, Conservatives believe that entrepreneurs and others who work hard to benefit themselves, their families and the economy are the bedrock of a flourishing economy and are vital to any economic recovery. However, we do not believe that imposing bureaucracy and red-tape is the best means by which to encourage entrepreneurialism’.

Banging one’s head against a brick wall comes to mind when the response ends with a reiteration of the fact the policy thinking has always been consistent and that as the EPC is to be retained we should all be grateful. Interestingly his office is still labouring under the delusion that the policy is a popular one and will win votes. They say:

‘We have set out our stall and have always been consistent about our intention to abolish Home Information Packs. We will however maintain and enhance Energy Performance Certificates and leave it to the electorate to decide whose plans are best for the housing market’.

I believe he is wrong and that the Conservative Party is underestimating the power and influence of the industry when it comes to engaging with and educating homeowners. The problem is that rather than speaking with those who are engaging as grass root level , Mr Shapps is instead putting too much emphasis on feedback from a very small section of the property industry.

Property lawyers begin to recognise the benefit of home information packs

I am always on the lookout for evidence from property professionals that supports the view held by many that now the property market is picking up, the frequently attacked home information pack is actually beginning to fully deliver the benefits is was designed to confer.

As a solicitor I have always held the view that any mechanism that helps to place home sellers and buyers in a more informed position at the beginning of the selling process must be good new for consumers, and definitely worth saving. Delaying the legal engagement until the seller has found a buyer is a major cause of delay and makes little sense.

There are many solicitors around the country who are beginning to be vocal about the benefits of the HIP, one of whom London based, Jenny Khan, recently wrote:

‘As a conveyancing solicitor dealing with many conveyancing transactions on a daily basis we find the Home Information Pack useful in that it clearly lays out all the required information about a property. These forms could otherwise take weeks and even months to gather and in the pre Home Information Pack days the sale was delayed while the seller was gathering this information. In particular as a London Solicitor we are dealing with a significant number of leasehold properties which seem to be proceeding through to completions much more swiftly with the Home Information Pack in place’.

To hear this from a conveyancer is refreshing and hopefully this is a message that we will be hearing more and more as the HIP begins to bed in and there are more property transactions within which it’s benefits can be properly assessed.

Improving the usefulness of the home information pack

The knives are out for the home information pack and those who would like to see the pack condemned to the history books seem to be very quick to block their ears the moment anybody comes up with a suggestion on how the HIP could be used as a basis for badly needed housing reform.

I have previously written at some length about the type of reform one could introduce and there are several good proposals circulating within industry that would present a new government with some constructive ideas. Most of these highlight the benefit of early disclosure of legal documents and information.  Rather than re-hashing the arguments advanced in support of such reform I wish in this article to focus instead on other possible applications for the HIP, or an enhanced HIP.

It is sometimes easy to forget that the purpose of the mandation behind the HIP is to oblige a home seller to deliver information and documents on a property to be sold at a very early stage of the home selling process. This is not with the aim of making life more difficult for some estate agents, but rather for the benefit of you and me and other consumers. Buying a house is a major decision normally involving a large sum of money, and is therefore one where it is important that as much information on the property and its surrounding land can be given upfront so as to ensure an informed choice can be made. 

At present there is only a limited amount of information available when we look at which property to select for viewing purposes. In the main we are apart from the information contained within a HIP, left to rely on sale particulars drawn up by estate agents, and which are primarily designed and prepared to draw us across the threshold in the hope we fall in love with the property and decide to buy it.

Would it not be so much more helpful if we were able to access within a HIP details of the local schools, the local crime rate, whether the property is situated in a flood plane, the broadband speed, the local amenities, the price at which the property was previously sold, details of previous suppliers of legal services, the local transport system.

In addition to this, and stemming from the energy rating, the pack could include details of grants for energy improvement, and also of schemes such as the Green Refit policy that the Conservatives seem excited about.

Local Council Information sheets could be included making the HIP an ideal and cheap means of distributing important information to householders.

The Property Information Questionaire has since its introduction, helped to draw the householder more into the process of selling and buying and by adding and including more consumer based information, the HIP can only succeed at becoming a more consumer friendly product.

Some HIP suppliers already supply certain of this information and are therefore already conferring extra benefit for the consumer.  By leaving the HIP in place and allowing industry to continue to introduce other ‘added value’ ideas can only serve in may view to enhance the HIP experience and make consumers more involved in the selling and buying process.

Looking ahead why not look at developing the HIP further and turning it into a property log book to enable historical information like maintenance to be retained and requiring the legal aspects to be updated each time the property is sold?  This can only result in a cost saving to both seller and buyer.

The point to all of this is that if we are going to move forward with making moving home more costs effective and less stressful for the consumer, we must not allow the HIP to go, as without it any hope of moving forward with progressive reform will be lost for many years and perhaps decades to come.

Is apathy and infighting the biggest threat to the HIP and EPC industry?

‘The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems' (Mohandas Gandhi).

Never a truer set of words spoken and a quote which is apt when we look at the efforts of those who are working hard to educate and inform those who are determined to destroy an industry for no reason other than political gain.

People like me work tirelessly to do all we can to ensure the thousands of people working in the HIP and energy assessment industry stand some chance of safeguarding their investment and preserving their livelihoods. It is for most of the time a thankless task but one that is necessary as without it the true picture of the benefits of the HIP and the EPC could be violated by the increasing silence and inactivity found in some quarters.

Though encouraged by feedback and support received by many, I am constantly left cold by the amount of infighting and apathy I come across each day. I suppose that when one takes on the challenge of addressing the attack on our industry, adverse comment and questions about motive are all part and parcel of the overall package. However what I find abhorrent is the clueless comment and personal attacks that are raised and debated on certain so called professional forums. It’s not so much the personal related comment as one can live with that, it’s more to do with the signal it gives out to those watching and making assessment of our industry. At a time when there is a need to present a united front how damaging it is to find certain members of the industry looking at the debate as some kind of ‘game’ in which point scoring seems to be the only priority.

Surely the time and effort devoted to debating the efforts of some very committed people would be better spent focusing on how as an industry we can demonstrate to those who count that we are an industry worth saving. Has the time not come for use to all join together and make our voice known as one?

Perhaps this is asking too much and it may be that those who are looking to frustrate the efforts of the majority have a hidden agenda or are spurred on by political motivation. Who knows? Hopefully when these people speak what they regard as words of wisdom, the majority also speak up and continue to provide their support.

I am not so self righteous to believe that all these efforts are to everybody’s liking, however at least they are pro-active steps and do have the support of most people within the industry. It is so easy to criticise and much more difficult to find time and devote resources to taking steps to do something positive.

There is only a short period of time left between now and the Election. All of us need to do more to make sure we still have an industry in place in May and unless we join together and start pulling in the same direction, the apathy and in fighting could very well mark the end of all of us. Please therefore can I call upon you all to register your support with the HIP Reform Group (http://bit.ly/5wkVNA) and other any other group promoting the same objective? Your support could make a big difference.