To remove Hips would be a "shame" for first-time buyers

First-time buyers will be the ones most affected by a suspension of Home Information Packs (Hips), an industry expert has claimed.

Last week, the Conservatives called for a suspension of Hips but Helen Adams, managing editor of FirstRungNow, has argued that it would be a "shame" for first-time buyers not to have Hips.

Ms Adam said that it was difficult to judge how successful the packs have been because "there are hardly any properties being sold".

"I thought that the only people who had any chance of benefitting from it were first-time buyers because it was something that they got that they did not have to pay for," she explained.

First-time buyers considering a self build project will not have to worry about the Hips situation as they will generally just be required to purchase a plot of land, not an existing property.

In March, an IPSOS Mori Poll carried out on behalf of the government revealed that 41 per cent of buyers felt that Hips have failed to simplify the buying process.