With the recent Government announcement and subsequent trade advertising estate agents can expect the sales and marketing activity for HIP providers to rise and rise. Almost every week sees a new company enter the market and the market leading provider Live welcomes the competition.

Rob Sendall, chairman of Live explains, “This type of regulation always attracts new companies to a market sector and such new blood also stimulates the existing suppliers. Extra choice for the estate agent can only be a good thing. The difficulty is how the estate agent can make that choice - especially when their own experience of what is required has been limited”.

The Live Organisation has produced some suggestions of how estate agents can measure the Live HIP proposition and also the proposition of other HIP providers:

• How easily can you order your HIPs?
• How are your HIPs going to be delivered and then passed on?
• How much is a HIP going to cost?
• Does your HIP provider have any white label experience?
• Does your HIP provider have sufficient resources?
• What resources will your HIP provider apply to the production process?
• Is your HIP provider prepared to agree to a service level guarantee?
• Is your HIP provider giving expert help?
• Do they have helplines?
• Will your HIP provider be able to source sufficient Home Inspectors?
• Who owns the HIP?
• Can you be part of a pilot scheme?

“By asking these questions of any HIP provider - even when a network has offered their preferred choice of supplier - will allow estate agents to ensure that they will choose a provider who will deliver when HIP starts and who will still be delivering the same levels of service one year on” adds Rob Sendall.

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