Joint venture allows automated system for producing Hips

Permalink: Joint venture allows automated system for producing Hips
by Kay Murchie

Hammonds Direct, a provider of conveyancing services, has teamed up with Skywire Software and has implemented a new automated system for producing Home Information Packs (Hips).

The new system uses Documanage (the robust workflow and content management component of Docuflex) which is Skywire’s leading customer communications management (CCM) suite for financial services.

Hips were introduced to speed up the home buying and selling process as well as providing consumers with a faster and more cost effective service.

They were launched on August 1 to include properties with 4-bedrooms or more and rolled-out to include 3-bedroom properties on September 10. They included all properties from December 14 last year.

The recent introduction of Hips legislation in the UK requires home sellers to supply a Hip, containing legally binding information relevant to the sale, on all residential properties.

Hammonds Direct is processing 10,000 -12,000 conveyancing transactions each month and recognised the need for an improved workflow and document management system, which could deal with the projected volume and complexity of Hips-compliant documents.

Skywire Software designed a system to deliver a fast, transparent service for creating Hips in response to the legislation after consulting with the Hammonds Direct technical team.

Tim Smith, technical architect at Hammonds Direct, said we chose Skywire Software because we wanted a system that would interface with their Documanage software, which our research showed was one of the best available.

The new system produces dynamic, data-driven Hips from documents residing in the Documanage database, and presents them via the Web. The flexibility of the solution has allowed Hammonds Direct to create eight (currently) different layouts of Hips to meet the branding needs of multiple clients.

Skywire is a global software company which provides services to the insurance, financial services, and legal and professional services industries

Hammonds Direct acts on behalf of some of the UK’s largest financial institutions, estate agency chains and major companies dealing with the transfer of domestic property.