For many people, buying a home is the most significant spending decision of their life.

However, it’s often made on less information and understanding than other purchases, and can be a daunting experience for first-time buyers.

In the current slow property market, a raft of challenges face buyers and sellers alike.

Lending to first-time buyers has halved over the past 12 months, and those who can buy are cautious and looking for clearer information to help them make better decisions.

Where transactions fail, buyers have reported an average loss of £442 costs.

This often occurs due to information emerging much later in the buying process, putting off some people before they even start to look for a new property.

These are some of the reasons why important changes are being made to home buying and selling.

From April 6, all properties for sale will be required to have a Home Information Pack from the first day they are placed on the market.

It will include a new property information questionaire to provide comprehensive information for prospective buyers before they commit to a viewing. Whether you are thinking of buying your first home or aiming to make your property more attractive to prospective purchasers, it’s important to have a clear grasp of what the HIP and questionaire include and how they can benefit you.

The new property information questionnaire is a one-stop checklist to help buyers make informed decisions about buying a property and whether to complete a viewing. It includes: flood risk information, leasehold details (if applicable), service charges, parking arrangements and more.

Home Information Packs provide information such as an energy performance certificate, a sale statement summarising the terms, evidence of title, standard searches, a copy of the lease (where appropriate) and more.

The basic HIP takes on average five days to compile and the cost of this information is covered by the seller.

It can vary, so it’s worth checking cost, terms and conditions before you buy one.

Some estate agents offer alternative ways of paying for packs and others help sellers compile the pack. Alternatively, sellers can use a solicitor, specialist pack providers, or do it themselves.

The information is free of charge to the buyer (you can be asked to pay copying and postage charges) and it is designed to help buyers make an informed decision about the property they’re interested in before they incur any costs.

Ask the estate agent for a copy of the HIP and read it carefully before committing to a viewing, to make sure you see only the properties with the features right for you.

See www.direct.gov.uk/home buying for further information.