By Andrew Harrison

It’s billed as the biggest shake-up to home buying in years: a new rulebook that could save first-time buyers £710 and shave four weeks off the average sale.

Under the new proposals, sellers must provide key details about a property upfront - and binding contracts could stop either buyer or seller from walking away late in the process.

On paper, the new Material Information scheme is a win-win. Less stress and less money can surely only be a good thing.

House sales falling through are a daily occurrence - and that can lead to chaos for both buyers and sellers, and severely impact anyone and everyone along a chain.

Almost a third of agreed sales still collapse before completion; that’s time, money and hope wasted for thousands of people each year.

The government’s new scheme could prove a helpful step on the path towards the end of gazumping in England and Wales - a painful practice almost non-existent in Scotland, where a higher offer is made even after a sale has been........

© LBC