Many first time buyers will still have to pay for a full property valuation, despite government moves to ease their burden by introducing Home Information Packs (HIPs).
From June 2007, anyone selling their home has to compile a HIP, costing around £700, that includes local authority searches, work guarantees and a Home Condition Report.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the department responsible for introducing HIPs, said the packs would speed up the home-buying process, provide greater transparency and cut costs for first time buyers by shifting the cost burden from buyer to seller.
However, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that HIPs would not include all the information buyers would need to agree a mortgage.
"In the majority of cases, lenders will still need a valuation report, for which there will be a separate charge," said a CML spokesman.
"For example, some 40% of all mortgages for house purchase have a loan-to-value ratio of 80% or more. In these cases, lenders are likely to require a separate inspection."
For a property priced between £150,000 and £200,000, Abbey would charge £295,
Purchasers will still have to pay a normal valuation fee so the cost saving for them is negligible.
A spokeswoman for the deputy prime minister's office said the packs would still save money for buyers in many cases.
"Home information packs will cut costs, not increase them. At the moment there are huge costs for buyers, especially when sales fall through," the spokeswoman said.
"Lenders are telling us that in the majority of cases they would use the home condition reports as the basis of their valuations, reducing the need for expensive on-site valuation inspections."