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Instructing your conveyancer
(1 day – 2 weeks)

1. You need a conveyancer or solicitor to help you once your offer has been accepted or you have accepted an offer.
2. They will need to get all the details of your transaction so that they can provide an accurate price for the work.
3. You will be asked to complete several forms so that we have all the information we need. You will be asked to provide proof of identity and evidence of the source of the funds which you will use.
4. Once you have completed this process, we can properly get started with the main work.

Draft contract pack
(1 – 8 weeks)

If you are buying, we receive the contract pack from the seller’s lawyer. We examine the content of the contract pack carefully to identify whether any enquiries have to be raised about the property.

Conveyancing searches
(2 – 8 weeks)

If you are buying, it is vital that you find out everything about the property that you need to know. The information held by HM Land Registry does not contain everything which a prudent buyer would want to know. Searches help us to identify risks present in the property and the surrounding area. For example, have changes been made to the property without the necessary planning permission? Is the property in an area at high risk of flooding? The searches give the buyer information so that they can change or withdraw their offer before they are bound by a contract.

At this stage, you should arrange for a comprehensive survey to be carried out by a qualified surveyor, so that any issues identified can be raised with the seller.

Enquiries and replies to enquiries
(1 – 4 weeks)

As buyer, once you have seen the contract pack, the searches and the surveyors report, there may be more questions which need to be asked about the property, so that you can be sure about what you are buying.

The seller will reply to those enquiries, with the advice of their lawyer.

Depending on the number and nature of the enquiries raised, this stage can take several weeks.

Arranging funding
(1 day – 6 weeks)

If you are buying with cash, this can be a quick stage of the process as no lender is involved. Even so, Anti-Money Laundering Regulations mean that we have to make detailed enquiries about the source of your funds.

If you are buying with the help of a gift from family or friends, Anti-Money Laundering Regulations require us to make enquiries with them about the source of their funds.

If you are borrowing money to fund the purchase, we will need details of your lender and the mortgage offer. We will contact the lender, review the offer and prepare additional paperwork for you to complete.

If you are selling a property which is subject to a mortgage, we will request information from your lender about the amount needed to pay off the mortgage and this will be sent to us in a redemption statement. The figure provided in a redemption statement is typically valid for about four weeks.

Finalising and signing contract documentaion
(0 – 2 weeks)

Once all the enquiries have been satisfied, we will send you the full contract to sign and return to us. If you are the buyer, at this stage, you send us the deposit so that it is ready for exchange of contracts. Once this is all in place, a date for completion can be agreed. Completion is often about one week after exchange of contracts.

Usually, we will send you the ‘transfer deed’ at the same time as the contract. We will then have all the papers ready to complete the transaction later on.

Exchange of contracts
(0 – 1 week)

If you are selling the property, we will send you a draft financial statement, showing how any current mortgage will be repaid from the proceeds of sale, along with estate agent and other fees, and showing how much you will receive in total.

Once contracts have been exchanged, you are committed to the transaction and the completion date is finalised.

Completion

At completion, the full amount of the purchase money is transferred from the buyer to the seller. The seller’s solicitor confirms that keys should be released.

Completion will take place in a day. It can take place on the same day as contracts are exchanged, or depending on all the circumstances the date for completion can follow several weeks after exchange of contracts.

If you have bought the property, then after completion, the change of ownership must be registered with the Land Registry. The amount of time this takes can vary dramatically from a few days to more than a year.