buying a house in England/Wales, here’s the process from having an offer accepted through to getting the keys. The key thing to remember is that your accepted offer is not legally binding until exchange of contracts.
The process at a glance
Offer accepted → Mortgage → Solicitor/conveyancing → Survey → Searches → Enquiries → Mortgage offer → Contract → Exchange → Completion → Keys
1. Immediately after your offer is accepted
Do these things straight away:
- Instruct a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. They handle the legal work, searches, contract and exchange/completion.
- Tell your mortgage broker/lender the offer has been accepted and proceed with the full mortgage application if you haven't already.
- Arrange your survey.
- Tell the estate agent you want the property marked sold subject to contract and ask them to confirm the offer in writing.
- Find out whether you're buying freehold or leasehold.
- If leasehold, establish the remaining lease term, service charge, ground rent and any planned major works.
- Don't make major new credit applications or change your financial circumstances unnecessarily while your mortgage is being processed.
Important: the seller can still accept another offer before exchange, and you can still withdraw. This is the period in which gazumping can happen.
2. Mortgage
Your lender will normally carry out a mortgage valuation to make sure the property provides sufficient security for the loan.
This is different from a proper survey: a valuation isn't intended to give you a detailed assessment of the property's condition.
You want to reach the point where you have a formal mortgage offer in writing before exchange.
Watch out for a down valuation
For example:
Agreed price: £400,000
Mortgage valuation: £380,000
Your lender may base the mortgage on £380,000 rather than £400,000. You may then need to:
- renegotiate the purchase price;
- increase your deposit; or
- potentially find another lender.
Don't assume your mortgage agreement in principle guarantees the final mortgage.
3. Survey
I'd strongly recommend getting a survey, particularly if the property isn't a relatively new-build.
Typical choices include:
Level 1 – basic condition overview.
Level 2 – more detailed inspection; often appropriate for conventional houses/flats in reasonable condition.
Level 3 – much more detailed investigation, useful for older, unusual, altered or visibly problematic properties.
The survey can give you grounds to renegotiate if it identifies significant defects. MoneyHelper specifically recommends completing the survey and reviewing the results before exchange.
Things worth paying particular attention to
- Roof
- Damp
- Subsidence/movement
- Windows
- Electrical installation
- Plumbing
- Boiler/heating
- Drainage
- Timber/woodworm
- Asbestos
- Extensions and alterations
- Loft conversion
- Flood risk
- Boundaries
- Japanese knotweed
- Structural cracks
Your solicitor deals with legal issues; your surveyor deals primarily with physical condition.
4. Conveyancing starts
Your solicitor will receive the seller's legal pack and start investigating the property.
The contract will deal with things such as:
- purchase price
- boundaries
- fixtures and fittings
- rights of way
- restrictions
- planning matters
- drainage/services
- completion arrangements.
You'll probably receive quite a lot of paperwork.
Don't just sign everything. If you don't understand something, ask your solicitor.
5. Searches
Your solicitor will arrange searches appropriate to the property.
Common searches include:
Local authority search
Can reveal things such as:
- planning permissions
- building regulations
- nearby road schemes
- conservation areas
- tree preservation orders
- enforcement issues
- other matters affecting the property
Water & drainage search
Checks matters such as:
- mains drainage
- water supply
- public sewers
- sewer locations
Environmental search
Can identify potential issues such as:
- contaminated land
- flooding
- ground stability
- other environmental risks.
Your solicitor may recommend additional searches depending on the property/location.
6. Enquiries
This is where your solicitor asks the seller's solicitor questions about anything that needs clarification.
For example:
"Was the extension built with planning permission?"
"Can you provide the building regulations completion certificate?"
"Who owns this section of the garden?"
"Is there a shared access?"
"Are there any disputes with neighbours?"
"What exactly is included in the sale?"
This stage can become surprisingly complicated, particularly with older properties or leasehold flats.
7. Leasehold — extra checks
If you're buying a flat, don't treat this as a minor detail.
Your solicitor should investigate things including:
- years remaining on the lease
- ground rent
- service charge
- service-charge arrears
- planned major works
- building insurance
- management company
- restrictions on alterations
- subletting restrictions
- pets
- parking
- rights over communal areas.
Major works are particularly important.
For example, a seemingly affordable flat could become much less attractive if the management company is planning a £15,000 roof or external-wall bill.
8. You're approaching exchange
Before you exchange, you ideally want your solicitor to confirm that the major pieces are in place.
Your pre-exchange checklist
☐ Survey completed
☐ Survey issues resolved/renegotiated
☐ Searches returned
☐ Search issues understood
☐ Legal enquiries answered
☐ Mortgage offer received
☐ Contract checked
☐ Fixtures/fittings agreed
☐ Deposit available
☐ Completion date agreed
☐ Buildings insurance arranged
☐ You are happy to proceed
MoneyHelper specifically recommends checking the survey, searches, written mortgage offer, deposit funds, completion date, fixtures/fittings and EPC before exchange.
9. Exchange of contracts — the big milestone
This is the point where things become legally binding.
Your solicitor and the seller's solicitor exchange contracts.
After exchange:
- you're committed to buying;
- the seller is committed to selling;
- the completion date is fixed;
- pulling out can have serious financial/legal consequences.
You should therefore not think of exchange as a formality. It's the point at which you should be completely satisfied with the purchase.
Buildings insurance
For a typical freehold purchase, you should have buildings insurance arranged for the appropriate point specified by your solicitor/contract, commonly from exchange. Your solicitor will tell you exactly what is required.
10. Exchange → completion
The period between exchange and completion is often around 7–28 days, although it can be different if everyone agrees.
This is when you:
- book removals;
- arrange broadband;
- arrange utilities;
- pack;
- arrange time off work;
- confirm your completion funds;
- arrange contents insurance;
- make final preparations.
If you need to measure rooms or check something at the property, ask the estate agent about another viewing.
11. Completion day 🎉
This is the day you actually become the owner.
Your solicitor:
- receives/organises the money needed for the purchase;
- sends the purchase funds to the seller's solicitor;
- receives confirmation that completion has taken place;
- deals with the relevant legal/registration work;
- confirms you can collect the keys.
Once completion is confirmed, the property is yours.
The estate agent will normally hold the keys.
Don't panic if the keys aren't available at 9am
Completion time can depend heavily on the chain.
If you're buying in a chain, money has to move through multiple transactions. So completion could be later in the day.
12. After completion
Your solicitor still has some work to do.
They'll generally deal with matters such as:
- registering your ownership with HM Land Registry;
- submitting/paying Stamp Duty where applicable;
- dealing with the mortgage registration;
- sending you the final documents.
In England and Northern Ireland, Stamp Duty is generally due within 14 days of completion, and your solicitor will normally handle the payment if applicable.
You should also:
- take electricity/gas/water meter readings;
- contact the council about Council Tax;
- update your address;
- arrange broadband;
- update banks/insurance/employer etc.;
- change locks if appropriate;
- locate the stopcock, fuse box and meters;
- photograph the property's condition when you move in.
The biggest things that can go wrong
| Problem | What it can mean |
|---|---|
| Down valuation | You may need a larger deposit or lower price |
| Bad survey | Renegotiation or withdrawal |
| Search problem | Further investigation or legal protection needed |
| Title problem | Sale can be delayed until resolved |
| Leasehold issue | Potentially expensive/serious |
| Mortgage delay | Exchange gets pushed back |
| Seller's chain collapses | Your purchase may be delayed or fall through |
| Gazumping | Seller accepts another offer before exchange |
| Gazundering | Your buyer/seller attempts a last-minute price change |
| Missing paperwork | Enquiries and exchange delayed |
| Bank-transfer issue | Completion can be delayed |
The important distinction is that until exchange, the transaction can still fall apart. Once exchanged, you're legally committed.
A simple timeline
Week 0: Offer accepted
↓
Weeks 1–2: Solicitor instructed + mortgage application + survey
↓
Weeks 2–6: Searches + enquiries + mortgage underwriting
↓
Weeks 4–10: Problems resolved + final contract
↓
Exchange: Legally binding
↓
Usually 1–4 weeks: Prepare to move
↓
Completion: Money transfers → ownership transfers → keys 🔑
There isn't a guaranteed timescale; GOV.UK says buying a home takes about five months on average overall, while MoneyHelper notes that the period after an accepted offer can often be around two to three months, with chains and problems causing delays.
The one rule I'd remember
Don't consider the house "yours" just because the offer has been accepted. Consider it yours when contracts have exchanged—and you actually own it on completion.
No comments:
Post a Comment