After your offer is accepted on a property, several important steps need to happen before you pick up the keys and it becomes yours. In the UK, the average time from offer accepted to completion is between 12 and 16 weeks but this differs for every transaction.  

In this guide, we break down what to expect from those weeks before the property becomes legally yours, so you can get prepared. 

Complete your mortgage application 

If you’re using a mortgage to purchase your property, you’ll need to inform your lender when you’ve had an offer accepted on a house, so they can provide an official mortgage offer based on the final property price. 

At this stage, they’ll need to run final checks on your finances, verifying your income, running a credit check and valuing the property to ensure it’s fully covered by your mortgage offer. 

Independent survey 

Surveys aren’t mandatory but are recommended to ensure you understand everything you need to know about the condition of the property you’re buying. An independent surveyor will assess both the inside and outside of the property and list anything you need to be aware of. 

There are three different levels of survey you can book, depending on how in-depth you’d like them to go. Whichever you choose, they will provide a report of their findings and recommendations. 

Conveyancing 

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring the property ownership from seller to buyer. It’s the longest part of the house buying process as it’s the most complicated step. To avoid delays, we recommend appointing a conveyancing solicitor as early as possible.  

Don’t have a solicitor in mind? Get a free estimate from the team at Jephson Legal. 

Here’s everything your conveyancing solicitor will oversee: 

• Draft contracts. Checking and sharing the draft contracts and any supporting documents for your property purchase. This includes the TA6 and TA10 forms which outline all you need to know about the property and any fixtures and fittings, respectively. If you have questions or concerns at this point, you’ll also raise them with your solicitor. 

• Local searches. A set of legal searches that flag anything you need to be concerned about in the local area. Your solicitor will check for things such as the risk of flooding, environmental issues, water supply, radiation risk, mining activity and more. 

This process should flag up anything that could potentially impact your safety at the property, pose an insurance risk, or cost you unexpected money down the line. This does not mitigate the need for an independent property survey. 

• Enquiries. These are questions your conveyancing solicitor will raise to get clarity on any legal, structural, or other neighbourhood issues that may impact your property.  

They will look at things like planning permissions, rights of way, boundary disputes and even double check the current owners have the legal right to sell the property. They also aim to uncover things such as disputes with neighbours, so you have a complete picture of what you’re buying. 

• Leasehold Information Pack (if relevant). If you’re buying a leasehold property, your solicitor will need to check the Leasehold Information Pack and communicate with the landlord and/or management company.  

The leasehold information pack should include details about any work proposed to the property, as well as any charges, such as ground rent and service charges. 

Please note: while your solicitor should check the length of the lease, we recommend doing your due diligence on this. Leases can be costly to extend and other issues can arise if there isn’t much time left on the lease. Do some research and ask your solicitor for advice if needed. 

• Exchange of contracts. Once all searches are complete, the enquiries have been returned and your solicitor is satisfied, you’ll be in a position to sign the contract. This is when the purchase becomes legally binding. 

Before signing, you may wish to view the property again to double check all the fixtures and fittings are as expected. You will also need to have a completion date agreed that works for all parties in your chain. 

Your deposit will need to be in your solicitor’s account in advance so there are no delays caused by late payment. 

• Completion. The date when you pick up the keys to your new property! Before you can do that, your solicitor will make final checks, transfer any remaining funds, sign over the deeds to the property and sign off any mortgage completion statements.  

They’ll also generate a completion statement to confirm everything is ready and you can now move into the property. 

As you can see, there is a lot that needs to happen before completion and delays are quite normal during the conveyancing period. Common reasons for delays include: 

• If there are any probate properties in the chain 

• If any new build houses in the chain aren’t ready 

• If there are any issues with the mortgage application 

• If there are any delays with property searches from the local authority 

You may also encounter delays, even in what appears to be a simple transaction, so it’s best to be prepared. 

Don’t worry, there are ways to try and keep your property transaction moving by returning documents quickly and maintaining regular communication with your solicitor. 

Read our top tips for avoiding delays with your property transaction here.