Buying A Home

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6-12 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 4 weeks or longer. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 8 months.
In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

There are several stages to the Conveyancing process details of which are set out below. The most important stage, however, is when contracts are exchanged once all searches and enquiries have been completed and we are satisfied that you are obtaining good title to the property then contracts can be exchanged. It is usual for the purchaser to pay a deposit of up to 10% of the purchase price on exchange. At this point the transaction becomes legally binding with an agreed completion date and if either party fails to complete as agreed they will be in breach of contract and usually cannot withdraw without incurring serious penalties.

Pre-Exchange

We will:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Contact the estate agent
Check finances are in place to fund the purchase and contact lender's solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on the contract and supporting documents
Carry out a local authority search and advise on other appropriate searches
Raise enquiries with the seller's Solicitor
Give you advice on all documents and information received
Go through the conditions of mortgage offer with you
Send final contract to you for signature
Advise on joint ownership, where appropriate

Exchange of Contracts

We will:

Agree the completion date (date from which you own the property)
Obtain the deposit from you (up to 10% of the purchase price)
Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
You must put in place property insurance

Between Exchange and Completion

We will:

Agree the transfer deed
Obtain your witnessed signature to the transfer deed
Obtain pre-completion searches
Report to your Building Society/Bank and request mortgage advance
You will now have an agreed completion date and you will need to arrange your removals, take meter readings, notify the utilities including Council Tax.
We will forward you a financial statement setting out the balance due from you.

Completion

We will:

On the agreed date we will completion the purchase by transferring the funds to the seller’s Solicitors and they will hand over the title deeds in exchange.