Residential Conveyancing

How long will my property purchase or sale take?

The average process of conveyancing usually takes 6-12 weeks. However, this can vary depending on factors such as whether you are the buyer or the seller. The purchase of a house typically takes longer for the buyer, due to factors like arranging a mortgage and undertaking surveys of the property you intend to buy.

Appointing experienced and qualified conveyancers will help you to avoid costly mistakes and have the best chances of a smooth and successful transaction. We offer a full range of legal services and can offer advice on all matters.

To try and assist potential sellers and buyers in understanding the process, we have compiled the below 6 stage step by step guide:

Stage 1: Introduction / information about you (0-2 weeks)
• we will take details for both you and the transaction so that we can provide you with an accurate quotation. Once instructed, we a file(s) and begin the legal process.
• You will need to complete and return a sale / purchase questionnaire and you will also need to provide evidence of your identity. If purchasing, we will also need proof of where your funds are coming from.
• Monies on account will be requested to cover any third-party disbursements. On a sale matter, this will be ordering a copy of the title from the Land Registry. On a purchase, these funds will be for ordering property searches.

Stage 2: Production of contact papers (0-3 weeks)
Once we have received your full instructions on the transaction(s), depending on whether it be a sale or purchase (or both) the below steps are taken: –

• Sale – a copy of your title is downloaded from the Land Registry. A draft contract is prepared and sent out to your buyers’ solicitor together with your completed protocol forms (Property Information Form TA6 and Fittings and Contents Form TA10, Leasehold Information Form TA7 (if applicable). It is at this stage we shall also order a redemption statement from your current mortgage lender.
  • Purchase – once the contract pack has been received from your seller’s solicitor, we shall review the property title and raise any additional enquiries we believe necessary. It is also at this stage that searches (Local, drainage and environmental) are ordered.

Stage 3: Your Mortgage (0-6 weeks)

If you are purchasing, and taking out a mortgage on the property, your mortgage lender will send a copy to you and a separate copy will be sent to us. At this stage, we will review your mortgage, together with any special conditions attached to it. Not only are we representing you, but we will also be acting on behalf of your mortgage lender, therefore in some instances, matters will need to be referred to your lender so that we may obtain their approval to proceed.

Once we have reviewed and reported to you on your mortgage, we will send you the mortgage deed to sign. This deed will allow your lender to register a charge over the title of the property, protecting their security.

Stage 4: The Property Report (0-2 weeks)

Once we have received full replies to enquiries from your sellers’ solicitors, together with your search results, we will report to you on all the information received about the property, together with our legal advice relating to this.