It’s easy for us, as estate agents, to assume that everyone is as familiar with the buying and selling process as we are, but in actuality, many people only buy and sell a few times during their lifetime and this, combined with processes changing, means that the conveyancing process can seem hard to navigate.

Therefore, we have put together a timeline which aims to de-mystify the process. Please be aware that this is for guidance only – every transaction is different, but we hope this gives you an idea of the way the process works, helping you to be proactive when it comes to being the client.

The average overall timescale can range from 10-20 weeks (longer if the chain is complex, a leasehold property is involved, or the property unregistered). However, if a property is being bought or sold without a mortgage the process should and can be much quicker.

Please note that this timetable is for GUIDANCE and the timescales mentioned are estimates based on “normal” transactions. Every sale and purchase is different, for this reason the process will not always follow these steps precisely

1. Offer Accepted
• On the sale:
o You accept an offer from your buyer via the estate agent.
o Seller accepts Estate agent undertakes their Due Diligence checks with regard to Anti-Money Laundering and proof of source of funds. Once these are completed satisfactorily, the property can be marked Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC).

• On the purchase:
o You make an offer on your new property.
o Once accepted, the process is the same as on the sale (above)
• Once the chain is complete, both you and your buyer/seller instruct solicitors/conveyancers and place money on account for searches etc.
• Funding from a mortgage or drawing down savings/ISA’s should be started.

2. Draft Contracts & Initial Forms
• Selling:
o Your solicitor sends the draft contract pack (title deeds, property information forms TA6/TA10, leasehold info, if applicable) to your buyer’s solicitor.

• Buying:
o Your solicitor receives draft contract from seller’s solicitor.
o Searches are instructed.

3. Surveys types
• Surveys: there are 3 levels of survey – 1) Mortgage Valuation (a basic survey commissioned by the mortgage company to ensure their lending is safe with regard to the price being paid) 2) Homebuyers – this is a “middle” of the range survey and 3) Full Structural Survey – this is the most in depth. All surveys can result in further inspections or checks (e.g. damp, woodworm, wiring) being advised

• On your sale:
Your buyer’s lender arranges a mortgage valuation on your property. If they are not using a mortgage, they may commission a private survey or choose to do that in addition to the mortgage valuation.

• On your purchase:
Your lender does the same for the property you’re buying (if you have a mortgage) or you choose to commission your own survey.
• Results may lead to renegotiations on either side.

4. Property Searches
• On the purchase:
Your solicitor orders searches: local authority, environmental, water & drainage etc. • Searches can take anything from a few days to several weeks, depending on the Council and any backlogs. It is possible, in some cases, the pay for extra “expedited” local authority searches to speed things up.

5. Enquiries & Negotiations
• Selling:
o Your solicitor responds to enquiries from your buyer (planning permissions, guarantees, disputes). You may be asked to provide Guarantees for replacement windows, building regulations approvals, completion certificates and other matters relevant to work undertaken on your property.
o Remember, when your buyers are using a mortgage, your buyers’ solicitor also acts for the buyer’s mortgage company, so some enquiries and questions will be coming from the lender, not your buyers themselves, so try to be patient, as sometimes these can seem irrelevant or unnecessary, but will still need to be answered to satisfy them.

• Buying:
o Your solicitor raises enquiries with the seller’s side. You may be asked to “take a view” on some responses – if a property is being sold by executers, it is sometimes not always possible to get a clear answer.
o Enquiries can go back and forth for several weeks and may result the need for Indemnity Insurance Policies, where responses are unsatisfactory.
o These must be resolved before moving forward.

6. Mortgage Offer Issued
• Buying and selling
o Once the lender has their enquiries and the valuation is complete, a formal mortgage offer will be issued.

7. Contract Review & Signing
• Buying:
o Buyer’s solicitor reviews contract, mortgage offer, searches, enquiries.
o Buyer receives report on title summarising all findings. It is the buyer’s responsibility to read all the reporting pack and to ask questions of their solicitor if they are unclear about any aspect.
o Buyer’s solicitor raises any queries the buyer has on the pack and makes any changes that are required.
o Buyer signs contract and mortgage deed (but not exchanged yet), once any outstanding matters have been asked and answered.

• Selling:
o Sign the contract for selling your property. Neither side is legally bound yet.

8. Pre and Exchange of Contracts
• All parties in the chain agree a potential exchange date, as well as a completion date. Traditionally, there used to be a month between the two, but nowadays, 2 weeks is more usual. That said, there are no hard and fast rules and you can negotiate the time you are looking for when you discuss dates with all parties. Unless any party is buying using a delayed completion, a completion date MUST be set at exchange of contracts and this is legally binding.
• Get removal quotes - many reputable and BAR registered removers will not confirm a booking until you have exchanged contracts, as you could lose a large deposit (often 50% of the entire move) if the date changes, or the sale falls through.
• If you are moving into rented accommodation, a similar situation exists – it is unwise to sign a shorthold tenancy agreement if you have not exchanged contacts. Indeed, many letting agents won’t let you view properties, until you have exchanged. The rental market is much faster than the sales market, so it can be as little as a week or 10 days between seeing a property and moving in. You do not want to be liable for rent payments for 6 months or a year, if your sale falls through, so unless you can afford for that to happen, do not sign the rental agreement until you have exchanged contracts and in doing that, fixed your completion date.
• Arrange Building Insurance on your purchase – this must be in place from exchange of contracts – your solicitor may require evidence of this. • Buyers pay deposits to solicitor, usually a few days before the exchange date (typically 10%) – if you are in a chain the deposit from the link below you is transferred up the chain, so you may not need to add any more cash to the deposit if you are downsizing, but if you are upsizing, it is likely you will.

What Happens
• On the day of exchange, the buyers’ and sellers’ solicitors contact their clients to get their authorisation to exchange. If the solicitor cannot speak to their client during that day to get the authorisation, the exchange cannot be actioned. Furthermore, if one solicitor in that chain is not available to exchange that day, the authorisation has to be re-established the following day and every day until exchange is achieved.
• The bottom of the chain solicitor releases the contract and the deposit and it should work its way up the chain over the following few hours.
• The completion date is fixed.
• Once exchanged →all aspects of the contract are legally binding.

9. Pre-Completion
• Selling:
o Sign a rental agreement, if you are going into rented accommodation
o Make sure all the keys, instruction manuals etc are collated ready for the new owner
o Arrange for the property to be cleaned (or do it yourself) prior to completion day.
o Make sure the items you have agreed to leave, as per the Fixtures and Fittings form you completed for your solicitor, are indeed, still in situ.

• Buying:
o Your solicitor requests mortgage funds from lender, or you transfer the funds for completion from savings etc.
o Final checks (Land Registry priority search).

• Buying and Selling
o You book removals and start to pack up (unless your removal company are doing it)
o Start changing addresses and arrange postal redirection

10. Completion Day
• Chain sequence:
o Your buyer’s solicitor sends money to your solicitor.
o Your solicitor uses those funds (plus your mortgage) to pay for your new purchase.
o Once the seller’s solicitor receives payment, keys are released via the estate agents. The timing of this can vary enormously – generally speaking, you should have vacated your property between 12noon and 1pm, and no later. A buyer can only move in once the sellers’ solicitors are in receipt of funds.
• Read the meters and inform your utility provider immediately that you have moved out/in

• Sellers - make sure that the property is entirely empty (except for the items you have agreed to leave for the new occupier). Sale properties should be handed over as “vacant possession” – if you leave items that were not agreed, you may be liable for the cost of disposal
• Buyers and sellers move out and in, often on the same day.
• Change the locks – it is good practice to change the locks when you move in – especially if a property has been in the same ownership for a long time. It is quite possible there are keys that have not been handed in and whilst the likelihood of an issue is small, some insurance companies put this requirement in their small print.

11. Post-Completion
• Selling:
o Your solicitor redeems your existing mortgage and gives you any surplus.
o Your solicitor handles the payment of estate agent commission and their fees – they should have provided a completion statement to you before completion day.

• Buying:
o Your solicitor pays Stamp Duty Land Tax (must be paid within 14 days) o Registers you as the new owner with HM Land Registry and you receive title deeds confirming ownership (this takes several weeks).