Buying a Property: The Conveyancing Process
Conveyancing is the legal transfer of property ownership. Most of the elapsed time is spent waiting for information from third parties rather than on active work, which is why it feels slower than it should.
The main stages
Instruction and identity checks, which are mandatory anti-money-laundering requirements.
The seller's solicitor issues a contract pack including title documents and property information forms completed by the seller.
Searches are ordered with the local authority and other bodies.
The buyer's solicitor raises enquiries arising from the pack and searches, and the seller responds. This exchange is frequently the longest phase.
Mortgage offer is issued and reviewed against the title.
Exchange of contracts, at which point the transaction becomes legally binding and a deposit is paid.
Completion, when the balance is transferred and keys released.
What searches reveal
Local authority searches cover planning history, building regulations, road adoption and matters affecting the property.
Environmental searches address contamination and flood risk. Water and drainage searches confirm connections and whether public sewers cross the land.
Additional searches may be appropriate depending on location — mining, ground stability, or chancel liability in some places.
Findings frequently prompt further enquiries, insurance products, or price renegotiation.
Leasehold adds complexity
Leasehold transactions involve the freeholder or managing agent providing information, and that response is often slow and charged for.
Points to examine: the remaining lease term, ground rent and how it escalates, service charges and their history, any planned major works, and restrictions in the lease.
Short lease terms affect mortgageability and value, and extension is expensive. This is a common source of late complications.
Why it takes as long as it does
Chains are the largest factor. Each transaction depends on the others, and one delay propagates through all of them.
Mortgage processing, search turnaround at busy local authorities, and management company responses are all outside your solicitor's control.
Typical timescales run to several months, and being ahead of the paperwork is the main thing within your influence.
What you can do
Return forms and identity documents immediately. Delays at your end are common and avoidable.
Arrange a survey appropriate to the property. A basic valuation for the lender is not a survey of condition, and buyers frequently confuse them.
Do not arrange removals, book time off or give notice on a rental until contracts have exchanged, since nothing is binding before that.
Ensure buildings insurance is in place from exchange, which is generally when risk passes.
This article is general information and not legal advice. Conveyancing procedure varies considerably by jurisdiction.
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