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Buying a property involves a legal process called conveyancing. Here’s what happens once your offer is accepted.

1. You instruct a conveyancer. This is the solicitor or licensed conveyancer who handles the legal side. They’ll send you a client care pack to fill in and return — they can’t start work without it.
2. Identity checks and search fees. Your conveyancer verifies your ID and requests funds to order property searches. These can’t be ordered without payment upfront.
3. Contract paperwork arrives. The seller’s conveyancer draws up a legal contract to transfer ownership and sends it over. This includes information about the property’s title and standard forms completed by the seller.
4. Your conveyancer reviews everything. They check the contract, raise enquiries (questions to the seller’s side), and negotiate the final version. This back-and-forth can take a few weeks.
5. Mortgage offer and searches come through. Your conveyancer checks that your mortgage offer conditions are met and reviews the search results. If anything flags, further questions may be raised.
6. You receive your report. A detailed report on the property is sent to you with documents to sign. Read it carefully — this confirms you’re happy to proceed.
7. Exchange of contracts. Once everything is in order and your deposit has been transferred to your conveyancer, contracts are formally exchanged. At this point, both sides are legally committed and a completion date is set.
8. Completion. On completion day, your conveyancer sends the mortgage funds to the seller’s side, stamp duty is paid to HMRC, and you collect the keys — usually from your estate agent. After completion, you’ll be registered as the new owner with Land Registry.

The whole process typically takes 8–12 weeks from offer accepted to keys in hand, though this varies. We’ll keep you updated throughout.

Remortgaging involves some legal work, but it’s simpler than a purchase — there’s no chain, no seller, and no searches to wait for.

1. You instruct a conveyancer. They send you a client care pack to complete and return.
2. Identity checks. Your conveyancer verifies your ID, same as a purchase.
3. Mortgage offer received. Your conveyancer receives your new mortgage offer and requests redemption figures — the amount needed to pay off your existing mortgage.
4. You sign the mortgage deed. This is a legal document required by your new lender. You’ll need to sign it with a witness and return it to your conveyancer.
5. Completion date is set. Once everything is received and checked, a date is agreed.
6. Completion. On the day, your conveyancer receives funds from your new lender and uses them to pay off the old mortgage, plus any redemption fees. If you’re raising additional funds, the surplus is paid to you.

A remortgage typically completes within 4–6 weeks. We handle the lender side and your conveyancer handles the legal side — between us, you shouldn’t need to chase anything.

When you buy a property, your lender will arrange a basic valuation to confirm the property is worth what you’re paying. But that valuation is for the lender’s benefit, not yours. If you want to understand the condition of the property, you’ll need a survey.

There are three levels:

Basic valuation — This is the minimum, arranged by your lender. It confirms market value and that the property is suitable security for the mortgage. It won’t tell you about damp, structural issues, or anything that might cost you money down the line. Suitable for standard, modern properties in good visible condition.

Homebuyer report (Level 2) — A more detailed inspection covering the general condition of the property. It flags problems that need urgent attention, things that should be investigated further, and potential legal issues. It also provides specific comments on energy efficiency. Suitable for conventional houses, flats, and bungalows built from common materials and in reasonable condition. A market valuation and rebuilding cost estimate can be added for an extra fee but aren’t included as standard.

Building survey (Level 3) — The most thorough inspection available. It establishes how the property is built, what materials were used, and how they’ll perform over time. It covers a wider range of issues including detailed inspection of the roof space, ground floors, and services. It provides repair options, timelines, and explains the consequences of not acting. Suitable for older properties, listed buildings, heavily modified buildings, or anything in need of modernisation. As with Level 2, a valuation and rebuilding cost can be added separately.

Which should you choose? For a modern, standard property in good condition, a Level 2 is usually sufficient. For anything older, unusual, or where you have any doubts, a Level 3 gives you much more detail. We can advise on what makes sense for your situation.

Property searches are carried out on every house purchase. They check for restrictions, conditions, or risks that could affect the property and your use of it. Your conveyancer orders them on your behalf.

Local authority search — This checks the local land charges register and covers things like whether the property is listed, if it’s in a conservation area, whether any trees are protected, nearby road schemes, planning history, building control history, and contaminated land records.

Water and drainage search — Confirms whether the property is connected to public water and sewers, whether it uses a septic tank or private supply, and how water and wastewater are billed. It also flags if the property is close to or affected by water mains or public sewers.

Environmental search — Carried out by a specialist company, this looks at past land use in the area to check for contamination risk, flood risk, and depending on location, ground stability and energy infrastructure.

Additional searches — Depending on where the property is, your conveyancer may recommend extra searches. Mining searches are common in certain parts of the country, for example. Your conveyancer will advise if any are needed.

Searches typically take 2–4 weeks to come back, though this varies by local authority. The cost is usually a few hundred pounds and is paid upfront to your conveyancer.

Your mortgage is probably the biggest financial commitment you’ll make. Protecting it — and the people who depend on it — is something we’ll always discuss with you. None of this is compulsory (except buildings insurance, which your lender will require), but understanding your options means you can make an informed decision.

Buildings insurance — Your lender will require this to be in place before completion. It covers the cost of rebuilding the physical structure of your property if it’s damaged or destroyed by events like fire, flood, or subsidence. This is about the bricks and mortar, not your belongings. We can arrange this for you or you’re free to source your own — either way, it needs to be in place on exchange of contracts.

Contents insurance — This covers your personal belongings inside the property: furniture, electronics, clothing, valuables. It’s not a lender requirement, but if you had to replace everything you own tomorrow, the cost adds up quickly. Often bundled with buildings insurance for a combined policy.

Life insurance — If something happened to you, could your family keep up the mortgage payments? Life insurance pays out a lump sum or covers the outstanding mortgage balance if you die during the policy term. For joint mortgages, this is especially important to think about — it means the surviving partner isn’t left with a debt they can’t afford. Policies can be set up on a decreasing basis (the payout reduces in line with your mortgage balance) or on a level basis (fixed payout throughout the term).

Critical illness cover — This pays out a tax-free lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a specified serious illness during the policy term — things like cancer, heart attack, or stroke. It’s not the same as life insurance: it pays out while you’re alive, giving you the financial breathing room to focus on recovery rather than worrying about mortgage payments. It can be taken as a standalone policy or added alongside life insurance.

Income protection — If you couldn’t work due to illness or injury, income protection replaces a portion of your earnings until you’re able to return to work or until the policy term ends. Unlike critical illness cover, it’s not a one-off lump sum — it pays a regular monthly amount, typically around 50–70% of your gross income. It covers a much wider range of conditions, including mental health and musculoskeletal problems, which are among the most common reasons people take long-term leave from work. For self-employed clients especially, this can be the most important cover to consider, since there’s no employer sick pay to fall back on.

Do you need all of these? Not necessarily. What matters is that you understand what each one does and what the gap looks like without it. We’ll talk you through what’s relevant to your situation and budget as part of your mortgage advice — there’s no pressure and no separate charge for the conversation.