Once you have an offer accepted on your potential new home – or you have agreed on a price with someone buying your property – it’s natural to want things to move along quickly. Your first question is likely to be, ‘How long does conveyancing take?’.

Under normal circumstances, conveyancing takes around 12 weeks though during the pandemic this can stretch to 16-20 weeks. This is from the offer date, to when keys are handed over on completion day.

There are good reasons that conveyancing takes so long. Primarily as your conveyancing lawyer must complete a step-by-step process that protects your planned investment.

House conveyancing drills down on all the legal ramifications involved in this major transaction. It provides you with a contract that satisfies your mortgage lender, but which also serves your interests now and in the future.

Let’s look at the conveyancing processin more detail.

What Is The Pre-Contract Work Process?

This takes around 2 weeks. Your conveyancing solicitor gathers any legal materials relevant to the transaction, to advise you clearly. This includes a local search (which usually takes around 2 weeks but take around 4 weeks during the pandemic) from your local authority. Your property survey will add to your facts and insights too.

How Long Does It Take For A Mortgage Offer?

This step takes around four weeks.

When house hunting, having a Mortgage Agreement in Principle makes sense. Then, at this part of the conveyancing process, that initial agreement must be converted into a firm mortgage offer. It can’t go ahead without step one above, which shows your lender that this is a legally sound transaction.

How Long Is The Draft Contract Process?

This is hard to pin down as it depends on the complexity of the property purchase, but it takes anything between two and ten weeks.

Even while your lender is firming up their mortgage agreement, your conveyancing solicitor will be gathering everything you need for your draft contract. Including any data acquired from the land registry, and additional information from the seller and their conveyancing lawyer.

Any issues or concerns will be ironed out, with constant communication so you can make any necessary decisions.

Exchange Of Contracts To Completion

This is when buying a new home becomes very real, and it can take up to two weeks.

Armed with your mortgage agreement, you can exchange contracts with the property seller. Everything gets signed and you establish a competition date which depends on things such as any chain involved.

For help getting through the conveyancing process as smoothly and seamlessly as possible, please contact the team at Bowsers Solicitors.

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