Having an offer accepted on a house is a major milestone, but it is only the beginning of the legal buying process. Once the seller agrees to your offer, you will need to instruct a solicitor, progress your mortgage application, arrange searches and a survey, deal with any enquiries and eventually exchange contracts before completing the purchase.
For a straightforward transaction, we would allow roughly 8 to 16 weeks between an accepted offer and completion. However, there is no guaranteed timescale. A property chain, mortgage delays, survey problems, leasehold enquiries, missing paperwork or issues with the legal title can all extend the process.
Importantly, if you are buying in England or Wales, having your offer accepted does not normally mean you are legally committed to buying the property. That happens when contracts are exchanged.
What Happens Immediately After an Offer Is Accepted?
The first few days can have a significant effect on how smoothly the rest of the transaction progresses.
We recommend concentrating on four things straight away:
- Instructing a solicitor.
- Progressing the mortgage application.
- Supplying identification and evidence of your deposit.
- Arranging an independent property survey.
The estate agent will also usually begin preparing a memorandum of sale containing the agreed price and the details of the buyer, seller and their respective solicitors.
If you have not come across this document before, our guide to what a memorandum of sale is and what happens next explains its role in more detail.
Instruct Your Solicitor
One of the first things we recommend doing is instructing a solicitor to start the legal work.
Your solicitor will contact the seller’s solicitor, review the draft contract documentation, investigate the property’s legal title, order searches, raise enquiries and deal with the legal requirements associated with your mortgage.
Our wider conveyancing process continues right through to exchange, completion and registration of your ownership.
Starting promptly can help prevent an avoidable delay at the beginning of the transaction.
Ask for the Property to Be Marked Sold Subject to Contract
Once your offer has been accepted, the estate agent will normally mark the property as Sold Subject to Contract, often shortened to SSTC.
You can also ask whether the seller is willing to stop actively marketing the property.
However, SSTC does not make the transaction legally binding. Until contracts have been exchanged, the seller may still be able to accept another offer.
This is one reason why progressing your mortgage, legal work and survey quickly can be worthwhile.
Submit Your Full Mortgage Application
If you obtained an Agreement in Principle before making the offer, you will normally now move to a full mortgage application.
The lender may require further evidence concerning your:
- Income.
- Employment or self-employed earnings.
- Deposit.
- Bank statements.
- Existing financial commitments.
- Identity and address.
The lender will also normally arrange a valuation of the property.
A mortgage valuation primarily helps the lender decide whether the property provides adequate security for the loan. It should not be treated as a replacement for an independent survey of the property’s condition.
Provide Your ID and Source of Funds
Your solicitor will need to carry out identification and anti-money laundering checks.
You may therefore be asked for documents confirming your identity and address, together with evidence showing where the money for your deposit and other purchase funds has come from.
Depending on your circumstances, this could include bank statements, savings records, evidence from the sale of another property or documentation relating to gifted funds.
Providing everything requested promptly can prevent the transaction from being held up later.
What Is the Typical Timeline After an Offer Is Accepted?
Every purchase is different, but the following gives you a useful idea of what may happen next.
| Stage | Approximate Timing | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Offer accepted | Days 1–7 | Solicitor instructed, mortgage application progressed and documents supplied |
| Legal investigations | Weeks 2–5 | Searches, title checks, contract review and enquiries |
| Mortgage and survey | Usually during the early stages | Valuation, mortgage underwriting and independent survey |
| Resolving enquiries | Weeks 4–10+ | Legal, search and survey issues investigated |
| Exchange preparation | Often weeks 6–12+ | Mortgage offer checked, deposit arranged and contract signed |
| Exchange and completion | Depends on the transaction | Contracts become binding and a completion date is agreed |
These are only approximate stages. Some transactions progress considerably faster, while complicated purchases can take much longer.
For a broader overview of the entire purchase process, we also recommend our guide to buying a new home in 10 steps.
What Searches Are Carried Out After Your Offer Is Accepted?
Your solicitor will normally order searches as part of the legal investigation into the property.
The exact searches required depend on the property and its location, but commonly include:
Local Authority Search
This can reveal information relating to matters such as planning decisions, building regulations, road schemes and certain restrictions affecting the property.
Drainage and Water Search
This provides information about water and sewerage arrangements, including whether the property is connected to mains drainage.
Environmental Search
An environmental search can identify issues such as potential contaminated land and environmental risks relevant to the property.
Additional searches may be recommended depending on where the property is situated and anything unusual revealed during the initial investigation.
The purpose is not simply to complete paperwork. Searches can reveal matters that affect your ability to use, mortgage or eventually sell the property.
What Does Your Solicitor Check?
Alongside the searches, your solicitor will investigate the legal title and the seller’s contract papers.
This can include checking:
- Who legally owns the property.
- Property boundaries shown on the title.
- Rights of way and access rights.
- Restrictive covenants.
- Mortgages and other registered charges.
- Planning and building regulation documentation.
- Fixtures and fittings included in the sale.
- Lease terms where the property is leasehold.
- Rights benefiting neighbouring properties.
- Responsibilities for shared areas, roads or services.
If something is unclear, your solicitor can raise enquiries with the seller’s solicitor.
This part of buying a property is particularly important because problems that appear relatively minor at first can sometimes affect lending, future alterations or a later sale.
What Are Conveyancing Enquiries?
Enquiries are questions your solicitor sends to the seller’s solicitor after reviewing the contract papers, title and searches.
They can cover anything that needs clarification before you commit yourself to buying.
For example, your solicitor may ask about:
- Missing planning permission.
- Building regulation certificates.
- Property boundaries.
- Rights of access.
- Guarantees for work carried out.
- Shared driveways.
- Leasehold service charges.
- Previous alterations.
- Disputes with neighbours.
- Restrictions shown on the title.
Some transactions only require straightforward enquiries. Others may involve several rounds of questions and supporting documentation.
There is little benefit in rushing towards exchange if an important legal issue has not been resolved satisfactorily.
When Should You Arrange a Survey?
We would normally recommend arranging an independent survey fairly early in the purchase.
The appropriate type of survey depends on the age, construction and condition of the property.
A relatively modern property in apparently good condition may require a less extensive inspection than an older, extensively altered or visibly deteriorated building.
A more detailed building survey may be appropriate for properties involving:
- Significant structural concerns.
- Major alterations.
- Older construction methods.
- Extensive renovation.
- Unusual materials.
- Visible defects.
Remember that the mortgage lender’s valuation is principally for the lender. An independent survey is intended to give you a better understanding of the condition of the property you are considering buying.
What Happens If the Survey Finds Problems?
A bad survey does not automatically mean you should abandon the purchase.
The first step is to understand how serious the problem actually is.
For example, a survey might identify:
- Roof defects.
- Damp.
- Structural movement.
- Drainage problems.
- Outdated electrical installations.
- Timber decay.
- Problems with an extension.
- Repairs likely to involve significant expenditure.
Depending on the findings, you could obtain specialist advice or quotations before deciding what to do.
You may then decide to continue at the agreed price, renegotiate the price, ask the seller to deal with a particular issue or withdraw from the purchase.
The seller is not automatically required to reduce the price or undertake repairs simply because a survey has identified a problem.
When Will You Receive Your Mortgage Offer?
After completing its valuation, affordability checks and underwriting, your lender may issue a formal mortgage offer.
Your solicitor will also need to consider the mortgage instructions and ensure any conditions relevant to the legal work are satisfied.
Do not assume that an Agreement in Principle means the mortgage is guaranteed. The full application still needs to be approved.
A mortgage offer is one of the important pieces that will normally need to be in place before you are ready to exchange contracts.
What Happens Before Exchange of Contracts?
Before recommending exchange, your solicitor will normally want the important legal work to be completed.
You should generally be satisfied with:
- The contract.
- Property searches.
- Replies to enquiries.
- Your survey.
- The mortgage arrangements.
- The agreed fixtures and fittings.
- The proposed completion date.
Your solicitor will explain the legal position and send documentation for you to sign.
You will also need to make sure the deposit required for exchange is available.
How Much Deposit Do You Pay at Exchange?
A 10% exchange deposit is common, but it is not an absolute rule.
The amount can differ depending on the transaction. For example, people involved in a property chain may be using the deposit received from their own buyer towards the property they are purchasing.
Your solicitor will confirm exactly how much is required and when the money needs to be transferred.
Do not confuse the exchange deposit with the mortgage deposit you have saved towards the overall purchase price. They are related, but they are not necessarily the same calculation.
What Happens When Contracts Are Exchanged?
Exchange is one of the most important points in the entire transaction.
The buyer and seller become legally committed to completing the sale in accordance with the contract.
Before exchange, it is normally possible for either side to withdraw without being obliged to complete the transaction, although they may lose money already spent on searches, legal work, surveys or other costs.
After exchange, withdrawing can have serious financial and legal consequences.
The agreed completion date is also fixed as part of the exchange process.
Do You Need Buildings Insurance at Exchange?
If you are buying a freehold house, you may need buildings insurance to take effect from exchange rather than completion.
This is because responsibility for risk can pass to the buyer under the contract at exchange.
However, the precise position can depend on the contract, the mortgage requirements and the type of property.
Leasehold properties can be different because buildings insurance is often arranged for the whole building under the lease.
We therefore recommend checking the insurance position with your solicitor rather than assuming you can wait until moving day.
What Happens Between Exchange and Completion?
Once contracts have been exchanged, attention turns towards getting everything ready for completion.
During this period your solicitor may:
- Carry out final legal searches.
- Request mortgage funds.
- Prepare the final financial statement.
- Arrange the transfer of purchase money.
- Complete any remaining lender requirements.
You will normally need to transfer any remaining money you are contributing towards the purchase to your solicitor before completion.
At this stage, you can also make firmer arrangements for removals because the completion date is legally agreed.
What Happens on Completion Day?
Completion is the point at which ownership passes to you.
Your solicitor sends the required purchase money to the seller’s solicitor.
Once the seller’s solicitor confirms that the funds have arrived, completion can take place and the keys can normally be released.
You can then collect the keys, usually through the estate agent, and move into the property.
The exact time this happens varies. Completion is dependent on money moving through the banking system, and transactions in a chain may need to complete in sequence.
We therefore recommend avoiding the assumption that you will receive the keys first thing in the morning.
What Happens After Completion?
Your solicitor still has work to do after you have collected the keys.
Where required, a Stamp Duty Land Tax return must be submitted and any tax due paid. The normal deadline is 14 days from the effective date of the transaction, which is usually completion.
Your solicitor will then deal with registering your ownership with HM Land Registry.
Registration does not necessarily happen immediately after moving in. The important point is that the correct application is submitted and your legal ownership is recorded.
Once registration has been completed, HM Land Registry will show the updated ownership details.
Can the Seller Accept Another Offer After Accepting Mine?
Potentially, yes.
Until contracts are exchanged, an accepted offer is not normally legally binding in England and Wales.
If another buyer makes a higher offer and the seller decides to accept it, this is commonly known as gazumping.
Asking for the property to be marked SSTC and for marketing to stop may reduce the likelihood of this happening, but it does not create the legal certainty provided by exchange of contracts.
What Can Slow Down a House Purchase?
Some delays are outside your control, but understanding the common causes can help you respond quickly.
Typical causes include:
- Delays obtaining mortgage approval.
- Slow responses to legal enquiries.
- Search delays.
- Problems revealed by a survey.
- Missing planning or building regulation documents.
- Leasehold management information.
- Title defects.
- Gifted deposit checks.
- Problems elsewhere in a property chain.
- Difficulty agreeing a completion date.
You can help by responding promptly whenever your solicitor, lender or surveyor requests information.
Can You Pull Out After Your Offer Has Been Accepted?
Before exchange, a buyer can normally withdraw from a property purchase in England and Wales without being required to complete it.
However, you may lose money already spent on legal fees, searches, surveys, mortgage fees or other costs.
The position changes significantly after exchange because the contract has become legally binding.
If you are considering withdrawing after exchange, you should obtain legal advice immediately.
Should You Book Removals As Soon As Your Offer Is Accepted?
We would be cautious about making non-refundable removal arrangements immediately after your offer is accepted.
Until exchange, the completion date is not legally fixed and the transaction could still be delayed or fall through.
You can obtain quotations and make provisional arrangements, but it is generally safer to avoid committing to an inflexible moving date until contracts have exchanged.
How Can You Help Keep the Purchase Moving?
You cannot control every part of a property transaction, but you can avoid becoming the source of unnecessary delay.
We recommend:
- Instructing your solicitor as soon as the offer is accepted.
- Returning identification documents promptly.
- Providing clear evidence of your source of funds.
- Submitting your mortgage application quickly.
- Arranging your survey without unnecessary delay.
- Reading documents when they arrive rather than leaving them unanswered.
- Responding quickly to questions from your solicitor.
- Making sure your deposit and other purchase funds are accessible when required.
- Avoiding significant financial changes while your mortgage application is being processed.
Good preparation does not guarantee a fast transaction, but it removes many avoidable delays.
Buying a Property in Caversham and the Surrounding Area
If you are buying locally, working with a solicitor familiar with property transactions in the area can make communication and the conveyancing process easier to manage.
We provide property and conveyancing services for buyers through our Caversham solicitors as well as our Reading and Woodley offices.
What Should You Do Once Your Offer Is Accepted?
The most useful thing you can do is get the important parts of the transaction moving at the same time.
Instruct your solicitor, progress your full mortgage application, provide the required identification and funding evidence, arrange your survey and respond promptly to questions.
Your solicitor can then work through the contract, title, searches and enquiries while your mortgage and survey are progressing.
An accepted offer is worth celebrating, but exchange of contracts is the point at which the purchase becomes legally committed. Until then, use the time to investigate the property properly and make sure you understand exactly what you are buying.
If you need help progressing a house purchase, we can guide you through the legal process from the accepted offer through to exchange, completion and registration of your new home.
