Conveyancing

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is the legal work involved in buying, selling or remortgaging a property. We arrange your conveyancing alongside your mortgage, so the legal work and the lending move together and problems are spotted early.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

What to expect

Stage What happens Typical time
Instruction ID and anti money laundering checks, contract pack requested About 1 to 2 weeks
Searches Local authority, drainage and environmental searches Searches Local authority, drainage and environmental searches Local searches should take about 10 days[1]
Mortgage offer Valuation and underwriting by your lender About 4 weeks[1]
Contract and enquiries Draft contract reviewed, questions raised with the seller 2 to 10 weeks[1]
Exchange to completion Contracts become binding, funds transferred, keys released 1 to 2 weeks[1]
A typical transaction takes 12 to 16 weeks; a purchase with no chain can take as little as four weeks.[1]

Stamp Duty Land Tax (England and Northern Ireland)

Buying an additional residential property usually adds 5% to each band. [2] Scotland and Wales have their own taxes (LBTT and LTT).
Purchase price bandStandard rateFirst time buyer ratetime
Up to £125,000 0%0% up to £300,000
£125,001 to £250,0002%(included above)
£250,001 to £925,0005%5% from £300,001 to £500,000; no relief above £500,000
£925,001 to £1.5 million10%Standard rates apply
Standard rates apply12%Standard rates apply

How we help

  • Purchases, sales, remortgages, transfers of equity, leasehold and new build.
  • Buy to let and limited company purchases, including bridging and auction timescales.
  • One point of contact between your adviser, your lender and your solicitor.

References

[1] HomeOwners Alliance, “How long does conveyancing take?” (2026): hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/how-long-does-conveyancing-take

[2] GOV.UK, Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property rates: gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates

Mortgages Deatils

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