Buying a home, with every legal step in view

Your legal journey as a buyer

Conveyancing is the legal work that transfers ownership of a property to you. Once your offer is accepted, your conveyancer (the solicitor or licensed conveyancer acting for you) typically:

• checks your identity and where the money for your deposit and purchase comes from
• checks the title, the official record of who owns the property and the rights and restrictions that come with it
• orders searches, enquiries of the local council, the water company and others about planning, roads, drainage, flood risk and similar matters
• raises enquiries, written questions to the seller, and reviews the answers
• reviews your mortgage offer, the lender's formal agreement to lend, and meets the lender's requirements
• sends you a report on title explaining what has been found, and asks you to sign the contract
• exchanges contracts, the point where the deal becomes legally binding, and fixes the completion date
• on completion, sends the money so you can collect the keys, then pays any property tax and registers you as the owner

This is the process in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland is similar. Our conveyancing process guide covers each step in depth.

What buying will cost

Your quote separates the costs so you can see what each one is for:

• the legal fee, plus additions for work such as a leasehold, a mortgage, Islamic home finance, a new build, shared ownership or a gifted deposit
• disbursements, the third-party costs paid for you, such as searches, HM Land Registry fees and identity checks
• the law firm's charge for sending your money on completion, with VAT
• VAT, where it applies
• an estimate of property tax

Some costs of moving are not part of conveyancing, such as a survey, mortgage arrangement fees and removals. Our moving costs page brings them together.

Stamp duty and its equivalents

Property tax depends on where the home is: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland, and Land Transaction Tax (LTT) in Wales. As examples, for a £300,000 home:

• England, moving home: £5,000 in SDLT.
• England, where every buyer is a first-time buyer: nothing, because first-time buyers pay no SDLT on the first £300,000 of a home costing up to £500,000.
• England, buying an additional home such as a buy-to-let: £20,000, because 5 percentage points are added to every band.
• Wales: £4,500 in LTT at the main rates. Wales has no first-time buyer relief.

Buyers who are not UK resident pay a further 2% in England and Northern Ireland. Your conveyancer files the return and pays the tax for you, within 14 days of completion in England and Northern Ireland, or 30 days in Wales. Explore your figures with our stamp duty calculator or read our property tax guide.

Buying with Islamic finance

If you are buying with Sharia-compliant home finance, such as a home purchase plan, your conveyancer also works with your finance provider's own documents and its part in who owns the home. Your quote shows an Islamic finance admin fee for that work on its own line, and relief for alternative property finance usually means the property tax is charged as it would be with a mortgage. Our guide to buying with Islamic finance explains how the plans work, or get an Islamic finance purchase quote.

What to have ready

Having these to hand early can save weeks:

• photo identification and proof of address for every buyer
• your mortgage agreement in principle, then your mortgage offer, and your broker's details if you use one
• evidence of your deposit, such as bank statements showing how your savings built up
• if someone is giving you money towards the deposit, their details and written confirmation that it is a gift, not a loan
• details of any Lifetime ISA or Help to Buy ISA you plan to use (savings accounts with a government bonus), so the money can be requested in good time
• the estate agent's memorandum of sale, the document confirming the agreed price and who is involved
• any deadline you are working to, such as a new build reservation or an auction date

Our gifted deposits and ISAs guide explains what is needed, and our first-time buyers page covers buying your first home.

How long it can take

A freehold purchase commonly takes 10 to 16 weeks from instruction to completion. A leasehold purchase, which is usual for flats, often takes 12 to 20 weeks, because information is needed from the landlord or managing agent.

Timing also depends on the chain, the line of linked sales and purchases that depend on each other, as well as how quickly searches come back, when your mortgage offer is issued and how promptly everyone answers questions. New build developers and auction houses often set fixed deadlines, so mention them at the start. Nobody can promise a completion date until contracts are exchanged.

Common pitfalls

Most problems buyers run into are familiar ones:

• Booking removals or giving notice on a rented home before exchange, when either side can still pull out.
• Forgetting to budget for property tax, or assuming first-time buyer relief applies when one of the buyers has owned a home before.
• Moving money between accounts without a clear record, which slows down the checks on where your funds come from.
• Changing jobs or taking on new credit before completion without telling your lender.
• Skipping a survey. Conveyancing checks the legal position; a survey checks the physical condition of the building.
• Sending money to bank details received by email. Always phone your law firm on a number you trust first.

Next steps

Get an instant purchase quote, or a sale and purchase quote if you are selling too. Each takes a few minutes and shows every cost line by line.

Buying a new build, a shared ownership home, a buy-to-let or a property at auction? Our services page has a dedicated quote for each. When you are ready, ask to go ahead from your quote page and we will introduce you to a regulated law firm that can act for you and your lender.