Every kind of home move, in plain English

What residential conveyancing covers

Conveyancing is the legal work involved in transferring the ownership of property, or in borrowing money secured on it. For homes, Keyfolio gives instant, itemised quotes for:

• buying, selling, or selling and buying at the same time
• leasehold, new build, shared ownership, Right to Buy, buy-to-let and auction purchases
• remortgages, and transfers of equity, which add or remove an owner
• gifts of property, and sales by the executors of someone who has died

Specialist work gets a tailored quote prepared by our team, usually within one working day. Examples include a lease extension, a declaration of trust (a document recording who owns what share) and a bridging loan (short-term finance that covers a gap between buying and selling). Our services page lists everything we quote for, and landlords will find points specific to letting on our landlords page.

The legal journey at a glance

In England and Wales, most residential transactions follow the same broad path:

• Instruction: you choose a conveyancer (a solicitor or licensed conveyancer), agree their terms and complete identity checks.
• Investigation: the title, which is the official record of ownership, is checked, along with searches (enquiries of the council, the water company and others) and answers to written questions about the property.
• Finance: any mortgage offer is reviewed and the lender's requirements are met.
• Exchange of contracts: the point where the deal becomes legally binding and the completion date is fixed.
• Completion: the money moves and the keys are handed over, followed by any property tax return and the registration of the new owner or mortgage.

Wales follows the English process with its own property tax, and in Northern Ireland property is registered with Land and Property Services. Read more about Wales and Northern Ireland. We do not cover property in Scotland, which has its own system of conveyancing.

What it costs

Every Keyfolio quote breaks the cost into its parts: the legal fee and any admin fees, VAT, disbursements (third-party costs such as searches and registration fees) and, for purchases, an estimate of property tax.

Property tax is often the biggest item. As an example, someone moving home in England with a £300,000 purchase would pay £5,000 in Stamp Duty Land Tax, while first-time buyers at the same price would pay nothing. The rates differ in Wales, and buying an additional home costs more everywhere.

Our stamp duty calculator works out the figure for your situation. Surveys, mortgage fees and removals are separate; our moving costs page brings them together.

What to have ready

Whatever you are doing, your conveyancer will ask for some or all of these:

• photo identification and proof of address for everyone involved
• evidence of where the money is coming from, such as bank statements, or a letter from anyone giving you a gift towards the deposit
• your mortgage offer or your lender's name, and your current mortgage account number if you are selling or remortgaging
• for a leasehold, the lease and the landlord's or managing agent's contact details
• paperwork for any building work, such as planning permissions, building regulations approvals and warranties
• details of any deadline, for example an auction or a new build reservation date

Giving these early is one of the simplest ways to keep things moving. If you own or are buying a flat, our leasehold page explains the extra information involved.

How long it can take

As a guide, a freehold purchase or sale commonly takes 10 to 16 weeks from instruction to completion, and a leasehold purchase or sale 12 to 20 weeks. A remortgage often takes 4 to 8 weeks once the mortgage offer is issued.

A chain, the line of sales and purchases that depend on each other, can add time, as can slow searches, lender conditions and leasehold information. Nobody can promise a completion date until contracts are exchanged, so keep your plans flexible until then. Our conveyancing process guide explains each stage in more detail.

Common pitfalls

A handful of problems cause most delays:

• Booking removals or agreeing a moving date before exchange, when either side can still pull out.
• Not mentioning gifts, trusts, a second home or a company buyer, all of which can change the work and the tax.
• Alterations made without planning permission or building regulations approval, which a buyer's conveyancer will query.
• Leasehold information requested late.
• Using a firm that is not on your lender's panel (the list of firms a lender allows to act for it), which can mean paying for a second firm.
• Payment fraud. Always call your law firm on a number you trust before sending money, and never act on new bank details sent by email.

Next steps

Start with the page that fits your plans: buying a home, selling a home or remortgaging. Each explains the journey in more depth and links to the right quote.

If you already know what you need, get a quote now. It takes a few minutes, you do not need an account, and there is no obligation to go ahead. When you are ready, we introduce you to a regulated law firm that handles your type of transaction, covers your area and works with your lender.