Conveyancing
A conveyancer is a type of lawyer that deals with the legal aspects of a home sale or purchase. Here's our ultimate explainer on the stages of conveyancing for selling and buying.
The basics of conveyancing, covered
However you slice it, buying and selling property involves a big transaction. And conveyancing covers the legal aspect of moving a property from one owner to another – which is another sizeable part of the process. From the outside, it can appear complex – so let’s help break it down, step by step.
Stages of conveyancing explained for selling and buying
Conveyancing FAQs
Conveyancing is a necessary service you’ll come across when buying or selling a house – and you’ll get familiar with it quickly. It’s the process of transferring land from one person to another – and it covers all the legal and admin work with transferring the title of the property.
It kicks into effect once an offer on a property is accepted, and it finishes when the purchase has officially been registered at HM Land Registry, and the move in is complete.
For more details about the conveyancing process, see our dedicated buying and selling pages.
It varies. In rare cases, it can take as little as 4 weeks if there’s no chain and the sale is very simple, but it can be up to 18 weeks. Generally, you can expect between 16 to 18 weeks, even if the sale is pretty straightforward. This is due to a range of factors, and when there's more home sales (ie. spring), the conveyancing process can take a little longer.
We know you're eager to get going, but it's best to avoid booking your removals until after contracts have been exchanged. Before exchange of contracts, the moving date is not definite, and you may end up losing money if it changes.