The basic steps involved in the Conveyancing process are:

1. First make an offer on the property you would like to buy and tell the Estate Agent what you are willing to pay, subject to contract.
2. Once the Seller has accepted your offer the Estate Agent will prepare a Memorandum of Sale which is sent out to both Buyer and Seller and to their respective Conveyancers. This will set out the basic details of the sale which has been agreed between the parties, subject to contract.
3. The Sellers Conveyancer will prepare a draft Contract which will be sent to the Purchasers Conveyancer together with information regarding the title to the property and copies of the Property Information Forms which will have been completed by the Seller.
4. The Buyers Conveyancer will then check the Contract and the title to the property and carry out searches and raise any necessary enquiries about the property.
5. If you require a Mortgage, you or your Mortgage Broker should submit your formal Mortgage application to your Lender at this stage (or sooner if all relevant information is available).
6. Once all the necessary title checks have been made, your Conveyancer will report to you with information about the property you are purchasing and you will be asked to sign the Contract and Transfer deed in readiness for exchange of Contracts. You will also be asked to pay your deposit to the Conveyancer at this stage.
7. On exchange of Contracts both Buyer and Seller are legally committed and neither party can withdraw from the transaction . The completion date is also fixed at this point.
8. Before completion, the Conveyancer will carry out a final search at Land Registry to make sure there have been no changes to the title information previously supplied. They will also provide you with a final Completion Statement indicating how much money will be required from you to complete the purchase.
9. On the day of completion your Conveyancer will send the completion money to the Seller’s Conveyancer by bank transfer, the Seller will vacate the property and the keys will be available to enable you to move in.
10. After completion your Conveyancer will pay any necessary Stamp Duty Land Tax to HMRC and register the transfer at Land Registry as required. A copy of the Title Information Document relating to the property will then be provided to you for information and safekeeping.
11. Individual circumstances of the parties in each transaction will determine the timescale between acceptance of offer and completion and you will be updated as to progress as the matter proceeds.  However, a timescale at approximately 8 weeks would be realistic.