How Long Does It Take to Buy a House? Conveyancing Timescales, Stage by Stage

With us, the legal work on a purchase or sale typically takes 8 to 10 weeks for a freehold home and 10 to 12 weeks for a leasehold flat, from the day you instruct us to completion. That is our usual range, not a promise: the chain, the searches and your mortgage lender decide most of the timing, and none of them is in our hands or yours.

Our timescales and GOV.UK's 12 weeks

GOV.UK's guide to buying a home (updated 6 September 2019) puts the whole purchase at about 12 weeks and says plainly that timing varies. Its figure starts when your offer is accepted and ends when you move in. Ours counts the legal work only, from the day you instruct us to completion, the day the money moves and you get the keys.

Leasehold takes longer because the landlord or managing agent has to supply information about the lease, the service charge and the building. The same ranges apply to buying and to selling. Registering you as the owner at HM Land Registry happens after completion and does not hold up your move.

Timescales by situation

Some situations are usually quicker or slower than others:

• Freehold, with a mortgage, in a chain: typically 8 to 10 weeks. The whole chain usually exchanges together, so the slowest sale or purchase in it sets the pace.
• No chain: often towards the quicker end, because nobody else's sale or purchase has to be ready at the same time. A first-time buyer buying an empty property is the usual example.
• Cash purchase: no mortgage offer to wait for, which removes one of the longest stages. The searches and the seller's answers still take as long as they take.
• New build: the legal work can be ready before the home is. Completion usually waits for the developer to finish the build, and developers often set their own deadline for exchanging contracts.
• Fast-track: typically 6 to 8 weeks for freehold and 8 to 10 weeks for leasehold. See below for how it works.

The stages, in order

These stages overlap.

1. Offer accepted and solicitor instructed. You instruct us, we check your identity and where your money comes from (a legal requirement), and we ask the seller's solicitor for the contract pack. GOV.UK suggests checking a few days after your offer is accepted that the seller has instructed a solicitor too.
2. Searches ordered. We order the local authority, drainage and water and environmental searches. How quickly they come back depends mainly on the council. Our guide to conveyancing searches explains each one.
3. Contract and title checked. We read the contract pack and the title and send questions (enquiries) to the seller's solicitor. Only the seller can answer them, so this stage moves at their pace.
4. Mortgage offer. Your lender values the property and issues the offer. GOV.UK puts researching and applying for a mortgage at around 18 to 40 days, so apply as soon as your offer is accepted.
5. Report and signing. We report to you on the title, searches and contract, you sign the contract and mortgage deed, and you send your deposit.
6. Exchange of contracts. The contract becomes legally binding and the completion date is fixed.
7. Completion. GOV.UK says completion often comes 2 to 4 weeks after exchange, and it can happen on the same day. The money moves and you collect the keys.
8. After completion. We pay the Stamp Duty and send the return to HMRC within 14 days, then register you as the owner at HM Land Registry.

Our guide to exchange and completion explains the last three stages in detail.

How long does a house sale take?

Selling usually takes the same time as buying, because a sale and its purchase exchange and complete together: typically 8 to 10 weeks for freehold and 10 to 12 weeks for leasehold. On the seller's side, the stages are:

1. Instruct a solicitor when you go on the market, not when you find a buyer. We can check your identity and the title before an offer comes in.
2. Fill in the property forms. The property information form (TA6) and the fittings and contents form (TA10), plus the leasehold information form (TA7) for a flat. Dig out guarantees, planning permissions and building control certificates now.
3. We send the contract pack to the buyer's solicitor once a sale is agreed.
4. Answer the buyer's enquiries. This is where many sales stall. The quicker you reply, the sooner the buyer's solicitor can report to them.
5. Get a redemption statement. If you have a mortgage, we ask your lender how much is needed to pay it off on completion.
6. Exchange, usually on the same day as your own purchase if you are buying too.
7. Completion. We receive the buyer's money, pay off your mortgage and, if you have authorised it, the estate agent, then send the balance to you or on to your purchase.

Selling a leasehold flat? Ask the freeholder or managing agent for their information pack as soon as you go on the market. It is often the slowest document in a leasehold sale.

Can conveyancing be faster?

Sometimes. A cash purchase with no chain can be quicker than the ranges above, but there is no reliable minimum: the council still has to return the searches and the seller still has to answer enquiries.

Our fast-track service typically completes a freehold purchase or sale in 6 to 8 weeks and a leasehold one in 8 to 10 weeks. It costs £500 + VAT, paid on completion. If we miss the fast-track timescale, you do not pay the fast-track fee, unless the delay is outside our control (for example caused by the other side, the lender or the chain). Your file stays on fast-track. Timescales still depend on the chain, the searches and your lender.

Whatever service you use, you can save time by:

• getting a mortgage decision in principle before you offer, then applying as soon as the offer is accepted
• sending your ID and proof of funds on the first day, including gifted-deposit paperwork
• paying for the searches straight away so they can be ordered at once
• replying quickly to your solicitor and signing documents promptly

What slows conveyancing down

The usual causes are slow searches, a seller who is slow to answer enquiries, a late mortgage offer, a stuck chain and missing leasehold information. If your move has already gone past these timescales, our guide to why conveyancing is taking so long explains how to find the hold-up and who to chase. To understand how one slow link affects everyone else, read our guide to property chains.

If your purchase or sale falls through

If your purchase or sale falls through, you pay the File Opening Fee (Non-refundable), £100 + VAT, and any disbursements we have already paid out for you, such as searches. The rest of what you have paid us is refunded, or carried over to your next property when you find one.

Questions people ask

How long does it take to buy a house from offer to completion?

GOV.UK puts it at about 12 weeks from offer accepted to moving in. Our typical timescale for the legal work, from instruction to completion, is 8 to 10 weeks for freehold and 10 to 12 weeks for leasehold. The chain, the searches and your lender decide where in that range you land.

How long does conveyancing take with no chain?

Often towards the quicker end of the range, because nobody else has to be ready on the same day. The searches, the seller's answers and, if you have one, the mortgage offer still have to come in first.

What is the fastest you can buy a house?

There is no set minimum. A cash purchase with no chain and quick searches can move faster than usual, but conveyancing in 3 weeks is unusual and should not be planned for. Our fast-track service typically takes 6 to 8 weeks for freehold.

Why does leasehold take longer?

The landlord or managing agent has to supply information about the lease, the service charge, ground rent and the building. Your solicitor cannot hurry a third party they do not act for.

How long is it between exchange and completion?

GOV.UK says often 2 to 4 weeks, and exchange and completion can happen on the same day. You agree the date at exchange.

Plan your move

Our pages for solicitors for buying a house and solicitors for selling a house explain how we handle each side. For our fees, see the fees page or the conveyancing cost calculator, and our moving house checklist covers everything else to arrange. Our conveyancing services page lists every type of move we handle.

Sources

Our timescales and fast-track service: Waterstone Legal, checked 20 October 2026.

Offer to moving in, mortgage, exchange to completion (GOV.UK, How to buy a home, updated 6 September 2019): gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home/how-to-buy

Seller's forms and documents: gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-sell-a-home/how-to-sell-a-home

Stamp Duty return within 14 days of completion: gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax

This is general information about buying and selling property in England and Wales, not advice on your move. Timescales depend on the chain, the searches and your lender, and your own will depend on facts we would need to see. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England; a home in Wales pays Land Transaction Tax instead.