By Álvaro Abreu · May 2026 · 16 min read
Your offer has been accepted. Congratulations — now what? The 12 to 16 weeks between "offer accepted" and "keys in hand" are the most opaque part of buying a home. Here is exactly what happens, week by week, so nothing catches you off guard.
Most first-time buyer guides focus heavily on saving, schemes, and mortgage applications. That's all important, but it's the post-offer process that actually trips people up. Suddenly you're dealing with solicitors, surveyors, mortgage underwriters, searches, and a chain of events where one delay cascades into everything else.
We mapped this timeline based on typical transactions in England and Wales in 2026. Scotland follows a different legal system (sealed bids, missives instead of exchange), and Northern Ireland has its own variations. The broad structure is similar, but the legal mechanics differ.
Before we get into the weekly breakdown, let's be clear about what should already be in place when your offer is accepted. If these items aren't sorted, add 2–4 weeks to every timeline below.
Agreement in Principle (AIP): You should already have this from a broker or lender. It confirms roughly how much you can borrow and tells the estate agent you're a serious buyer. Without it, sellers are less likely to accept your offer — and your full mortgage application will take longer because you'll be starting from scratch.
Solicitor selected: Have a conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer ready to instruct the moment your offer is accepted. Getting three quotes during the house-hunting phase means you're not scrambling to find one under time pressure. Expect fees of £1,500–£2,500 plus disbursements.
Deposit accessible: Your deposit funds should be in a readily accessible account. If money is in a Lifetime ISA, check the withdrawal process — it can take 4–6 weeks for some providers. If family are gifting part of the deposit, they'll need to provide a "gifted deposit letter" and proof of the funds' source.
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The day your offer is accepted, contact your solicitor and give them the go-ahead. They'll write to the seller's solicitor to request the draft contract pack, which includes the title deeds, property information forms (TA6 and TA10), and the fixtures and fittings form (TA7).
Simultaneously, contact your mortgage broker to convert your Agreement in Principle into a full application. You'll need payslips (usually three months), bank statements (three months), ID, proof of address, and details of the property. If you're self-employed, you'll need two to three years of SA302 tax calculations or accountant-certified accounts.
Your lender will arrange a mortgage valuation survey. This is a brief inspection to confirm the property is worth what you're paying. It protects the lender, not you. It typically happens within 1–2 weeks of your full application.
Your solicitor will order local authority searches, environmental searches, water and drainage searches, and possibly a chancel repair liability search. Local authority searches are the wildcard — some councils return results in two weeks, others take six. Your solicitor should know the typical turnaround for the relevant council.
Your mortgage valuation results should come back. If the valuer agrees the property is worth the agreed price, the lender moves to issuing a formal mortgage offer. This document sets out the exact terms of your loan — amount, rate, monthly payments, and any conditions.
If you've arranged a separate survey (HomeBuyer's Report or Building Survey), the surveyor's report should also arrive during this period. Read it carefully. If it flags significant issues, you have three options: renegotiate the price, ask the seller to fix the problem before completion, or withdraw entirely.
Meanwhile, your solicitor is reviewing the draft contract pack and raising "enquiries" — formal questions about boundaries, planning permissions, disputes, guarantees for any building work, and anything else that needs clarifying.
This is the phase where everything feels like it's stalled. Your solicitor is waiting for the seller's solicitor to answer enquiries. The local authority is processing your searches. Your lender may have additional conditions (further documentation, clarification on employment, or a specialist valuation).
The best thing you can do during this period is stay in regular contact with your solicitor — weekly calls or emails asking for a status update. Don't be shy about chasing. Delays of days compound into delays of weeks.
This is also when gazumping risk is highest. You've invested time and money (survey fees, solicitor costs), but you haven't exchanged contracts yet. In England and Wales, neither party is legally committed until exchange. It's stressful, but it's the system.
By now, all the search results should be back and all enquiries answered. Your solicitor prepares a "report on title" — a summary of everything they've found, any issues, and their professional opinion on whether you should proceed.
Read this report. It's dense, but it's the most important document in the entire process. It will flag anything unusual about the property's legal title, any restrictive covenants, shared access rights, or outstanding issues that might affect your use of the property.
If everything is in order, your solicitor will ask you to sign the contract and transfer the deposit funds. The deposit is typically 10% of the purchase price, though 5% can sometimes be negotiated. This money is held by the seller's solicitor upon exchange.
Exchange is the moment the transaction becomes legally binding. Before exchange, either party can walk away (losing only the costs incurred so far). After exchange, pulling out means forfeiting your deposit and potentially being sued for breach of contract.
On the day of exchange, the solicitors speak by phone, confirm the terms, and agree a completion date — typically one to two weeks later. You'll need buildings insurance in place from the moment of exchange, because the property is now legally your responsibility even though you don't have the keys yet.
Once exchange happens, you can finally exhale. The sale is locked in. Start arranging your removal company, utility transfers, and mail redirection.
Your solicitor runs final checks: an OS1 priority search (to ensure no new charges have been registered against the property since your initial search) and a bankruptcy search against you (lender requirement). They prepare the completion statement showing exactly how much money is needed on the day.
You'll need to transfer the remaining funds to your solicitor's client account — usually the full purchase price minus the deposit already held, with the mortgage funds coming directly from the lender to the solicitor.
Arrange a final viewing of the property a day or two before completion. Check that the seller hasn't removed anything included in the sale (fixtures and fittings) and that the property is in the condition you expected.
On completion day, your solicitor transfers the purchase price to the seller's solicitor. Once the funds are received and confirmed (usually by early afternoon), the seller's solicitor authorises the estate agent to release the keys to you.
That's it. You're a homeowner. Your solicitor will handle the post-completion formalities: paying stamp duty (if applicable), registering the property in your name at the Land Registry, and sending you a completion of registration document.
The 12-week timeline above is realistic for a straightforward purchase with no chain. In practice, many first-time buyers face delays. Here are the most common causes and how to minimise them.
Slow local authority searches: Some councils take 4–6 weeks. Your solicitor can order "personal searches" from a private search company, which are faster (2–5 days) but some lenders don't accept them. Check with your lender before going this route.
Mortgage conditions: If the lender requires additional documentation — a second valuation, proof of a bonus, or clarification on an employment contract — each request adds days or weeks. Front-load as much documentation as possible at the application stage.
Slow solicitors: The single biggest cause of delay. If your solicitor isn't responsive, doesn't return calls, or takes a week to send a simple email, your entire timeline stretches. This is why choosing a solicitor based on speed and communication, not just price, matters enormously.
Chain complications: As a first-time buyer, you're chain-free below you — no one is waiting for you to sell. But if your seller is buying another property, their purchase can delay your completion. Ask the estate agent about the chain situation before making an offer.
"The number one thing I wish someone had told me: your solicitor's speed matters more than their price. A fast solicitor saved us six weeks of rent."
The timeline doesn't end when you get the keys. The first month involves setting up council tax, transferring utilities, arranging contents insurance, registering with a new GP if you've moved areas, updating your address with banks, DVLA, and HMRC, and handling any immediate maintenance or repairs.
The cheat sheet includes a post-completion checklist covering all of these tasks, prioritised by urgency. Buildings insurance is required from exchange day. Council tax starts from completion day. Utility transfers should ideally be arranged before you move in so you're not sitting in a cold, dark house on day one.
For a full list of hidden costs to budget for, see our hidden costs breakdown. If you want to check whether you're truly ready to start this process, our complete checklist walks through every preparatory step. And for the full review of the guide, visit our main review page.
33-page cheat sheet with every scheme, every hidden cost, and a master checklist. Includes audiobook. 14-day refund guarantee.
Get the cheat sheet — £8.99PDF + Audiobook · Instant download · 14-day refund