Buying a Property.

In most residential purchases, yes — your solicitor acts for both you and your mortgage lender simultaneously, which is the standard arrangement and avoids the cost of separate legal representation. Most high street lenders permit this under the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook. However, some lenders — particularly specialist or private lenders — require their own separate solicitor, which means you would pay both sets of legal fees. Your solicitor will confirm at the outset whether they are on your lender's approved panel and whether separate representation applies. If you are using an unusual lending arrangement, it is worth raising this at the earliest opportunity.

Yes — until contracts are exchanged, either party can withdraw from a property transaction without any legal liability to the other. This includes the scenario known as gazumping, where a seller accepts a higher offer from another buyer after already agreeing a sale with you. If this happens, you will lose whatever you have spent on searches, surveys and solicitor work to that point, as these costs are not recoverable from the seller. There is no statutory protection against this in England and Wales. Some buyers use a lock-out agreement — a short-term exclusivity arrangement — to reduce the risk, though these have limitations. Your solicitor can advise on whether one is appropriate in your circumstances.

A survey and a solicitor do completely different jobs. Your solicitor investigates the legal title to the property — who owns it, what rights and restrictions affect it, and whether it is safe to buy from a legal perspective. A surveyor physically inspects the building and assesses its structural condition. Your mortgage lender may carry out a basic valuation, but that is done for their benefit and will not flag every defect. An independent survey — particularly a homebuyer's report or full structural survey — is strongly advisable, especially for older properties or anything showing signs of wear. Discovering a serious structural problem after completion is far more expensive than paying for a survey beforehand.

Most straightforward purchases complete within 10 to 16 weeks of an offer being accepted, though the timeline varies considerably. The main factors are whether you are in a chain, how quickly mortgage offers and searches come back, and how promptly both sides respond to enquiries. Chain-free purchases — such as buying from a seller moving into rented accommodation — tend to be quicker. Longer chains, leasehold properties, or anything requiring specialist searches or additional enquiries can take significantly longer. Your solicitor can give a more realistic estimate once they have seen the details of your purchase.

Conveyancing costs have two parts: our legal fees, and disbursements — third-party costs we pay on your behalf, such as search fees and Land Registry registration fees. We publish detailed pricing on our conveyancing pricing page so you can see exactly what to expect before you instruct us. Costs vary depending on the purchase price, whether the property is freehold or leasehold, and whether a mortgage is involved. Disbursements include the cost of searches, Land Registry fees, and any stamp duty or land transaction tax payable. There should be no surprises: we provide a full itemised estimate before you commit.

The legal process is broadly the same for first-time buyers, but there are some important differences worth knowing. In England, first-time buyers may pay a reduced rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax depending on the purchase price — check current thresholds on gov.uk as these can change. In Wales, the standard Land Transaction Tax rates apply; there is no separate first-time buyer LTT relief. As a first-time buyer you have no property to sell, which means no chain on your side and often a simpler, faster transaction. If you are buying through Help to Buy, Shared Ownership or Right to Buy, the process has additional legal steps — let us know at the outset so we can factor those in.

Your conveyancing solicitor handles all the legal work involved in transferring ownership of a property from the seller to you. This includes checking the seller's title to make sure they legally own what they are selling, carrying out searches (formal inquiries made to local councils, water authorities and other bodies), reviewing the contract and raising any legal concerns, managing your mortgage lender's requirements, and overseeing the exchange of contracts and completion. Your solicitor also calculates and submits any stamp duty or land transaction tax due, and registers your ownership with HM Land Registry once the purchase completes. They are your legal safeguard throughout the process — not simply an administrator.

After exchange, withdrawing from the transaction carries serious financial consequences. If you as the buyer pull out, you will forfeit your deposit — typically 10% of the purchase price — and the seller may also pursue you for any further losses they suffer as a result of your breach. If the seller pulls out, you are entitled to the return of your deposit and may also claim damages for losses caused by their breach of contract. In either case, legal proceedings are likely if the parties cannot agree on compensation. This is why exchange is treated as the point of no return: both sides are legally committed from that moment.

Leasehold means you own the property for a fixed term set out in a lease, but not the land it stands on — the freeholder retains ownership of the land and usually the building structure. When buying leasehold, your solicitor will check the length of the lease remaining (short leases — typically under 80 years — can be difficult to mortgage and costly to extend), the annual service charge and ground rent, the management company's financial health, and any restrictions in the lease on alterations, subletting or pets. For flats in buildings over 11 metres, additional checks are required under the Building Safety Act 2022, including the building's safety remediation status. Leasehold purchases involve more detailed legal work than freehold ones.

A mortgage offer is your lender's formal written confirmation that they will lend you the agreed amount on a specified property, subject to conditions. It is different from a mortgage agreement in principle, which is an earlier indicative approval without a specific property attached. Your solicitor needs the mortgage offer before exchange of contracts — they are required to report to your lender on the property and confirm it meets the lender's requirements before the funds can be drawn down. Most mortgage offers are valid for three to six months; if your purchase is delayed and the offer expires, you may need to apply for an extension. Pass your offer to your solicitor as soon as you receive it.

A property chain is a sequence of linked purchases where each transaction depends on another completing on the same day — for example, your seller needs to complete their onward purchase at exactly the same time you complete your purchase from them. Chains can involve two or more properties. If one transaction in the chain falls through — because a buyer loses their mortgage offer, or a survey reveals a serious problem — the entire chain can collapse, leaving all parties potentially out of pocket for costs incurred to that point. Your solicitor will keep you informed of progress across the chain and will advise on your options if things run into difficulty.

Completion is the day you become the legal owner of the property. Your solicitor sends the remaining purchase funds to the seller's solicitor by bank transfer; once receipt is confirmed, the seller must vacate and the keys are released — usually through the estate agent. Your solicitor then pays any stamp duty or land transaction tax due and registers your ownership with HM Land Registry. Registration can take several weeks after completion, but your ownership is protected from the completion date itself. Completion almost always takes place on a weekday, and funds typically clear in the afternoon — so plan your moving day accordingly.

Exchange of contracts is the point at which the sale becomes legally binding on both buyer and seller — before exchange, either party can walk away without penalty. On the day, your solicitor and the seller's solicitor simultaneously confirm that both signed contracts are held, the deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price) is transferred from buyer to seller's solicitor, and a completion date is agreed and fixed. From that moment, you are committed to buying and the seller is committed to selling. Pulling out after exchange carries serious financial consequences for whichever party withdraws. Exchange is the milestone that turns an agreed sale into a legal obligation.

In England you pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT); in Wales you pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT) — these are separate taxes with different rates and thresholds, administered by HMRC and the Welsh Revenue Authority respectively. Both are calculated as a percentage of the purchase price, with higher rates applying to higher value bands. First-time buyers may qualify for relief that reduces the amount payable in England; Wales applies its standard LTT rates without a separate first-time buyer relief. Additional dwellings — such as buy-to-let properties or second homes — attract a surcharge on top of standard rates in both jurisdictions. Because thresholds and rates can change with each Budget, we recommend checking current figures on gov.uk (SDLT) or gov.wales (LTT), or asking us to calculate the exact figure for your purchase.

Searches are formal inquiries that reveal information about a property and its surroundings that a physical inspection cannot show. The standard searches in England and Wales are a local authority search (revealing planning history, road adoption and enforcement notices), a drainage and water search (confirming connection to mains water and sewerage) and an environmental search (flagging flood risk, contaminated land and ground stability issues). Additional searches may be required depending on location — coal mining searches are commonly needed in parts of Wales; tin mining or limestone searches may apply in other areas. If you have a mortgage, your lender will require searches as a condition of your loan.