Buying a home in England: the steps, offer to registration

Step 1: money first

GOV.UK’s guide starts with working out how much you need to borrow, checking whether an affordable home ownership scheme could help, and choosing a mortgage lender. To see how lenders test what you can borrow, read mortgage affordability rules, and see the deposit and loan-to-value for the deposit side. Budget also for tax, searches, surveys and removals, which GOV.UK lists among the steps.

Step 2: the offer

You choose a property and make an offer, usually through the estate agent. GOV.UK’s guide says an offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged. The 2019 MHCLG buying guide adds that a verbal offer can be renegotiated at any time up to exchange, but only when a change is justified, for example by significant survey issues. Once your offer is accepted you should receive a memorandum of sale from the agent.

Because of that rule, an accepted offer in England gives you little legal protection against another buyer or a change of mind by the seller. The protection starts at exchange.

Step 3: conveyancing

Once the offer is accepted, the seller’s side is responsible for drawing up the contract to transfer ownership. It covers the sale price, the boundaries, fixtures and fittings, legal and planning restrictions, services and the completion date. If the seller has a solicitor or conveyancer, they draft it and answer your questions. Your own solicitor or conveyancer checks it and negotiates details where needed. See conveyancing explained.

Step 4: searches and survey

Your legal representative arranges local authority searches on the property and land. You typically pay for them upfront, and they are valid for a limited time, so they may need repeating (MHCLG guide). See property searches.

A survey is a detailed inspection of the condition of the property, and the MHCLG guide says you should strongly consider one. A mortgage valuation is not a survey and does not protect you if something goes wrong. If the survey finds significant issues, you can ask the seller to fix them, renegotiate the price, or withdraw. See home survey levels.

Step 5: exchange of contracts

When you and the seller are happy with the contract, both sides sign final copies and send them to each other. “The agreement to sell and buy is legally binding once this happens”, and usually neither of you can pull out without paying compensation (GOV.UK).

• The deposit is paid to your legal representative on exchange and is a percentage of the price; the guide does not fix the percentage.
• You should have buildings insurance before exchange, because you become legally responsible for the property on signing.
• A completion date is set at exchange, often 2 to 4 weeks later.
• Withdrawing after exchange can cost you your deposit and may mean paying compensation.

See exchange and completion.

Step 6: completion

On completion day your solicitor or conveyancer transfers your money to the seller, you are sent the legal documents to transfer ownership, the seller moves out and leaves the property in the agreed state, and you get the keys. You now own the property.

Step 7: tax and registration

• Stamp Duty Land Tax: you must file the return and pay within 14 days of completion. Your solicitor usually does this on completion day and adds the tax to their fees. See Stamp Duty Land Tax.
• Registration: after the move, your legal representative registers the change of ownership with HM Land Registry. A buyer normally protects the purchase with an official search with priority, which gives 30 working days to lodge the application. HM Land Registry advises applying for the search at least 5 business days before completion.
• Land Registry fee: for a transfer priced from £200,001 to £500,000, Scale 1 is £150 through the portal or £330 by post (fees in force since 9 December 2024). See the title register.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The sequence above describes England and Wales; in Wales the tax is LTT. In Scotland the process is different (Home Report, notes of interest, missives); see buying a home in Scotland. For Northern Ireland, see buying a home in Northern Ireland.

Which professional to consult

A solicitor or conveyancer runs the legal side, and a surveyor inspects the property. A mortgage adviser helps with finance, and an estate agent handles the offer. See the conveyancer, the surveyor and the mortgage adviser.