Prepare before arranging serious viewings
Work out a complete budget, check your credit records and obtain a mortgage agreement in principle if you expect to borrow. Choose a conveyancer and ask what identification and source-of-funds evidence will be required. Gathering bank statements and savings records early can prevent an avoidable pause later.
Include survey, legal, tax, removals and initial repair costs. Keep a reserve. A lender's maximum figure is not a recommendation about what will feel manageable after council tax, energy, travel and insurance are added.
Ask at the outset who will update you and how often. Estate agents follow the chain, brokers deal with the loan and conveyancers handle legal work. Copying everyone into every message can create noise; send each question to the person who owns it.
Offer accepted and the file opens
Confirm the price, inclusions and your buying position in writing. The agent issues a memorandum of sale with details for both sides and their conveyancers. You complete your solicitor's forms, pay money on account for searches and submit the full mortgage application.
In England and Wales, the deal is usually still subject to contract. Either side can change its mind before exchange. Scotland uses offers and missives differently, while Northern Ireland has its own conveyancing practice. Follow the solicitor acting in that jurisdiction.
Mortgage, survey and legal work run together
The lender values the property and checks the application. Your own surveyor inspects condition. Meanwhile, the conveyancer reviews the title, orders searches, raises enquiries and checks documents supplied by the seller. These strands inform one another, but they are not the same service.
Tell each adviser about concerns found elsewhere. A survey comment about an extension may need legal paperwork. A search showing flood risk may affect insurance. A lease clause may alter what the lender will accept.
Identity and anti-money-laundering checks may be repeated by different organisations. This can feel unnecessary, but each business has its own duty. Use secure document methods provided by the firm and verify unexpected requests before uploading personal information.
Questions are resolved before commitment
Read the survey, mortgage offer and conveyancer's report. Ask about anything you do not understand, particularly boundaries, rights, restrictions, alterations, service charges and the completion date. Obtain further reports or negotiate if the evidence justifies it.
Arrange buildings insurance for the date your conveyancer confirms. For many freehold purchases in England and Wales, this is exchange rather than completion. Flats may be covered by a block policy, which your solicitor should check.
Exchange makes the agreement binding
Once contracts are exchanged in England and Wales, both parties are normally committed to complete on the agreed date. Your conveyancer handles the deposit and confirms the position. This is the point after which withdrawal can have serious financial consequences.
Only then is it sensible to book non-refundable removals or give firm notice on rented accommodation, unless your adviser explains a different risk. Keep the insurance active and tell the insurer if dates or occupancy change.
Keep a simple dated list of outstanding items. Remove a point only when the document or answer arrives. This makes it easier to see whether the purchase is progressing and stops a reassuring telephone update from hiding one unresolved matter.
Completion, registration and the first records
On completion day, the purchase money moves through the conveyancers and the agent releases the keys when authorised. Take meter readings, check the agreed fixtures remain and report an immediate problem to your solicitor promptly.
Afterwards, the conveyancer deals with tax and registration as applicable. Keep the completion statement, title information, guarantees, survey and insurance documents. They will be useful for maintenance, a future claim and the day you eventually sell.
Read documents on a larger screen if possible and save them with useful names. Mortgage offers, searches and contract papers can look very similar as attachments. A tidy folder reduces the chance of relying on an earlier draft. Check that a revised document really contains the agreed change before deleting the previous copy. Keep the final version separately after exchange, with the signed contract papers.