How long does conveyancing take?

How long does conveyancing take?

Understandably, it’s the most common question among people moving home: how long does conveyancing take?

While simple purchase transactions with no chain may complete in just 4 to 6 weeks, the average timescale nationally from start to finish is 9 to 10 weeks. Of course, the more parties joining the chain, the greater the prospect of one or more of them experiencing problems, slowing down the whole chain.

What can delay conveyancing?

It’s very easy for somebody unfamiliar with the conveyancing process to point the finger of blame for delay at their conveyancing solicitor. But don’t lose sight of the fact that your solicitor is there to protect you. Property law is complex, and when moving home, there’s a lot of information to obtain from various sources. Your solicitor must consider this information carefully and advise upon it. If a search is delayed, all your solicitor can do is chase. Once available, it’s possible that further questions or action are necessary before you can proceed with confidence. After all, you really don’t want any nasty surprises following completion. It will almost certainly be too late to put things right by then.

Common causes of delay include:

Mortgage offers

If you’re buying with a mortgage, you need an official mortgage offer to proceed. It may seem obvious, but you can only make a full mortgage application once you have found a property. Then, your lender needs a formal property valuation/survey before confirming their offer.

Surveys

Surveys are strongly recommended but can result in delays for various reasons. It may simply come down to the availability of the surveyor or the time taken to finalise their report. However, if the survey reveals problems with the property, further investigation and/or remedial work may be necessary. Examples of significant issues include:

• subsidence;
• structural issues; and
• woodworm.

Discovering such issues often results in delay, or sometimes, the buyer withdrawing from the sale.

Search results

Your solicitor must carry out searches. The number and variety of searches depends upon the nature of the property and its location. Sometimes, it can take several weeks to receive search results, particularly at peak times of the year. Different local authorities also take varying periods of time to produce Local Search results. Common searches are:

• Local authority search – checks for issues such as planning applications, whether the property is listed or in a conservation area and proposed road works.
• Chancel repair search – checks for certain ancient liabilities attached to the property to contribute to repairs to the local church.
• Water authority search – checks for information on water and drainage connections and other related issues affecting the property.
• Environmental search – checks for any environmental issues affecting the property. Examples include neighbouring land used formerly as landfill or for a hazardous purpose. These searches also highlight areas with high concentrations of Radon gas.

Some searches are very location-specific, such as tin mine searches in Cornwall.

The results of any particular search may lead to:

• further questions;
• the need for further action or specific insurance; or
• may even lead to a buyer pulling out if the results are unwelcome and/or not easily resolved.

However, following completion, Land Registry processing times don’t affect legal ownership rights. Those are secured when the Land Registry receives your registration application.

Another party is still looking for a property

It may be that your seller or another seller in the chain has yet to find a property despite agreeing the sale of their property. This often results in delay for the entire chain.

How long does conveyancing take: Is there anything you can do to reduce delay?

We have previously considered how sellers can help reduce the length of the conveyancing process, sometimes considerably, simply by instructing a solicitor as soon as they market their property. Estate Agents always recommend that sellers instruct a solicitor early. But in reality, sellers often await an accepted offer before even requesting conveyancing quotes.

Your solicitor can get on with a lot of preparation while you await a buyer. And it also allows time to identify and iron out any legal issues with the property. Then, your solicitor can send out a full and complete sale pack as soon as you find a buyer.