Free England & Wales House Purchase Timeline Checker

There is no guaranteed timescale. GOV.UK currently says buying a home takes about five months on average. Individual purchases vary substantially: a straightforward chain-free purchase may be quicker, while leasehold paperwork, searches, enquiries, mortgage issues, survey findings or chain complications can make the process longer.

The most common causes of delay are slow solicitor enquiries, outstanding searches, missing management company information, mortgage offer delays, survey findings, probate paperwork or problems elsewhere in the chain. The progress checker helps identify which stage looks most likely to be holding things up based on the dates you enter.

After your offer is accepted, you usually instruct a solicitor, submit your mortgage application, arrange a survey and wait for the contract pack, searches and enquiries. Once the legal work, mortgage offer and any survey issues are resolved, you can move towards exchange of contracts and then completion.

There is no single nationwide turnaround time. Timing varies by local authority, search provider, property and any additional searches required. If you are waiting, ask which searches were ordered, when they were ordered and which result is still outstanding.

Searches coming back does not automatically mean you are ready to exchange. Your solicitor still needs to review the results, raise any enquiries and resolve any issues. If searches are back but enquiries have not been raised, ask what remains outstanding before exchange.

Enquiries can take a few weeks or much longer depending on the property, seller, solicitor and any third parties involved. Leasehold enquiries often take longer because management companies and freeholders may need to provide extra information.

It is reasonable to chase when a key stage appears overdue or when you have not had a clear update for a while. Useful questions include:

• What exactly is outstanding before exchange?
• Who owns the next action?
• Have searches been ordered or returned?
• Have enquiries been raised?
• Which enquiries are still unanswered?

You cannot control every part of conveyancing, but you can reduce avoidable delays by instructing your solicitor quickly, returning forms promptly, arranging your survey early, responding to lender or solicitor requests, and asking specific questions about what is outstanding rather than asking for a general update.

There is no fixed mortgage-offer timescale. It depends on the lender, valuation, underwriting and whether further documents or checks are needed. If you are waiting, ask your broker or lender exactly what remains outstanding and whether they need anything from you.

Exchange is often delayed by unresolved enquiries, missing mortgage offers, outstanding searches, survey issues, chain readiness, missing deposit funds or disagreement on completion dates. Everyone in the chain usually needs to be ready before exchange can happen.

Exchange and completion can happen on the same day, but it is less common and can be stressful because there is little time to deal with problems. Many buyers have a gap of around 1 to 2 weeks between exchange and completion, although the exact timing is agreed between the parties.

On completion day, your solicitor sends the purchase money to the seller's solicitor. Once the funds are received and completion is confirmed, the estate agent can release the keys. Timing depends on bank transfers, solicitor processing and whether there is a chain.

Leasehold purchases often involve extra information from a management company, freeholder or landlord. Service charge accounts, ground rent information, building insurance, consents and planned works can all create extra enquiries and delays.

First-time buyers are often chain-free, which can help. However, a first-time buyer using a mortgage still needs lender approval, searches, survey checks and legal enquiries. Being chain-free reduces some dependencies but does not remove the conveyancing process.

Ask for a clear list of outstanding items before exchange, who is responsible for each one, when each item was last chased and what the realistic target date is. This usually gets a better answer than asking, “Any update?”