Why does conveyancing take so long?

We understand that buying a property can be a stressful time, partly because it can feel like a long process. A typical conveyancing transaction can take on average 8 to 12 weeks to complete, although anything up to 16 weeks is standard.

There are times though, when the transactions can take longer than 16 weeks, but this is dependent on the circumstances surrounding the sale/purchase.

The reason for the lengthy transaction time is due to the number of processes that conveyancers will work through on your behalf. To give an idea of the processes involved, we have explained a typical process for a conveyancing sale below:

The Conveyancing Process for a Sale

The process will begin once you have instructed your solicitor to handle the sale of your property. On instruction, your solicitor will work through the following stages:

1. We will send you two forms to complete and return to us. These are the Fixtures and Fittings, and Property Information Forms. These will provide your buyers with further information on what is included in the sale and important details about the property, such as information on boundaries, parking, alterations to the property and more.
2. We will obtain copies of your title from the Land Registry or if unregistered, obtain the deeds from yourself.
3. We will prepare a draft contract with documentation and send this to the buyer’s solicitors. Once they have received this, they will then check it and raise any pre-contract enquires if necessary.
4. We then answer these enquiries – liaising with you for any replies that require your input – and the buyer’s solicitor confirms whether they are happy with the replies, reporting on the contract pack to their client.
5. You and the buyer agree a completion date for the transaction and contracts are formally exchanged by telephone. At this point neither party can pull out without incurring a financial penalty.
6. On completion day, you vacate the property at a pre-agreed time and arrange for your estate agent (if one is used) to hand over the keys to the buyer, otherwise responsibility of getting the keys to the new owners lies with you.
7. We pay the estate agent (if used) whatever the agreed percentage of the sale is and repay any amount owing to the existing mortgage lender.
8. We deduct our conveyancing fees from the sale proceeds and the remaining money is transferred to your account or is utilised in connection with your simultaneous purchase (if any).

Other matters considered during the process by your conveyancer

As you can see there are lots of processes for a sale. Amongst following this process, conveyancers also need to consider taking appropriate ID from clients and obtaining satisfactory Source of Wealth and Source of Funds evidence from clients. This can often cause a delay if clients are not willing to provide the necessary documents or the documents are not readily available.

It is advisable that you have all your ID, Source of Wealth and Source of Funds evidence ready when you instruct your conveyancer.

Things which can delay transactions

There are also matters which can delay your transaction which may be out of your conveyancer’s control which can include:

• Missing information from the seller/buyer.
• Complex/Long chains
• Leasehold Property
• Awaiting information from third parties
• If the transaction is part of a probate sale or divorce
• Further information required from the seller/buyer regarding Source of Funds and Source of Wealth
• Lack of building regulations/planning permission for works completed at the property.

Whilst delays can happen, wherever possible we will always aim to meet a preferred completion date and accommodate any request.

We will also keep you up to date at every stage along the way to help to reduce any stress or worry throughout the process.

If you would like any further information on the conveyancing process, please contact us on 033 03001103.