Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Residential Property Purchase: Step-by-Step Conveyancing Guide from Offer to Registration (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Property expert

Precedents

This Guide provides an overview of the steps involved in buying a home.

It is designed to give you a straightforward outline of the conveyancing process, spanning the period from acceptance of an offer through to completion of your purchase.

1 Mortgage decision in principle

Before you start viewing, you may secure a mortgage decision in principle indicating the sum you could borrow. With this in place, you can submit an offer on a property. This gives a useful estimate of affordability at this stage.
2 Property offer accepted

Once the seller agrees to your offer, the property is removed from the market for sale at that time.
3 Mortgage offer

You then receive a formal mortgage offer, commonly arranged through a broker in due course.
4 Solicitors instructed

At this stage, you must appoint a conveyancer (and the seller will do the same). Solicitors, licensed conveyancers, chartered legal executives and CILEx conveyancing practitioners are authorised to undertake conveyancing. Typically—though not invariably—your conveyancer will also act for the lender (ie the building society or bank providing your mortgage) in this transaction, and will apply to HM Land Registry for the mortgage to be registered in favour of the lender...

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Russell Hewitson

Northumbria University

Russell Hewitson is a solicitor and associate professor of law at Northumbria University. He is Law Society Council member for commercial property and a member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing and Land Law Committee. Russell is the Consultant Editor of Halsbury’s Laws of England Volume 23 - Conveyancing. He is general editor of Precedents for the Conveyancer, Practical Lease Precedents, and Practical Conveyancing Precedents, consultant editor of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Handbook and has written a number of other books including Conveyancing Searches and Enquiries, Licensing Law Handbook, Residential Conveyancing Practice and Business Tenancies. He is also the Practice and Precedents Editor of The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer. ...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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