Buying a house, just like selling a house,  could be one of the most impactful financial decisions you make; so if you are considering buying a home, it’s helpful to know how long it could take.

According to the latest data from Rightmove, York, Cornwall and Manchester are among the ten most popular places people search when looking to buy a house in the UK. This blog will outline each stage involved in buying a house – from searching for your ideal property to moving in – and offer some tips on managing everything effectively.

Initial Search (1-6 Months)

The initial stage of buying a house comprises finding out what property is right for you. This can take anywhere between a few weeks and several months depending on your criteria, availability of suitable properties and whether you’re looking for somewhere to live or an investment purchase.

Key steps could include:

• Setting your budget: Work out how much you can afford including deposit, mortgage repayments and other costs.
• Getting a Mortgage Agreement in Principle: A lender’s indication of how much they’d be willing to lend you.
• House hunting: Look on online property portals, visit estate agents, attend viewings – whatever it takes. The length of time taken here can vary dramatically according to market conditions and personal preferences.

Making an Offer (1-2 Weeks)

Once you’ve found a property that takes your fancy, it’s time to put in an offer. This typically involves:

• Negotiation: The seller may come back with counter-offers or reject your first bid; this can take anything from several days up to a couple of weeks.
• Offer acceptance: Once they accept your offer, if you haven’t already done so formally, you’ll need to apply for the mortgage now. The next step after finding a property you like is to make an offer.

Conveyancing (8-12 Weeks)

This is the legal process of transferring ownership from one person or entity to another. It can be a long stage and involves a number of steps:

• Instructing a Solicitor: Choose a conveyancer or solicitor to deal with the legal side.
• Property surveys: Have a survey carried out on the property to spot any potential problems. Typically this takes between 1 and 2 weeks.
• Searches and checks: Your solicitor will carry out local authority searches, check for any legal issues and ensure everything is in order. This process may take anywhere between 2 and 6 weeks.
• Drafting contracts: The contract terms are negotiated by both parties’ solicitors before being formally drawn up.
• Mortgage offer: Once your lender has completed their valuation, they will issue you with a mortgage offer.
• Exchange of contracts

Once all checks have been done and both parties agree on what’s in the contract, contracts are exchanged; this includes:

• Signing contracts: You sign your copy of the contract making it legally binding on you; the seller does likewise with theirs.
• Deposit payment: You transfer over the deposit – usually 5-10% of the purchase price – to the seller’s side.

Completion

Completion is when ownership actually changes hands; here are some key details:

• Final arrangements: Your solicitor transfers the remaining money owed for purchase to the other party’s solicitor.
• Receiving the keys: Once funds have been received by seller’s solicitor, you get the keys and move into your new home.

Usually, buying a home in England and Wales takes between three and seven months, but this can vary depending on market conditions, the type of property you’re buying, and your individual circumstances.

What influences how long it takes to buy a house?

Many factors can impact the amount of time it takes for someone to purchase their house:

Market conditions: A seller’s market with lots of demand can speed things up while a buyer’s market may slow them down.

Mortgage approval: Mortgage approval can take a long time if you do not have all of your documents ready so make sure that they are before applying.

Property chain: Being part of a property chain where each sale is dependent on another going through makes everything more complicated and therefore slower.

Survey results: Should any problems come up during surveys they will need fixing which adds even more days to this already tiring process!

Legal complications: Any legal issues or disputes will naturally hold back purchasing – sometimes for weeks or months at a time.

Are there any ways I can speed up the house buying process?

Check out our guide to speeding up a property chain for more help and advice. 

If you have any questions or need advice tailored to your situation please feel free to contact our expert property team who will be happy to help guide you through this tricky process.