How Long Does Buying a House Take? A Realistic Timeline
One of the most common questions buyers ask is how long the whole process takes. The honest answer is that it varies enormously but having a realistic picture of what to expect at each stage helps you plan, reduces anxiety and means you're less likely to be caught off guard by delays.
Here's a realistic breakdown of the typical timeline from offer accepted to completion.
Offer accepted to instructing your solicitor: 1 to 2 weeks
Once your offer is accepted, your first job is to appoint a solicitor or conveyancer. If you haven't already researched solicitors, this can take a week or two. It's worth having a shortlist ready before your offer is accepted so you can move quickly. Our guide to making an offer on a house covers the key questions to ask when appointing your solicitor.
Searches and enquiries: 4 to 8 weeks
Once your solicitor is instructed, they'll order property searches and begin reviewing the draft contract and title documents. Search turnaround times vary significantly depending on the local authority (council), and this is often where the first significant waiting period occurs. Your solicitor will also be raising enquiries with the seller's solicitor, which can go back and forth several times before everything is resolved.
Survey: 1 to 3 weeks
You should arrange your survey as soon as your offer is accepted, not wait until searches are complete. A good surveyor can be booked out for several weeks, so instructing one early avoids unnecessary delays. Once carried out, the written report typically follows within a few days. Read our guide to the three levels of house survey to make sure you're booking the right one.
Mortgage offer: 2 to 6 weeks
If you're buying with a mortgage, your lender will carry out their own valuation of the property before issuing a formal mortgage offer. How long this takes depends on the lender and how busy they are. Some lenders issue offers within two weeks, others can take six or more. If your lender needs to instruct their own solicitor separately, this adds further time.
Exchange of contracts: 8 to 12 weeks after offer accepted on average
Exchange is the point at which the transaction becomes legally binding. For a straightforward purchase with no complications, exchange typically happens around 8 to 12 weeks after the offer is accepted. However, if searches are delayed, enquiries are complex, the survey flags issues that need resolving, or other parties in the chain are slow, this can stretch significantly.
Completion: 1 to 4 weeks after exchange
The gap between exchange and completion is agreed by both parties at the point of exchange. It's typically one to four weeks, though it can be longer if there are specific requirements from either side. Once exchange has happened, completion is usually straightforward.
Total: 3 to 6 months on average
For a standard purchase with no chain complications, most buyers should expect the process to take between three and six months from offer accepted to completion. Purchases that involve longer chains, leasehold properties, probate sales or properties with planning or building regulations issues can take considerably longer.
What causes delays?
The most common causes of delays are slow search results from local authorities, sellers or their solicitors being slow to respond to enquiries, survey issues that need to be resolved before exchange, missing documentation, mortgage lender delays, and chain complications where another party in the chain is holding things up.
Understanding what your solicitor should be doing at each stage and knowing when it's reasonable to chase for an update, makes a real difference to how smoothly the process goes. Read our guide to the conveyancing process for a breakdown of what to expect.
The full checklist
The Home Truths Guide includes 100+ essential questions to ask at every stage of the buying process, from first viewing through to completion, so you're always prepared for what comes next.
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