Buying a Home

Once your offer has been accepted, our job is to make sure you know exactly what you are buying before you are committed to it, and that the purchase completes on the day you need it to. We act on purchases of freehold houses and leasehold flats, new-build homes, buy-to-let properties and second homes, with or without a mortgage.

The key stages of a purchase

1. Taking your instructions. We confirm our fees in writing, verify your identity and ask where the money for the purchase is coming from. These checks are required by the money laundering regulations, and having the evidence ready early avoids delay later.
2. Reviewing the contract package. We examine the title, the draft contract and the seller’s property information forms, and raise enquiries with the seller’s solicitors.
3. Searches. We order the local authority, drainage and water and environmental searches, and any others the location calls for, and report the results to you.
4. Your mortgage. If you are borrowing, we usually act for your lender too. We check the mortgage offer and confirm to the lender that the title is acceptable.
5. Reporting to you. Before you sign anything, we send you a written report on the property explaining what we have found and anything that needs your attention.
6. Exchange of contracts. Once you are happy to proceed and your deposit is in place, we exchange contracts. At that point both sides are legally bound and the completion date is fixed.
7. Completion. We send the purchase money to the seller’s solicitors and the keys are released to you.
8. After completion. We file your Stamp Duty Land Tax return and pay the tax within the 14-day deadline, and register you as the owner at HM Land Registry.

How long this takes depends largely on the length of the chain, the speed of the seller’s solicitors, your lender and the local authority. Our fees page sets out typical timescales for each stage.

Buying a leasehold flat

Most flats in England are leasehold, and the lease governs what you can do with the property and what you will pay each year. We check:

• the length of the lease, and whether it needs extending. Lenders are often reluctant to lend on a lease of less than about 80 years, and the cost of extending rises sharply once it drops below that. Our lease extension team can advise on the cost, and the seller can start the statutory process and assign the claim to you on completion;
• the ground rent and service charge, including any planned major works and the state of the reserve fund;
• the restrictions in the lease on letting, alterations and pets; and
• for buildings of 11 metres or more, the Building Safety Act 2022 position, including the leaseholder deed of certificate and the landlord’s certificate, which determine who pays for the remediation of historical safety defects.

New-build homes

New-build purchases have their own pitfalls: reservation agreements, long-stop dates for completion, the developer’s warranty (such as NHBC Buildmark), estate rentcharges and management companies, and mortgage offers that may expire before the property is finished. We review the developer’s contract package and tell you where you have less protection than you would on a resale.

Buy-to-let and second homes

If you will own more than one residential property after the purchase, Stamp Duty Land Tax is charged at the higher rates, which are currently 5 percentage points above the standard rates. If you are buying to let, you will also need to comply with the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, and you may want to consider whether to buy personally or through a company. We can explain the options and work with your accountant.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stamp Duty Land Tax is payable on most purchases of residential property in England. The amount depends on the price, whether you are a first-time buyer, whether you will own more than one property, and whether you are resident in the UK. We confirm the tax payable before you exchange contracts and submit the return for you after completion. You can estimate it in advance using HMRC’s calculator.

Gifted deposits and joint buyers

If a family member is helping with your deposit, your lender will need to know, and we will need to verify the source of the gift and the identity of the person making it. If you are buying with someone else, we advise on whether to own the property as joint tenants or tenants in common and, where you are contributing unequal amounts, on recording your shares in a declaration of trust. Buying a home is also a good moment to review your will.

Our fees

Our fees for freehold and leasehold purchases, the disbursements you are likely to pay and how long each stage typically takes are published on our residential conveyancing fees page.