Discover Exactly How Long It Takes To Buy And Sell A House

It can be frustratingly slow to buy and sell a house. But, one of the worst things is not knowing how much time you may be stuck at each stage. Here are the timelines and suggestions for what you can do in order to speed up the house-buying process.

How long does it usually take to sell and buy a house?

There are many factors that go into buying or selling a house. This, along with the numerous professionals involved, can cause huge differences in the time it takes to sell and buy. To give you an idea of the typical timelines for each stage of the home-buying and selling process, we have researched them. Below are some tips and tricks to speed up the process.

Average time taken to buy and sell

• In 24 hours, you can get a mortgage in principle
• The average time between a new listing and an accepted offer is around 10 weeks
• 36 days from the acceptance of an offer to property searches being ordered (over a monthly)
• The mortgage arrangement (which should be done simultaneously with conveyancing process) takes approximately 3-6 weeks
• From the first search order to the exchange of contracts, it took 58 days
• From the exchange of contracts to completion, it takes between 1 and 4 weeks
• From the new listing of the property to the completion of sales, it takes approximately 6 months

Preparing your finances

It is important to have your finances in order before you apply for a mortgage or make an offer. Experian, Equifax, or Call Credit will check your credit score before you begin looking for a home. You can view your credit report at no cost or a low price with each agency. This will ensure that you are not denied a loan. Your score will be affected if you are not on the electoral rolls.

A mortgage broker can help you get what is called an agreement in principle. This is a sign from a lender that they may be willing to lend you a mortgage. This is based on the information you gave them. They will not verify that your income and expenses are correct at this stage so it is only a tentative estimate. It is a preliminary view and the lender won’t have been able to appraise the property. It can be useful if you’ve never owned a home before and need to know how much you can borrow. It is also a great way to convince the seller and estate agent that you are serious about negotiating a deal for the property.

Perhaps delays in conveyancing

There are many processes that occur between the moment your offer is accepted and the closing of your house purchase. Let’s look at each one individually.

After your offer has been accepted by the property owner, you can now instruct a conveyancer to apply for your mortgage. It is possible to avoid any delays by doing your research about the conveyancing solicitor that you choose.

Your conveyancing solicitor will start things by contacting the seller and buyer’s solicitors, conducting local searches, and reviewing all legal documents. It is usually easier to buy freehold property. The process may take longer if you’re buying a leasehold or a property subject to restrictive covenants, or a government scheme like Help to Buy. The process of buying a home built from scratch can be complicated. See our guide on Buying new builds – the conveyancing process.

If you’ve done your research, this is the time to submit your mortgage application. It will take between 18-40 days to receive a mortgage offer. This is usually 3 to 6 weeks. Although you may have already received an agreement in principle, it is possible that you have not received one yet. If this happens, the lender might not be as competitive as the rest of the market. It is important to check with your broker again.

Expect to communicate a lot between you, your mortgage lender and your conveyancer. While many of these timings are beyond your control, you can help to make sure that you’re responsive. David Hollingworth, L&C Mortgages, says that it is crucial to stay on top of your game. He also recommends answering questions quickly in order to keep things moving. You can ensure that the other side of the equation is taken care of if you take care of your own.

A valuation survey will be performed by your mortgage lender. This can take anywhere from a few days up to over a week depending on how busy the market is. The mortgage lender will only use this valuation. We recommend that homebuyers instruct their own surveyors to conduct a thorough inspection of the property’s condition. Learn more about the various types of surveys here. Get quotes from local surveyors right now

You may find areas that need attention during the survey. If this is the case, you might need to consult local tradesmen to get an estimate to determine how much it would cost to fix any issues. You may need to reduce the cost or renegotiate your offer. This can take time and can also add to the project’s complexity. This will cause delays and can slow down the process. So act quickly and decisively. Check out our guide on what to do if your survey report is not satisfactory.

Also, you must arrange building insurance to protect your new property. This will take effect the day after you exchange. Shop around now. It is often a condition of a mortgage agreement. Get insurance quotes for buildings today

From exchange to completion

After all searches have been completed and satisfied, it’s time to exchange contracts. You should first agree with the seller and buyer a date for completion. The seller’s solicitor will confirm receipt of the money and you can move in as soon as possible. This usually happens around noon.

Organise Your Move

Once you have a completion date, you can start to prepare for your move. To help you plan your move, use our moving house checklist. It is also a good idea consider when the best day to move. A removals company may be hired to help you pack and move your belongings. Find out how to compare removals quotes and find the best removal company.