The first-time buyer’s conveyancing checklist.

Get your house in order before you fall in love with a property.

• Mortgage Agreement in Principle (AIP) secured with a broker or lender
• Deposit in an accessible account, not locked up in an ISA with a 30-day notice
• Three months of clean bank statements (no unexplained large transfers)
• ID ready: passport or driving licence + proof of address from the last three months
• Source-of-funds paperwork if deposit came from a gift, inheritance, or savings built up over years
• Full moving budget: deposit + SDLT + legal fees + survey + removals + contingency

The clock starts. Fast is how you win.

• Instruct a conveyancer the same day (not the following week)
• Order an independent survey, your lender's valuation is NOT a survey
• Confirm the property is freehold or leasehold in writing
• Ask the estate agent for the Memorandum of Sale in writing
• Keep the AIP fresh, re-run it if your financial situation changes
• Put your own property on the market (if selling) the same week

The prep phase, what's happening in the background.

• ID verification completed (through Credas or similar provider)
• Source-of-funds evidence uploaded and accepted
• Property information form and fittings & contents form received from seller
• Local authority, water, drainage searches ordered
• Title register and title plan received from HM Land Registry
• Lease document requested (if leasehold)

Skip if you're buying freehold. Critical if you're not.

• Lease length confirmed, anything below 80 years is a red flag
• Ground rent: is it zero (new leases) or does it double periodically? (Ask for the rent review clause)
• Service charge: last three years of accounts + what they cover + any reserve fund contributions
• Who manages the building? Freeholder, managing agent, or RTM company?
• Any Section 20 notices for major works in the last three years (roof, lift, windows)?
• LPE1 form (Leasehold Property Enquiries) ordered by your solicitor

Everyone's ready. Both sides legally commit.

• Mortgage offer issued in writing (not just AIP)
• Report on title received from your solicitor and read
• Survey report read and any findings raised with seller
• Pre-contract enquiries all answered to your solicitor's satisfaction
• Completion date agreed with seller (and your onward chain, if any)
• Building insurance arranged to start on exchange day (you need it from exchange, not completion)
• Deposit (usually 10%) cleared into your solicitor's client account

Usually 1 to 2 weeks, sometimes same-day.

• Final searches refreshed (bankruptcy, Land Registry priority)
• Completion statement from your solicitor, the exact amount you need to transfer
• Arrange removals
• Set up utilities / Council Tax at the new address
• Redirect mail with Royal Mail (3 months minimum, ideally 6)
• Take meter readings at your old property on the day you leave

Keys day.

• Funds from your solicitor hit the seller's solicitor (usually late morning)
• Keys released to you once funds confirmed (usually 1 to 3pm)
• Walk through the property, fixtures, fittings, cleanliness match the contract
• Take meter readings at the new property the moment you arrive
• Photograph the property on arrival (condition evidence)
• Confirm completion has been registered by your solicitor

A few final loose ends in the first month.

• SDLT return filed by your solicitor within 14 days (automatic)
• Title transfer registered with HM Land Registry (can take weeks, that's normal)
• Update HMRC, DVLA, bank, employer, subscriptions with your new address
• If leasehold, notify the freeholder/managing agent of the transfer
• Keep all completion paperwork, title deeds, SDLT certificate, lease documents