What Happens Between Accepting An Offer And Moving Day?
Accepting an offer is a major milestone, but it's not the end of the sale. There's still legal work, mortgage processing, surveys, enquiries and a chain to manage before contracts can be exchanged and moving day can finally be agreed.
When you accept an offer on your home, it feels like a big step. You have found a buyer, agreed a price and can start thinking seriously about the move.
But there is still quite a lot to happen before you hand over the keys.
For many sellers, this is the part of the process they understand least. The property is sold subject to contract, solicitors take over much of the legal work and progress can sometimes feel less visible than it did during the marketing stage.
The sale goes to the solicitors
Once the buyer has been properly qualified and the sale is agreed, the estate agent sends a memorandum of sale to the solicitors acting for both sides.
Your solicitor will then ask you to complete the usual property information forms and provide documents relating to the home. Depending on the property, this can include information about boundaries, alterations, guarantees, planning permissions, building regulations and what you intend to leave behind.
Completing these forms accurately and returning them quickly can help avoid unnecessary delays later.
The buyer starts their mortgage and survey
If the buyer needs a mortgage, their lender will process the application and arrange a valuation of the property. The buyer may also arrange their own survey.
A lender's valuation is primarily for the mortgage company, so many buyers also choose a separate survey. If that raises questions, they may ask for further information or specialist reports. Occasionally they may want to discuss the price again, although a survey does not automatically mean renegotiation.
Searches and legal enquiries begin
The buyer's solicitor will normally order searches and review the legal title to the property. They will then raise enquiries with your solicitor.
Some will be straightforward. Others may relate to extensions, alterations, rights of way, leasehold matters, guarantees or information contained within the searches.
This stage can sometimes feel slow because solicitors are often waiting for information from several places. The best thing a seller can do is respond promptly whenever their solicitor asks for something.
A missing certificate or document can suddenly become important once the legal work is under way.
The chain has to move together
If you are buying another property, your sale is only one part of a chain.
Your buyer may also have a property to sell. Your seller may be buying somewhere else. Each transaction has its own mortgage, survey, searches and enquiries.
That is why chains can be complicated. You may be completely ready while somebody further along is still waiting for a mortgage offer or search result.
Good sales progression matters because somebody needs to understand what is happening throughout the chain, identify where a delay is occurring and keep everyone informed.
Without that communication, sellers and buyers can easily feel that nothing is happening even when several things are progressing behind the scenes.
Mortgage offers need to be issued
If the buyer is borrowing money, their formal mortgage offer needs to be issued before they can exchange contracts. If you are buying with a mortgage as well, the same applies to your purchase.
Mortgage processing can involve additional checks, so it is worth making sure your own finances are organised early. Accepting an offer does not mean the move is guaranteed. Until contracts are exchanged, either side can still withdraw.
When are you ready to exchange?
Once the legal enquiries are answered, searches are back, mortgage offers are in place and everyone in the chain is ready, solicitors can start discussing exchange and completion dates.
Exchange of contracts is the point at which the transaction becomes legally binding. The buyer normally pays a deposit and both sides commit to completing on the agreed date.
Completion dates should not be treated as definite too early. Until exchange has taken place, there is still some uncertainty.
Then comes completion
Completion is moving day.
The buyer's solicitor sends the purchase money to your solicitor. Once the funds have arrived and completion is confirmed, the estate agent can release the keys to the buyer.
If you are buying another home on the same day, your solicitor then sends the funds onwards for your purchase. In a chain, this normally works from the bottom upwards, which is why keys are not always available first thing in the morning.
Communication makes a huge difference
The period between accepting an offer and moving can feel frustrating if nobody explains what is happening.
A good estate agent should remain involved after the sale is agreed, speaking to buyers, sellers and solicitors, monitoring the chain and helping to resolve issues where possible. The agent cannot do the solicitor's job, but they can keep communication moving and make sure problems are identified rather than ignored.
Accepting an offer is really the beginning of the second half of the sale. The first half is about finding the right buyer and agreeing the best possible price. The second is about getting that buyer, and everyone else in the chain, safely through to completion.
If you are thinking about selling and want to understand not just how your home will be marketed, but how the sale will be managed once a buyer is found, our team would be happy to talk you through the whole process.
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07969 638349
duncan.kaye@keysandlee.co.uk
