How long does it take to buy a house in the UK? 2024 guide

The decision to buy a property is often made several months before the end of the current lease - typically, our clients contact us no sooner than six months before they plan to collect the keys. Is that enough time? How long does it actually take to buy a house in the UK, how do you speed up the process and what can make it longer?

The length of the property buying process in the UK is influenced by a number of factors

The question about the timing of buying a property in the UK falls during practically every conversation we have with our clients at the beginning of our cooperation. It’s quite understandable - the lease is coming to an end, the rent has to be paid every month and the family would already like to move from their current accommodation. Everyone is concerned about time.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to give a definite answer to this question, as many different factors influence the length of the property purchase process. Let’s try to take a closer look at them and draw an average.

What does the time taken to buy a house in the UK depend on?

Situation of the seller

First of all, the time it takes to complete a transaction depends on the situation of the person selling the property. It is very common for someone to sell a property in order to buy another one (bigger, smaller, in a different location). Such a person will not move out of their house before buying another one. If this is the case, the process of buying a house can become longer.

Situation of the buyer

The situation of the person buying the property, i.e. you, is also crucial. As a buyer, you must first and foremost deal with the financing of your new home. You can pay cash (cash buy), but this is much less common than buying with a mortgage from a bank. The second option is, of course, time-consuming - even with the best mortgage adviser, you will need several weeks to organise all the necessary documents, receive a mortgage decision and collect the required deposit on your account.

The situation described is what is known as a chain, where there are several buyers and sellers. Sometimes the chain is formed by two people, but sometimes the chain is longer. Suppose you need to sell a smaller house in order to buy a larger one. The person you are buying from also wants to buy a house, from yet another person, who in turn also….

In such a situation, the lawyers of all parties have to agree on a date on which all transactions will take place. The longer such a chain of buyers and sellers, the longer the period for acquiring the property and the greater the risk that someone will give up and the sale will not go through.

Property

The property itself, whose legal status can be very complicated, is also not insignificant. The conveyancing process is designed to determine whether there are plans to build a landfill site on the neighbouring plot, for example, or whether there are any inheritance proceedings pending involving it. If buying a house in the UK extends beyond five months, in most cases this is the result of delays by the law firm. Leasehold properties are particularly troublesome.

For more information on conveyancing, see the government website: Find the right solicitor or conveyancer.

Legal office

The choice of law firm has a huge impact on the length of the conveyancing process. Your solicitor (barrister) may be handling multiple cases in parallel, which will have a negative impact on the service you purchase. On the other hand, a solicitor pursuing a case rapidly may be much more expensive. This is a strongly individual issue.

Credit broker and bank

The UK market has both very large and very small brokerage firms. The reality is that while the large providers may offer slightly lower prices, the advisers employed there simply have less time to deal with each client. This means that submitting your application may take a little longer.

The bank itself also has a big influence on the turnaround time of the whole mortgage process. Buying a house in the UK during the peak season, i.e. in spring and autumn, can take longer due to the huge volumes of applications that analysts have to process. In this case, however, there is no rule that the larger the institution, the longer the wait for a decision.

How long does it take to buy a house in the UK?

We already know that the property buying process is influenced by many factors. But let’s not kid ourselves - you’ve come here to find out at least an approximate time it will take you to buy a house in the UK, along with dealing with all the mortgage issues.

In our experience at the firm, **buying a house in the UK usually takes between 3 and 5 months. **Occasionally we manage to buy a house or flat in less time, say 10 weeks, but most of our clients need at least 3-5 months to see things through to completion. In extremely unfortunate cases, it can take up to 6 months to check the legal status of a property! However, if the offer is really favourable and it is possible, sometimes it is worth waiting a little.

We hope you already know how long it takes to buy a house in the UK. As always, we encourage you to read the other articles on the blog to help you prepare better for the process and to help shorten it. Here are links to the most important articles: the property buying process and how to buy a house in the UK.

As always, we also encourage you to contact us if you need the help of an experienced adviser in finding the right mortgage. The initial consultation does not commit you to anything and is free of charge, and at this stage you will already know whether obtaining a mortgage is possible in your case and how much you will be able to borrow.