Resources — Buying process · 6 min
Legal & Conveyancing Checklist
Conveyancing feels like a black box until you know the sequence. This is the sequence — and the handful of enquiries that genuinely protect an investor, so you can push where it matters instead of chasing everything equally.
How to use this
Start it the day your offer is accepted. Tick items as your solicitor confirms them, and chase weekly on anything still open.
01
Instruction week
- Solicitor instructed, ID checks done, funds source evidenced
- Memorandum of sale received and details checked
- Searches ordered immediately — local authority searches are the slow ones
- Survey booked (level 2 for standard stock; level 3 for anything old, altered or odd)
02
Enquiries that matter
- Title: any restrictions, covenants or charges that touch your intended use
- Boundaries and access match what you saw on the ground
- Building regs completion certificates for every alteration
- Leasehold: remaining term, ground rent review clauses, service charge accounts (3 years), planned major works
- Tenanted property: deposit protection, gas/electrical certificates, the actual tenancy agreement
- Planning history and anything enforcement-related
03
Exchange readiness
- Mortgage offer issued and valid past your target completion date
- Survey findings resolved: renegotiated, quoted or accepted in writing
- Buildings insurance arranged to start on exchange, not completion
- Deposit funds cleared with the solicitor
- Completion date agreed that works for tenancies, trades and finance drawdown
04
Completion day
- Funds requested from lender several days ahead
- Final statement checked line by line — query anything unexplained
- Keys, alarm codes, meter locations and appliance manuals from the agent
- Meter readings photographed on day one
- Stamp duty return filed by your solicitor within 14 days
Related documents
Working documents, not advice — take professional advice where your situation needs it.