You’ve accepted an offer. You’re excited. The estate agent says “congratulations!” and you start mentally arranging furniture in your new living room.
Then… crickets.
Week three rolls around and you’re wondering if your solicitor has forgotten about you. Week six arrives and you’re genuinely questioning whether you’ll ever actually move. By week ten, you’re convinced the entire property system is a conspiracy designed to test your patience.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the truth: the average UK conveyancing process takes 12-16 weeks from offer acceptance to completion. If you’re in a chain, add another 4-8 weeks to that estimate. And no, that’s not because solicitors are lazy or incompetent, it’s because buying and selling property involves more moving parts than a Swiss watch factory.
Let me walk you through what’s actually happening during those long, frustrating weeks of apparent silence.
The Conveyancing Timeline: What’s Really Going On?
Most clients think conveyancing works like this: solicitor receives contract → solicitor reads contract → you complete. Job done in a week, right?
If only.
In reality, your solicitor is juggling multiple tasks simultaneously, many of which are completely out of their control. Here’s what a typical timeline looks like:
| Week | What’s Happening |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Contract pack requested from seller’s solicitor; searches ordered from local authority |
| 3-4 | Mortgage application submitted; search results start arriving (maybe) |
| 5-6 | Contract review; enquiries raised with seller’s solicitor |
| 7-8 | Waiting for enquiry responses; mortgage offer arrives (hopefully) |
| 9-10 | Final contract negotiations; deposit arrangements |
| 11-12 | Exchange of contracts; completion date agreed |
| 12-16 | Final checks, money transfers, completion day |
Notice how many of those stages involve waiting for someone else? That’s the reality of conveyancing. Your solicitor can be the most efficient person on the planet, but they can’t force the local council to process searches faster, or make the seller’s solicitor respond to enquiries overnight.
The “Black Box” Problem: When Nothing Seems to Be Happening
This is the bit that drives clients absolutely mad. You’ve heard nothing for three weeks. You start to wonder if your file is sitting in a drawer somewhere, gathering dust.
But here’s what’s likely happening behind the scenes:
Searches are being processed. Local authority searches can take 4-6 weeks in some areas. These aren’t optional, they check for planning applications, building control approvals, road schemes, and environmental issues. Without them, you could be buying a house that’s about to have a motorway built through the back garden.
Your mortgage lender is doing their thing. Mortgage offers typically take 2-4 weeks. The lender needs to instruct a surveyor, wait for the survey report, review your financials again, and issue formal instructions to their solicitors. Yes, it involves more solicitors. Welcome to property law.
The seller’s solicitor is dealing with their own chaos. They might be chasing leasehold management packs, dealing with a difficult seller, or waiting for paperwork from their seller further up the chain.
Your solicitor can’t make any of this happen faster. What they can do is chase, chase, and chase some again. Which is exactly what we do at Judge Law.
The Usual Suspects: Common Bottlenecks That Slow Everything Down
Let’s talk about the big three delays that plague almost every transaction:
1. Leasehold Management Packs
If you’re buying a flat, you need something called a “management pack” from the freeholder or management company. This includes service charge accounts, insurance details, lease information, and building regulations.
Average wait time? 3-4 weeks. Sometimes longer if the management company is disorganised or understaffed.
There’s literally nothing your solicitor can do except send increasingly stern emails and make phone calls that go to voicemail. It’s infuriating for everyone involved.
2. Local Authority Searches
Some councils are fantastic and return searches within 10 working days. Others… well, let’s just say they’re operating on a different understanding of time.
Rural councils and smaller authorities can take 6-8 weeks. During busy periods (like spring when the property market heats up), even efficient councils start to lag.
3. The Chain Effect
This is the killer. If you’re part of a chain: where your sale depends on your buyer, who depends on their buyer, and so on: you’re only as fast as the slowest person in that chain.
One first-time buyer struggling to get their mortgage sorted? Everyone waits. A seller at the top of the chain who’s being difficult about completion dates? Everyone waits. A leasehold property with a nightmare management company? You guessed it: everyone waits.
Chain transactions typically take 10-16 weeks minimum. Longer chains (four or more properties) can easily stretch to 20+ weeks.
How Judge Law Does Things Differently
Here’s where I’m going to be honest with you: we can’t make local councils work faster. We can’t force management companies to respond overnight. And we definitely can’t control what happens with other people’s mortgage applications.
But here’s what we can do:
We chase. Relentlessly. We don’t wait for people to get back to us: we follow up, we call, we email, we make ourselves a friendly nuisance until things move forward.
We keep you informed. Radio silence is not our style. Even when there’s nothing exciting to report (“still waiting on searches, I’m afraid”), we’ll let you know where things stand. You’ll never be left wondering what’s happening.
We spot problems early. We’ve done this hundreds of times. We know which searches to prioritize, which enquiries to raise first, and when to push back on unreasonable demands from the other side.
We’re proactive, not reactive. The moment we receive your file, we’re ordering searches, reviewing contracts, and identifying potential issues. We don’t wait for you to ask: we’re already on it.
What You Can Do to Speed Things Along
You’re not powerless in this process. Here are the things that genuinely help:
Respond quickly to your solicitor’s queries. If we’re asking for ID, proof of funds, or information about your mortgage, getting that back to us within a day or two makes a real difference.
Have your paperwork ready. Bank statements, payslips, proof of deposit source: gather these early. The faster we can satisfy anti-money laundering checks, the faster everything else moves.
Stay in touch with your mortgage broker. Don’t assume everything’s fine: check in regularly to make sure your application is progressing.
Be realistic about timelines. If you’re in a chain, 16 weeks is not unusual. Setting your expectations properly from the start will save you a lot of stress.
The Bottom Line
Property transactions take time. Not because solicitors are inefficient, but because the system involves multiple parties, regulatory requirements, and processes that can’t be rushed.
The average conveyancing timeline in 2026 is 12-16 weeks. If you’re chain-free and everything goes smoothly, you might complete in 8-10 weeks. If you’re in a complex chain with leasehold properties, 20+ weeks is realistic.
What matters most is having a solicitor who keeps things moving, communicates clearly, and fights your corner when delays crop up.
At Judge Law, that’s exactly what we do. We won’t promise you miracles or impossible timelines, but we will promise you transparency, proactive communication, and a team that genuinely cares about getting you into your new home as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Ready to get your move started? Get in touch with our conveyancing team for a no-obligation quote and let’s talk through your timeline realistically. No false promises: just honest advice and expert guidance from start to finish.
