From a starting point to moving day

This guide covers buying in England. The exact steps depend on your purchase. These are planning milestones, not fixed timescales.

1. Set your comfortable budget. Allow for running costs and a reserve as well as mortgage (a loan secured on your home) payments.
2. Check your borrowing and deposit. Gather income and deposit evidence and ask about a decision in principle (an initial indication of possible lending, not a mortgage offer). Check whether a credit search is soft or hard.
3. View homes within your plan. Ask about condition, tenure, charges and local costs.
4. Make an offer and appoint a legal adviser. Ask your solicitor to explain when your purchase becomes legally binding.
5. Complete the mortgage and legal checks. A valuation (a check of the home’s value for the lender; not a condition survey) is for the lender; consider your own survey (an inspection of the home’s condition). Resolve questions before committing.
6. Prepare to move. Confirm the funds, insurance and completion (the point when the purchase money and ownership transfer) arrangements with your legal adviser. Keep a buffer for the first months.

Exchange and completion are different

In England, exchange (the point when the purchase contracts become legally binding) is usually the point where the contract becomes binding. Completion is when the purchase funds are transferred and ownership is completed. Your conveyancer (the solicitor or licensed professional handling the legal purchase) should explain the timing, deposit and any conditions for your particular purchase. Do not end a tenancy or make irreversible arrangements on an assumed date.