3 Stages of Conveyancing

Conveyancing sounds like one long process, but it actually breaks down into three distinct stages, each with its own milestones. Knowing what happens at each point makes it far easier to plan your move, respond to requests quickly, and understand why some weeks feel quiet while others feel frantic. Here’s what your solicitor is actually doing at each stage of an Ipswich property transaction.

This is the investigation stage. Your solicitor requests the title from the Land Registry, orders local searches, and starts reviewing the draft contract sent by the other side’s solicitor.

Searches: A local authority search checks for planning history and any enforcement notices; a water and drainage search confirms how the property connects to the mains; an environmental search flags contamination or flood risk. Ipswich Borough Council handles the local searches for properties within the town boundary — turnaround times here are generally predictable, which your solicitor factors into the timeline they give you.

Enquiries: Once the contract pack arrives, your solicitor raises questions — anything from boundary disputes to missing guarantees for building work. This back-and-forth is normal and is what prevents nasty surprises after you’ve moved in.

Mortgage checks: If you’re borrowing, your solicitor reviews your lender’s conditions and makes sure the property meets them before you’re locked into anything.

This is the point of no return. Once both sides sign and exchange, the sale is legally binding — pulling out after this point means losing your deposit and potentially facing a claim for costs.

Before exchange, your solicitor confirms every outstanding enquiry is resolved, your mortgage offer is in hand, and you’ve agreed a completion date with the other side. The buyer’s deposit (typically 10%, though this varies) transfers on exchange, and from here the date is fixed.

Completion day is when the money moves and the keys change hands. Your solicitor sends the remaining balance to the seller’s solicitor, waits for confirmation of receipt, and only then releases the keys through the agent.

Afterwards, the legal work continues quietly in the background: your solicitor submits your Stamp Duty return, registers you as the new owner with the Land Registry, and — if you have a mortgage — registers the lender’s charge against the property. This can take several weeks, but it doesn’t affect your ability to move in.

These three stages apply to any property transaction in England and Wales, but local knowledge changes how smoothly each one runs. A solicitor who regularly handles Ipswich transactions knows the local authority’s typical search turnaround, has dealt with the area’s mix of period terraces and newer estates like Ravenswood and Grange Farm, and has working relationships with the estate agents active across the town.

We offer a straightforward, fixed-fee quote if you’re ready to move forward. Fill in a few details about your Ipswich purchase, sale or remortgage, and you’ll get an accurate, itemised estimate within moments — no vague “from” pricing, and no surprise costs added later. A fixed fee means you can budget with confidence from the very start, whatever stage of the process you’re at right now.