How can I speed up exchange?

You've agreed a price, your offer has been accepted, and everyone wants to move. Then the frustrating part starts.

Days turn into weeks. Your solicitor is waiting for the buyer's solicitor. The buyer is waiting for their mortgage lender. Someone is waiting for a search, a certificate or an answer from the council. Meanwhile, the house you want to buy feels increasingly at risk.

If you're asking “how can I speed up exchange?”, the good news is that there are things you can do.

You cannot control every part of a property chain, but many of the most common delays happen because information, documents and decisions are not ready when they are needed.

The earlier you deal with them, the better your chances of getting to exchange quickly.

What actually needs to happen before you can exchange contracts?

Exchange of contracts is the point at which your sale becomes legally binding.

Before your solicitor can normally recommend exchange, they need to be satisfied that the legal work on the property has been completed. For a typical sale, this can include:

• checking the title to the property
• reviewing the seller's property information
• dealing with fixtures and fittings
• obtaining searches
• answering enquiries raised by the buyer's solicitor
• checking planning and building regulation matters
• dealing with leasehold or management information where applicable
• confirming the buyer's mortgage arrangements
• agreeing the contract
• agreeing a completion date
• making sure the rest of the property chain is ready

That means the fastest way to exchange is not simply to keep calling your solicitor.

It is to remove as many reasons to wait as possible.

1. Instruct your solicitor before you find a buyer

One of the easiest ways to lose time is to wait until you accept an offer before instructing a conveyancer.

There is plenty your solicitor can start preparing before a buyer appears.

They can open your file, complete identity checks, obtain title information and start assembling the contract pack.

If you are thinking about selling, getting the legal work started early can potentially remove days or even weeks from the process later.

2. Complete your property forms immediately

Your solicitor will normally ask you to complete forms providing information about the property.

Do not leave these sitting in your inbox for a week.

Complete them carefully and return them as quickly as possible.

More importantly, make sure the answers are complete. Missing information often creates another round of questions later.

If something is unclear, tell your solicitor rather than guessing.

3. Find your paperwork before you put the house on the market

A surprising amount of conveyancing time can be spent looking for documents that sellers have not thought about for years.

Depending on your property, these might include:

• planning permissions
• building regulation approvals
• completion certificates
• FENSA or window installation certificates
• electrical certificates
• boiler installation paperwork
• guarantees and warranties
• extension documentation
• solar panel agreements
• lease documents
• management company information
• certificates relating to alterations
• indemnity policies from a previous purchase

If you had an extension built ten years ago, don't wait until a buyer's solicitor asks about it to start looking for the paperwork.

4. Check your title for potential problems early

Title issues can create some of the longest delays because they often require information from third parties.

Examples might include:

• old restrictions on the title
• missing rights of way
• incorrect names
• boundary discrepancies
• historic mortgages that appear not to have been removed
• absent easements
• leasehold restrictions
• unclear ownership of garages, parking spaces or access roads

Many sellers only discover these problems after accepting an offer.

Checking the Land Registry title earlier gives you an opportunity to investigate them before there is a buyer waiting.

5. Deal with extensions and alterations now

If you have changed the property, expect questions.

That might include:

• extensions
• loft conversions
• removing internal walls
• garage conversions
• new windows
• conservatories
• electrical work
• replacement boilers
• installation of solar panels

The buyer's solicitor may want evidence that the appropriate planning permissions, building regulations approvals or certificates exist.

Finding these documents before they are requested can make a significant difference.

6. If you're buying as well, organise your mortgage immediately

Exchange cannot happen if the buyer is not financially ready.

If you are buying another property, the same applies to you.

Get your mortgage application moving as soon as you have an accepted offer.

Respond quickly to requests from your lender, broker and surveyor.

A mortgage agreement in principle is useful when making an offer, but it is not the same thing as having a formal mortgage offer ready for exchange.

7. Book the survey quickly

If you are buying, arrange your survey as soon as possible.

If the survey identifies a significant issue, you want to discover it early.

Finding out about a roof problem in week two is much easier to deal with than finding out in week eight when everyone expects to exchange.

Surveys themselves are not usually part of the legal conveyancing process, but buyers frequently wait for the survey result before committing themselves.

8. Pay for searches as soon as your solicitor asks

If you are buying, your conveyancer is likely to order searches relating to the property.

These can include the local authority search, drainage and water search and environmental searches.

Some searches can take considerably longer than others depending on the property and local authority.

If your solicitor is waiting for money or instructions before ordering them, the process has not really started.

Ask when the searches will be ordered and whether anything is preventing them from being requested immediately.

9. Answer enquiries properly the first time

This is one of the biggest opportunities to speed things up.

A buyer's solicitor will normally raise enquiries after reviewing the contract pack, title, searches and other information.

Your solicitor then needs answers from you or from third parties.

Respond quickly, but don't send vague answers that simply generate another question.

For example:

Question: When was the extension constructed and was building regulation approval obtained?

A response of:

“About 2014 I think.”

is likely to result in another enquiry.

A complete response with the date, planning reference and completion certificate may close the enquiry immediately.

The objective should be to close enquiries, not simply answer emails.

10. Keep an eye on third parties

Sometimes neither solicitor is actually causing the delay.

The transaction may be waiting for:

• a managing agent
• a freeholder
• a local authority
• a mortgage lender
• a management company
• another solicitor in the chain
• a surveyor
• a developer
• a housing association

Ask specifically what is outstanding and who currently has responsibility for providing it.

That is much more useful than simply asking:

“Any update?”

Instead ask:

“What exactly needs to happen before we can exchange, and who are we currently waiting for?”

That question tends to produce a much more useful answer.

11. Agree your completion date before the last minute

Another surprisingly common delay happens when all of the legal work is finished but nobody can agree when they actually want to move.

Start discussing possible completion dates early.

Remember that everyone in the chain may have different requirements involving removals, work, schools, mortgages or onward purchases.

Finding a date that works for six households can take longer than finding one that works for two.

12. Understand what is holding up the chain

If your transaction is part of a property chain, your sale may be completely ready while another transaction is not.

Ask your estate agent to establish the position of the entire chain.

For each transaction, ideally you want to know:

• Is the mortgage offer issued?
• Has the survey been completed?
• Have searches been returned?
• Have enquiries been raised?
• Have enquiries been answered?
• Is everyone ready to exchange?
• Has a completion date been proposed?

This quickly exposes where the real blockage is.

How do I find out what's delaying exchange?

Don't settle for “it's with the solicitors.”

Ask for a list of the specific outstanding items.

For example:

Still outstanding

1. Local authority search.
2. Building regulation certificate for the extension.
3. Three enquiries awaiting seller response.
4. Buyer's mortgage offer.
5. Confirmation that the top of the chain is ready.

Now you have something useful.

You can see which problems you can solve and which ones you simply have to wait for.

Can I exchange contracts faster by using the same solicitor as the buyer?

Usually this isn't the solution.

Solicitors have professional duties to each client and conflicts of interest can arise when acting for both sides of the same transaction.

The bigger opportunity is making sure both sides have everything they need as early as possible.

Can I exchange contracts without searches?

Sometimes buyers may choose to proceed without particular searches, but this depends on the circumstances and the advice of their conveyancer and mortgage lender.

If there is a mortgage involved, the lender's requirements also need to be satisfied.

Trying to remove normal legal checks simply to save a few days can introduce significantly greater risks.

A better approach is to get the searches underway earlier.

How quickly can you exchange contracts?

There is no fixed minimum period between accepting an offer and exchanging contracts.

In theory, a straightforward transaction where the financing, documentation and legal work are already prepared can move very quickly.

In reality, most transactions involve several organisations and potentially several properties.

That is why preparation before an offer is accepted can be so powerful.

Rather than trying to make conveyancing move faster once everything is underway, remove potential delays before the clock starts.

The biggest mistake sellers make

Most people prepare their property for marketing but don't prepare it for conveyancing.

They:

• tidy the garden
• redecorate
• arrange photographs
• choose an estate agent
• agree an asking price

Then they wait until someone buys the property before looking at the legal side.

That creates an unnecessary gap between sale agreed and contract ready.

There is a better way.

Get your property sale-ready before you find a buyer

Tepilo helps you understand how prepared your property is for sale and identify things that could slow the transaction down later.

By checking the information relating to your home earlier, you can start dealing with missing documents, title questions, planning information and other potential delays before they become urgent.

So when you finally find the right buyer, you aren't starting from zero.

You're already several steps ahead.

Want to know what could delay your sale?

Start your Tepilo property check and see how ready your home is to sell.