Accepting an offer on your property is an exciting moment. After all the viewings, conversations and negotiations, it can feel like the biggest part of the process is done. And in many ways, it is a huge step forward.
But accepting an offer is not quite the same as completing the sale. There are still a few important stages to go through before the sale becomes legally binding, the money changes hands and the keys are handed over.
For many sellers, this is the part of the process that feels the least familiar. Up until now, most of the focus has been on marketing the property, arranging viewings and agreeing a price. Once an offer is accepted, the process moves into legal work, mortgage checks, surveys, searches and enquiries.
That can sound like a lot, but with the right support and good communication, it becomes much easier to understand.
So, if you’ve accepted an offer and are wondering what happens next, here’s a simple guide to the main stages before completion.
First, the sale is agreed
Once you accept an offer, the property is usually marked as sold subject to contract. This means you have accepted the buyer’s offer, but the sale is not legally binding yet. There is still legal work, checks and paperwork to complete before contracts are exchanged.
At this stage, you will also need to choose a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the legal side of the sale. If you do not already have one in mind, your estate agent can usually help point you in the right direction and recommend trusted local solicitors who are used to dealing with property transactions.
Choosing a solicitor quickly is important, because the legal process cannot properly begin until both sides have representation in place.
Your estate agent will then issue a memorandum of sale. This is sent to both sets of solicitors and includes the key details of the sale, such as the agreed price, the property address, the buyer’s details, the seller’s details and the contact details for everyone involved.
It is an important step because it officially gets the legal process moving.
You instruct your chosen solicitor
Once the sale has been agreed, you will need to formally instruct your chosen solicitor or conveyancer. This simply means confirming that you would like them to act on your behalf and handle the legal side of the sale for you.
At this stage, your solicitor will usually open a file for you and send over their initial paperwork. This will usually include their terms of business, ID checks, proof of address requirements and forms relating to the property itself.
As a seller, you will also usually be asked to complete property information forms. These cover important details such as boundaries, fixtures and fittings, planning permissions, building work, disputes, utilities, warranties and anything else the buyer’s solicitor may need to know.
Your solicitor will then use this information to prepare the contract pack and send it to the buyer’s solicitor. From there, they will deal with legal questions, respond to enquiries and guide you through the process up to exchange and completion.
It is worth completing these forms as carefully and quickly as you can, because the process cannot properly continue until they have been returned. Missing information, unanswered questions or delays in returning paperwork can slow things down.
The more organised things are at this stage, the easier it is for the solicitors to keep the sale moving.
The buyer arranges their mortgage
If your buyer is using a mortgage, they will need to move from an agreement in principle to a formal mortgage offer.
An agreement in principle is an early indication from a lender of how much the buyer may be able to borrow. It is useful because it shows the buyer has started looking at their finances, but it is not the same as a confirmed mortgage offer.
Once the sale has been agreed, the buyer will usually submit a full mortgage application. This is where the lender looks at their income, outgoings, credit history, deposit and the details of the property they are buying.
The lender will then usually arrange a valuation of the property. This is mainly to check that the property is suitable security for the loan and that the agreed purchase price is in line with the lender’s expectations.
Once the lender has completed its checks and is happy to proceed, they will issue a formal mortgage offer to the buyer. This is one of the key pieces needed before the sale can move towards exchange of contracts.
This stage is mostly handled by the buyer, their mortgage adviser and their lender, but it can still affect the overall timescale of the sale.
The buyer may arrange a survey
It is also common for buyers to arrange a survey once their offer has been accepted.
A survey looks more closely at the condition of the home. Depending on the type of survey, it may highlight anything from general maintenance points to more significant issues such as damp, roof concerns, drainage problems or structural defects.
Sometimes, a survey comes back with no major concerns and the sale continues smoothly. Other times, the buyer may ask questions, request further reports or try to renegotiate based on what has been found. This can feel frustrating for sellers, especially when an offer has already been agreed, but it is a fairly normal part of the process.
The important thing is not to panic. Not every issue raised in a survey means there is a serious problem, and not every question leads to a renegotiation.
This is where good communication really matters. A good estate agent can help keep conversations sensible, balanced and moving forward, so that any concerns are dealt with properly without the sale losing momentum.
Searches are carried out
The buyer’s solicitor will usually order searches as part of the legal process.
These are checks carried out with different organisations and local authorities to find out more about the property and the surrounding area. Searches are not about the visible condition of the home. Instead, they look at legal, environmental and local information that could affect the property.
This may include things such as planning history, local authority records, drainage and water connections, environmental risks and other relevant details.
Some searches can come back quite quickly, but local authority searches often take longer and can be known to take around four weeks. This is one of the reasons why property sales do not usually complete overnight.
It can feel like not much is happening during this stage, but these checks are an important part of making sure everything is in order before contracts can be exchanged.
Enquiries are raised
Once the buyer’s solicitor has reviewed the contract pack, searches and any survey information, they may raise enquiries. These are questions sent to your solicitor to clarify anything they need to understand before the sale can move forward.
These questions can cover a wide range of things. They might ask about building regulations, planning permission, certificates, guarantees, rights of way, boundaries, fixtures and fittings, leasehold information, service charges or anything else that needs further explanation.
Some enquiries are simple and can be answered quickly. Others take longer, especially if documents need to be found or information needs to come from a management company, freeholder, local authority or another third party.
This stage can sometimes feel slow, but it is a normal and important part of the process. The aim is to make sure everything is clear before contracts are exchanged, so both the buyer and seller know exactly where they stand.
Your estate agent helps keep things moving
Although the legal work is handled by the solicitors, your estate agent still plays an important role after the offer has been accepted.
At Courtney Downing Estates, we stay involved throughout the process. That means keeping in touch with solicitors, buyers, sellers and other agents in the chain where needed, so everyone understands what stage the sale is at and what still needs to happen.
A lot of progress comes down to good communication. Sometimes a quick update, a chased document or a clearer conversation can help prevent unnecessary delays and keep things moving in the right direction.
This can be especially important if there is a chain involved, or if questions come up around surveys, searches, enquiries or completion dates. Having someone actively helping to manage communication can make the whole process feel much less stressful.
Selling a property is not just about finding a buyer. It is about helping the sale reach completion, and that is why we continue supporting our sellers right through to the day the keys are handed over.
Exchange of contracts
Exchange of contracts is the point where the sale becomes legally binding.
By this stage, the buyer’s mortgage offer should usually be in place, searches and enquiries should be resolved, contracts should be signed and a completion date should be agreed.
Once contracts are exchanged, both buyer and seller are legally committed to the sale. This means the buyer is committed to buying the property, and the seller is committed to selling it.
However, the money has not changed hands yet and the buyer does not own the property at this stage. That happens on completion day, which is the final stage of the process.
Exchange of contracts is often the point where sellers can feel much more certain that the move is happening.
Completion day
Completion day is the final stage of the sale. This is the day the money is transferred, ownership changes hands and the buyer can collect the keys.
Your solicitor will confirm once the funds have been received. Once that happens, the estate agent can release the keys to the buyer.
As the seller, you will usually need to make sure the property is fully vacated by the agreed time, unless something different has been arranged. The keys are usually left with the estate agent, ready to be handed over once completion has been confirmed.
For sellers, this is the point where everything officially goes through. The sale is complete, the buyer becomes the new owner and the moving process comes to an end.
How long does it all take?
Every sale is different. Some move quickly, while others take longer because of chains, mortgage delays, searches, leasehold paperwork, survey queries or legal enquiries.
As a general guide, many property sales take around three to four months from accepting an offer through to completion. Some can complete sooner, while others may take longer depending on the circumstances.
This is why good communication matters so much. The more proactive everyone is, the easier it is to spot potential delays, chase missing information and keep the process moving.
While not every delay can be avoided, having the right support around you can make a big difference to how smooth and manageable the process feels.
A smoother sale starts with the right support
Accepting an offer is a major step, but it is not the end of the journey. There are still several important stages to work through, from instructing solicitors and confirming mortgage offers to completing searches and answering enquiries, before contracts can be exchanged and a completion date agreed.
It can feel like a lot, especially if you have not sold a property for a while. But with the right support and clear communication, the process can feel much easier to manage.
At Courtney Downing Estates, we support our sellers from valuation right through to completion. We stay involved after the offer is accepted, help keep the process moving, keep you updated and work closely with everyone involved in the sale.
Our role is not just to find a buyer. It is to help guide the sale through to completion and make sure you feel informed at every stage.
If you are thinking of selling and would like clear, honest advice on the process, we would be happy to help.
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