How long does it take to move house?


When will I be moving house? How long does it take to buy a house? How can I speed the process of moving house?

Sound familiar? These are questions I get asked all the time as a sales progressor within Nock Deighton’s busy dedicated sales progression department.

Many homebuyers are surprised when they find out how long it can take to buy a property. With lots of people involved and many factors outside any one person’s control, the whole process of buying a house takes around 10 – 12 weeks. As we are also currently in a pandemic, timescales are commonly protracted further due to mortgage lender issues and a very heavy workload for all property professionals.


Here's how you can help speed your property purchase along.


Choose a local, recommended, solicitor/conveyancer and make time to gather, read, sign and send back documents quickly. This could make a real difference to your schedule as solicitors can’t start working on your behalf until you fully instruct them, in writing. If you’re confused about anything please ask your agent, sales progressor or solicitor. 

If you need a mortgage get a mortgage application appointment as soon as you can as both mortgage lenders, and in turn building surveyors, are currently experiencing backlogs due to the buoyant stamp duty holiday property market.

One of the most frustrating bits about buying or selling a property is being one in a chain of sales that all need to complete on the same day. While your deal might be motoring along, another could be stalling. There’s not anything you can do about it, except stay on top of your process with the professional assistance of your sales progressor.


Conveyancing typically takes around 10-12 weeks.  Your solicitor/conveyancer will be balancing your desire to get things done quickly with their need to protect your interests. There are usually common issues to overcome which might slow you down however by staying organized and in touch, you can help keep the process moving along and get you moving into your new home as soon as possible.

If you would like any more information, please drop me an email.

Athina Morse

Head of Sales Progression

a.morse@nockdeighton.co.uk

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