What actually drives conveyancing timelines, and why the same transaction can take very different amounts of time.
Conveyancing timelines are often quoted as "eight to twelve weeks," and that's a reasonable rule of thumb for a straightforward purchase — but the real answer depends heavily on your specific chain, lender, and local authority, and can be considerably faster or slower.
No chain (for example buying from a new-build developer or a probate sale with no onward purchase), a mortgage offer already in place, a local authority with fast search turnaround, and both sides' solicitors responding to enquiries promptly.
A long chain where every link has to be ready simultaneously, slow search turnaround from some local authorities, leasehold properties (more information to gather from the management company), and delays getting a mortgage offer confirmed.
A quote that separates legal fee, VAT, and disbursements doesn't just make costs clearer — it also makes it easier to see exactly which searches and checks are included, so you know what your conveyancer is actually waiting on if things take longer than expected.
Getting a comparison through Five Star takes about a minute and doesn't commit you to anything — you can request quotes from several SRA or CLC regulated firms, see the legal fee, VAT and disbursements broken out for each one, and instruct the firm you choose directly, without a sales call in between. None of that adds time to your actual conveyancing timeline; if anything, comparing properly upfront means you're less likely to switch firms partway through a transaction, which is one of the more common causes of unnecessary delay.
More: all guides
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