An accepted offer is the middle of a sale, not the end. Between the handshake and the keys sit conveyancing, searches, the survey, the mortgage offer and exchange of contracts, and in England either side can walk away without penalty until exchange. A straightforward sale runs eight to twelve weeks from offer to completion; a chain can double it. This guide walks the stages in order so you know what is normal, what is slow, and when to worry.
The stages, in order
Sale agreed: the memorandum of sale goes to both solicitors, and the property comes off the market if you have insisted on it, which you should.
Conveyancing opens: the seller's solicitor issues the contract pack; the buyer's solicitor raises enquiries and orders searches, which in Nottingham typically take two to four weeks to return.
The buyer's survey and mortgage valuation happen in parallel, and the mortgage offer follows, usually within two to four weeks of a complete application.
Enquiries are answered, the buyer's solicitor reports, and both sides sign in readiness.
Exchange of contracts: the deposit passes, the completion date becomes binding, and from this moment neither side can withdraw without real cost.
Completion: the money moves, the keys release, and the sale is done.
Where sales actually stall, and what moves them
Almost never the survey, almost always the silences: an enquiry sitting unanswered for three weeks, a search unordered because nobody chased the payment, a mortgage offer expiring while a leasehold management pack crawls in. The cure is unglamorous: weekly chasing of every party, in writing, by someone whose job it is. That is what sale progression means on our Sell your home page, and it is why having Trent Law Solicitors in the same building matters: a problem found on Tuesday is discussed across a desk on Tuesday.
A buyer's readiness is set before the offer is accepted. Proof of funds, a decision in principle, a solicitor already instructed: we qualify offers on all three, because a proceedable buyer at a fair price beats a higher number from someone who has not started. The Complete Move exists for exactly this: agent, conveyancer and broker aligned from the first day, with one written statement of every cost.
