What Happens After a Mortgage Offer? UK Guide to Exchange and Completion

What Does a Mortgage Offer Actually Mean?

A mortgage offer is the lender's formal offer to provide the borrowing described in the document, subject to its terms and any conditions that still need to be met. It normally follows the lender's assessment of the application and the property.

It is different from a decision or agreement in principle. An agreement in principle is an earlier indication of what a lender may be prepared to lend. The mortgage offer relates to the actual application and property.

Before doing anything else, read the offer and check that the important details are correct. Pay particular attention to:

• Your name and the property address.
• The mortgage amount.
• The interest rate and product type.
• The mortgage term and repayment basis.
• The monthly payment shown by the lender.
• Arrangement fees and other lender charges.
• The expiry date of the offer.
• Any special conditions that must be satisfied before funds can be released.

What Happens After a Mortgage Offer?

In many purchases, the solicitor or conveyancer will already have been instructed before the mortgage offer arrives. Searches, title checks and enquiries may therefore already be under way. The mortgage offer is another important part of the information they need before advising you whether the purchase is ready to proceed.

1. Review the mortgage offer

   Check the amount, product, payments, fees, expiry date and conditions. Raise anything you do not understand with the lender, broker or conveyancer before committing yourself to the purchase.

2. Your conveyancer checks the lender's requirements

   Your conveyancer normally receives a copy of the mortgage instructions and will make sure the legal work is compatible with the lender's requirements. They may also ask you to sign a mortgage deed.

3. Searches and legal enquiries continue

   The legal team reviews the title, searches, contract papers and replies from the seller's conveyancer. Leasehold purchases and unusual title matters can involve additional enquiries.

4. Deal with any survey issues

   A lender's valuation is primarily for the lender and should not be treated as a detailed survey of the property's condition. If you have commissioned an independent survey, consider its findings before exchange.

5. Prepare for exchange

   Once the legal work, mortgage position, survey and finances are ready, your conveyancer can advise whether you are in a position to exchange contracts and agree a completion date.

6. Exchange contracts

   In England and Wales, exchange normally makes the purchase legally binding. This is the point at which withdrawing from the transaction can have serious contractual and financial consequences.

7. Complete and collect the keys

   On completion, the purchase funds are transferred through the conveyancers. Once completion is confirmed, the property is handed over and the keys can normally be released.

Mortgage Offer to Completion: What Controls the Timing?

There is no reliable fixed number of days between receiving a mortgage offer and getting the keys. Two buyers with offers issued on the same day can complete at very different times because the mortgage is only one part of the transaction.

The main question is not simply how quickly the lender issued the offer. It is whether the legal work, seller, buyer, property, chain and lender requirements are all ready at the same time.

Government home-buying guidance for England and Wales notes that exchange and completion are often separated by around two to four weeks, although they can happen on the same day. That is not a promise that every mortgage offer will complete within that period: you still need to reach exchange first.

Before Exchange: What Needs to Be Ready?

Exchange is the stage at which the transaction becomes legally binding in England and Wales, so it is important not to treat it as routine paperwork. Your conveyancer should tell you when the legal side is ready and what still needs to be done.

Before exchanging, you would normally want to be satisfied that:

• You have your formal mortgage offer and understand its conditions.
• The property searches and important legal enquiries have been dealt with.
• You have considered the results of any independent survey you commissioned.
• The contract and title position have been explained to you.
• You have the required deposit and other money your conveyancer has requested.
• A completion date has been agreed through the conveyancers.
• Any lender conditions that need attention before exchange or completion are understood.
• Your buildings insurance is arranged from the point your conveyancer tells you it is required.

Exchange of Contracts: The Point of Legal Commitment

In England and Wales, exchange of contracts is the stage where the signed contracts are exchanged and the buyer and seller normally become legally committed to the sale. A completion date is usually fixed at the same time.

This is one reason the mortgage offer matters so much before exchange. You do not want to become legally committed to buying the property without the finance required to complete the transaction being properly arranged.

Buildings insurance also needs attention at this stage. Government guidance for England and Wales says buyers should organise buildings insurance for exchange because they are normally responsible for the property from that point. Follow the precise advice given by your conveyancer and the requirements in your mortgage offer.

Once contracts have been exchanged, pulling out can lead to loss of the exchange deposit and potentially other financial consequences. Ask your conveyancer to explain the position before you authorise exchange.

What Happens Between Exchange and Completion?

The period between exchange and completion is mainly about making sure the money, documents and final legal checks are ready for the agreed completion date.

Your conveyancer may need to:

• Carry out final pre-completion searches.
• Provide the lender with any final certificate or confirmation it requires.
• Request the mortgage advance in accordance with the lender's required notice period.
• Prepare a completion statement showing the money you need to provide.
• Collect any remaining purchase funds from you in cleared form.
• Coordinate the transaction with the seller's conveyancer and any related chain.

Your lender may have requirements about when mortgage funds can be requested, so a last-minute change to the completion date can sometimes create additional work.

Keep your financial circumstances stable

A mortgage offer has been issued on the basis of the information and circumstances assessed by the lender. If something material changes before completion, such as your employment, income, borrowing or the transaction itself, speak to the lender or your broker promptly rather than assuming the existing offer will automatically remain unaffected.

Completion Day: When You Get the Keys

Completion is the point at which the purchase money is transferred and the property transaction completes. Your conveyancer sends the required funds to the seller's conveyancer and waits for confirmation that completion has taken place.

Once the seller's side confirms receipt and completion, the estate agent or seller can normally release the keys. The exact time varies and can be later in the day when the property is part of a chain.

You should avoid arranging contractors, deliveries or other commitments for early on completion morning unless you are prepared for the possibility that the keys may not be available immediately.

What Can Delay Completion After a Mortgage Offer?

Receiving the mortgage offer removes one major uncertainty, but several other parts of the transaction can still prevent exchange or completion.

Outstanding conveyancing enquiries

Your conveyancer may still be waiting for information about the title, planning, building regulations, boundaries, rights, leasehold matters or other legal issues.

Problems identified by a survey

A buyer may want further investigations, repair quotations or negotiations with the seller before being prepared to exchange.

A slow or incomplete property chain

If your seller is buying another property, and that seller is doing the same, the readiness of several transactions can affect your own exchange and completion date.

Mortgage offer conditions

Some offers include requirements that need to be dealt with before the lender will release money. Read these carefully and make sure the relevant parties know about them.

The mortgage offer is approaching expiry

Mortgage offers do not remain open indefinitely. The precise validity period depends on the lender, product and individual offer. If the transaction is moving slowly, raise the expiry date early rather than waiting until the planned completion date is close.

A change in your circumstances

Changes to employment, income, credit commitments, deposit arrangements or the property transaction itself may need to be disclosed to the lender and can require further assessment.

What Happens After Completion?

Once the purchase has completed, there is still post-completion legal work to be done, but this is normally handled by your conveyancer rather than requiring you to register the purchase personally.

Depending on the jurisdiction and transaction, your legal representative will usually deal with the relevant property-tax return or payment where applicable and the application needed to update the appropriate land register.

Keep your mortgage offer, completion statement, survey, guarantees, property documents and other important purchase records somewhere safe. You should also update your address with the organisations that need it and take meter readings when you move in.

Does the Process Work the Same Way Everywhere in the UK?

No. Mortgage lending may look similar across the UK, but the legal process for buying property is not identical in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If you are buying outside England or Wales, use a solicitor experienced in that jurisdiction and follow their advice rather than relying on an England-and-Wales checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions