Skip to content
Mortgages

How long from mortgage offer to completion?

Links marked * are commercial or go to our partner sites, which share our operator. Third-party companies may pay us commission. How we make money.

In short: There is no official figure for the time from mortgage offer to completion. GOV.UK says buying a home takes about 5 months on average overall. After the offer, the remaining steps are your conveyancer's report, exchange of contracts and completion — chains and leasehold enquiries are the usual causes of delay.

Content updated:

The mortgage offer is only one step. Your solicitor orders searches (local authority, drainage, environmental), reviews the title, and reports to you. A survey may trigger renegotiation.

Exchange of contracts makes the deal binding and sets completion day, which can be the same day or weeks later, as agreed. On completion, mortgage funds transfer and you get the keys. Also check when your mortgage offer expires.

See how long conveyancing takes for each stage and the total cost of moving calculator for what you will pay.

Primary source: gov.uk/buying-a-home

Part of our Mortgages & first homes

This quick answer sits inside our wider mortgages & first homes hub — with sub-guides, calculators and step-by-step explainers on the same topic.

Read the full mortgages & first homes guide →

Related reading

More in Mortgages