How to Buy a House in the UK: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)
Buying a home is one of the biggest things you’ll ever do — and the process is genuinely confusing. Most guides online are written by estate agents trying to upsell you. This isn’t that. This is the plain version.
By the end of this page you’ll know what each step actually is, roughly how long it takes, and what it costs.
Before you start: how much can you spend?
You can afford roughly 4 to 4.5 times your annual income as a mortgage, plus your deposit. So a couple earning £40k each can usually borrow somewhere around £320k–£360k.
You’ll need:
- A deposit (most lenders ask for at least 5%, but 10% gets you better rates)
- Money for stamp duty, legal fees, and surveys (budget around 3% of the property price on top)
- A small buffer for moving costs
The cheapest way to find out exactly what you can borrow is a Mortgage in Principle — a free, no-commitment indication from a lender, usually sorted in 24 hours. (Our mortgage guide walks you through it.)
Step 1: Find a place (1 day – 6 months)
You can search Woosh, Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket. Filter by location, price, and bedrooms. Save the ones you like.
Then book viewings. Go more than once if you’re serious. Visit at different times of day. Check water pressure, mobile signal, and what the road’s like at school pickup.
If something’s wrong — damp, weird smells, big cracks — walk away. There’s always another house.
Step 2: Make an offer (1–7 days)
Once you’ve found one, you offer. Usually you go in below asking, but in hot markets you might need to match or beat it.
Offers are made through the seller’s agent (or directly via Woosh). The agent will check you’re “proceedable” — meaning you have your mortgage in principle and a deposit ready.
If the seller accepts, congrats. You’re now STC (Sold Subject to Contract). Nothing’s legally binding yet — either side can pull out — but the property usually comes off the market.
Step 3: Sort the mortgage and solicitor (1–4 weeks)
Two things start in parallel now.
Your mortgage: turn that Mortgage in Principle into a full application. The lender will do a proper affordability check and valuation. This usually takes 2–4 weeks.
Your solicitor (conveyancer): they handle the legal side. They check the title, run searches, raise enquiries, and eventually transfer the money. Pick one early. Cost: typically £1,000–£2,000 including disbursements.
Step 4: Survey (1–2 weeks)
You’re spending hundreds of thousands on a house. Pay £400–£900 for a survey to check it isn’t falling down.
There are three levels:
- Level 1 (cheapest) — basic. Only worth it for newer flats.
- Level 2 (HomeBuyer Report) — fine for most homes built after 1900.
- Level 3 (Building Survey) — older properties, anything unusual, anywhere with damp or subsidence risk.
If the survey turns up problems, you can renegotiate the price or pull out.
Step 5: Searches and enquiries (3–8 weeks)
Your solicitor does this. They:
- Run local authority, water, and environmental searches
- Check the title and any covenants
- Raise enquiries with the seller’s solicitor (planning permission, boundary disputes, anything dodgy)
This is the slowest stage. It’s also where chains break. Stay in touch with your solicitor weekly.
Step 6: Exchange (1 day)
Once everything’s clean and your mortgage offer is in, both solicitors exchange contracts. This is the moment it becomes legally binding. You pay your deposit (usually 10%) and agree a completion date — typically 1–4 weeks later.
If you back out after exchange, you lose your deposit.
Step 7: Completion (1 day)
The remaining money moves. Your solicitor pays stamp duty. You collect the keys from the estate agent. You officially own a home.
Open a bottle of something nice.
How long does the whole thing take?
In the UK, the average is 12–16 weeks from offer to completion. Woosh users tend to be faster because everything sits on one platform — fewer dropped emails, fewer “waiting on the other side” delays.
How Woosh shortens this
Most of the time wasted in a property purchase is people waiting on people. Your solicitor’s chasing the seller’s solicitor. The agent’s chasing the buyer. Nobody knows whose turn it is.
Woosh puts every party — buyer, seller, agents, conveyancers, mortgage brokers, surveyors — onto one platform with one shared timeline. Everyone can see what’s outstanding, what’s done, and who’s holding things up. The 12-week average becomes more like 8.