What Is a Completion Timeline and What Happens Between Offer and Exchange?

A typical completion timeline, stage by stage

Here is how the timeline breaks down for a straightforward SmoothSale transaction:

• Day 0: Written offer accepted
• Day 1-3: Solicitors instructed by both parties
• Day 3-10: Searches carried out, enquiries raised and answered
• Day 10-18: Enquiries resolved, mortgage redemption figures confirmed if applicable, completion date agreed
• Day 18-21: Exchange of contracts
• Day 21: Completion – often the same day as exchange in a cash sale

Total: typically 21 days for a clean title, within the broader 7 to 28 day range depending on complexity. If your property has a leasehold with an unusually long service charge history, or the title is not yet registered with the Land Registry, expect this to extend.

How does this timeline compare to a traditional estate agency sale?

A traditional sale adds an entirely separate phase before any of the above begins: the marketing period, which averages several weeks to several months before a buyer is even found. Once a buyer is found, if they require a mortgage, their lender’s valuation and underwriting process adds further weeks. If that buyer is also selling their own property, their sale becomes part of your chain – and your completion date now depends on every other transaction in that chain completing in sequence.

This is why the average traditional sale takes 152 days from listing to completion, compared to the 7 to 28 days typical of a direct cash sale. The conveyancing stage itself is not radically different in length. What differs is everything that happens before it, and the number of parties whose timelines have to align before completion can happen.

What can you do to keep your own timeline on track?

A few things within your control as the seller:

Instruct a solicitor as soon as you accept the offer, rather than waiting. Gather key documents early: title deeds, planning permissions, building regulations certificates for any past work, and an up-to-date mortgage redemption statement if applicable. Respond to your solicitor’s requests promptly – delays on the seller’s side are one of the most common, and most avoidable, causes of a slower completion. Be upfront with the buyer about your own moving requirements at the outset, so a realistic completion date can be agreed early rather than renegotiated later.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between exchange and completion?

Exchange of contracts is the point at which the sale becomes legally binding. Both parties sign identical contracts, and once they are formally exchanged between solicitors, neither party can withdraw without facing financial penalties. Completion is the point at which the transaction actually happens: funds transfer, legal ownership passes to the buyer, and keys are handed over. In a traditional sale, there is often a gap of days or weeks between exchange and completion. In a cash sale, exchange and completion frequently happen on the same day.

How long does it take from accepted offer to completion?

With a direct cash buyer, the typical timeline from accepted offer to completion is 7 to 28 days. This covers the conveyancing period, where solicitors carry out title checks and prepare the legal paperwork, followed by exchange and completion. The exact timeframe depends on the complexity of the property’s title and how quickly both solicitors can move. A traditional sale involving a mortgage lender and an estate agency chain typically takes considerably longer, averaging 152 days from listing to completion.

Can the offer change between acceptance and completion?

With a reputable, NAPB-registered cash buyer, no. The offer is confirmed in writing after the property has been surveyed, and it should not change unless a significant defect is identified that was not disclosed at the time of the offer. Any reduction must be backed by a documented, valid reason. A buyer who reduces an offer with no explanation, or applies pressure close to completion, is engaging in gazundering, which is a clear breach of the NAPB Code of Practice.

What do solicitors actually do during the completion timeline?

Once you instruct a solicitor, they carry out a series of checks on the property’s title, raise and answer enquiries with the buyer’s solicitor, prepare the contract and transfer documents, and confirm that funds are in place. They also handle redemption of any outstanding mortgage from the sale proceeds. This work happens in the period between offer acceptance and exchange. Once contracts are exchanged, completion can often follow within days, particularly in a cash sale with no chain to coordinate.

What happens if something goes wrong before completion?

Before exchange of contracts, either party can withdraw without financial penalty, though a reputable buyer will only do so for a documented reason such as a serious defect found during survey. After exchange, withdrawal is far more serious and can result in financial penalties for the party who pulls out. This is why exchange is treated as the binding moment in a property transaction, and why both parties typically want to move from offer acceptance to exchange as quickly as the conveyancing allows.

Why does a cash sale move from exchange to completion faster than a traditional sale?

In a traditional sale, completion is often delayed to coordinate moving dates across a chain of multiple buyers and sellers, all moving on the same day. In a cash sale, there is no chain. The buyer already has the funds, and the seller is typically motivated to complete quickly. With no other transactions to coordinate around, exchange and completion can happen on the same day, removing the gap that is standard in a chain-based sale.