Conveyancing is the part of moving home that buyers and sellers understand least — and the part most likely to add unplanned weeks to a sale. It's the legal process that transfers ownership of a property from seller to buyer, running quietly in the background from the moment an offer is accepted to the day keys change hands. Here's what a conveyancing solicitor actually does, and where Northumberland's own property mix — former coalfield towns, rural smallholdings, listed stone cottages — adds steps that buyers elsewhere rarely have to think about.
What a conveyancer actually does, step by step
Once an offer is accepted, both sides instruct a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. The seller's solicitor drafts the contract pack and gathers the title documents, fittings and contents form, and property information forms. The buyer's solicitor reviews that pack, orders local searches, raises enquiries about anything unclear, and liaises with the buyer's mortgage lender so the loan and the legal work land at the same time. When every enquiry is answered and the mortgage offer is in place, both sides exchange contracts — the point at which the deal becomes legally binding — before completion on an agreed date, when the money moves and the keys are handed over.
Local searches — and why Northumberland's mining history matters
Standard searches cover the local authority (planning history, road adoption, any enforcement notices), drainage and water, and environmental risk. But Northumberland adds two searches many buyers moving from elsewhere have never encountered. In former coalfield towns — Ashington, Bedlington, Cramlington, Blyth, Ellington, Lynemouth and Pegswood among them — a coal mining search checks for historic shafts, workings and subsidence risk, and most lenders won't complete without one. In rural areas around Wooler, Rothbury, Otterburn and the Tyne Valley villages, private drainage and water searches matter far more than they would for a standard town semi, since a private septic system or shared borehole needs checking in a way mains services don't.
In a former mining town, a coal mining search isn't optional paperwork — it's the one search that can genuinely stall a sale if it's left until the last fortnight.
Buyer's solicitor vs seller's solicitor — who does what
The seller's solicitor is reactive by design: they answer the questions the buyer's side raises, chase the seller for missing documents, and keep the chain below them informed. The buyer's solicitor is the one driving the process — ordering searches, checking title, reviewing the survey against the legal pack, and making sure the lender's conditions are satisfied before recommending exchange. If you're selling, the biggest thing you can do to help is have your paperwork — proof of ID, proof of ownership, any planning permissions or building regulations certificates for extensions — ready before your solicitor even asks for it.
Choosing a conveyancer
The cheapest online quote isn't always the fastest solicitor. A firm that already knows Northumberland will recognise immediately which searches your specific property needs, rather than working it out from a postcode lookup after the fact — and for a stone-built farmhouse near Corbridge or a listed cottage in Alnwick's conservation area, that local knowledge is worth more than a saving of a few hundred pounds. Ask any solicitor you're considering how many Northumberland transactions they've handled in the last year, and how they'll keep you updated without you having to chase them.
How we keep this moving
Our involvement doesn't stop once a sale is agreed. We stay in contact with both sides' solicitors and the buyer's lender throughout the legal process, flagging slow searches or outstanding enquiries early rather than letting them sit unnoticed for a fortnight. Conveyancing will always take the time it takes — but a seller who's chased on your behalf gets to completion faster than one who isn't.
