How to Instruct a Solicitor When Buying a House

Instructing a solicitor means formally asking a conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer to act for you and giving them written authority to start work on your house purchase. It is a distinct step from simply getting a quote or having a chat about your options, once you instruct someone, they open a file, start their identity checks, and begin the paperwork that will carry your transaction through to completion. Getting the timing right matters because a solicitor who starts early can have your file ready to move the moment your offer is accepted, while one instructed too late can add weeks to an already lengthy conveyancing process. This guide is written for first-time buyers and anyone who has not been through a house purchase in a while, covering exactly when to instruct, how to choose a solicitor, what documents you need, and what it all costs.

Before you make an offer

In a competitive market, some buyers choose to have a solicitor lined up before they even find a property, or as soon as they start viewing seriously. This does not mean instructing in the full sense, you cannot instruct on a specific transaction until you know what you are buying, but it means getting quotes, checking availability, and confirming the solicitor is on your mortgage lender's panel. Doing this groundwork early means that when you do have an offer accepted, you can give the go-ahead within hours rather than days.

Immediately after your offer is accepted

For most buyers, the practical moment to instruct is as soon as the estate agent confirms your offer has been accepted, often called the point of sale. At this stage the seller and their solicitor are expecting to hear from you, and any delay in naming your solicitor holds up the whole chain. Estate agents will typically ask for your solicitor's details within a day or two of the offer being agreed, so having already chosen a firm, even before instructing formally, puts you ahead.

Can you instruct too early?

Some buyers worry that instructing before an offer is accepted risks paying for work that never happens if the purchase falls through. In practice, most solicitors do not charge anything until there is a property to work on, and many operate on a no sale no fee basis for the early stages. The main cost you might lose is a search fee paid upfront if you pull out after searches have been ordered, so the safest approach is to have a solicitor chosen and ready, but only give formal instruction once you have a firm offer accepted.

Choosing the right solicitor is one of the few parts of buying a house where you have real control over cost, speed, and stress levels, yet many buyers pick whoever the estate agent suggests without comparing anyone else. All conveyancing solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, while licensed conveyancers are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, both set minimum professional standards and complaint procedures, but that alone will not tell you whether a firm suits your specific move. Money Saving Advisors connects you with vetted, regulated conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers, so every firm you compare through us already meets these baseline standards, the checklist below helps you refine the choice further. See our full guide on how to choose the best conveyancing solicitor for a deeper comparison framework.

Check they are on your mortgage lender's panel

If you are buying with a mortgage, your lender will only release funds through a solicitor on its approved panel. Before you instruct anyone, ask them directly whether they are on your specific lender's panel, not just panels in general, panel membership varies firm by firm and lender by lender. If your preferred solicitor is not on the panel, you will usually need to pay for a second, panel solicitor to act for the lender alongside your own, which typically adds £150 to £300 in extra fees.

Compare at least three quotes

Get quotes from at least three firms before instructing, comparing both the fixed legal fee and the disbursements listed separately. A quote that looks cheap on the headline fee can end up more expensive once search fees, bank transfer charges, and ID verification fees are added, so always ask for a full breakdown in writing rather than comparing headline numbers alone.

Questions to ask before you instruct

• Are you on my lender's panel? Confirm this by name, not just a general answer that they cover most panels.
• Who will actually handle my file? Ask for the named conveyancer's direct contact details, not just a general inbox.
• What is your average completion time? Firms handling higher caseloads often take longer to respond.
• Is this a fixed fee or hourly rate? Fixed fees give you cost certainty, hourly rates can escalate if problems arise.
• What happens if the purchase falls through? Confirm exactly what you would and would not be charged.

Online vs local solicitors

Online conveyancing firms are often cheaper and available for evening or weekend contact, while local high street solicitors may offer more personal service and local knowledge of the area's searches. Neither is automatically better, what matters is responsiveness and clear communication, so read recent reviews focused on communication rather than price alone.

Should you use the estate agent's recommendation?

Estate agents often recommend a solicitor because they receive a referral fee, not necessarily because that firm is the best fit for you. There is nothing wrong with using a recommended solicitor if they check out on price and panel membership, but always get at least two other quotes to compare rather than instructing on recommendation alone.

Before a solicitor can open your file, they are legally required to verify your identity and the source of your money under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Having the right documents ready before your first phone call can shave days off the start of your transaction, since anti-money laundering checks are usually the first thing that holds up a new instruction. Below is what most firms will ask for.

• Proof of identity: A current passport or full UK driving licence, most firms now verify this digitally through an app or online portal rather than needing physical copies.
• Proof of address: A utility bill, council tax bill, or bank statement from the last three months showing your current address.
• Proof of funds: Bank statements showing where your deposit has come from, savings built up over time, an inheritance, or a gift from family will each need different supporting evidence.
• Gift letter, if applicable: If any part of your deposit is a gift, the person gifting it usually needs to sign a letter confirming it is not a loan and they have no interest in the property.
• Mortgage agreement in principle or formal offer: Solicitors need to see your first-time buyer mortgage agreement in principle at instruction stage, and your full mortgage offer once it is issued by the lender.
• Property details: The full address, the estate agent's contact details, and the agreed purchase price so your solicitor can write to the seller's solicitor immediately.

Gathering these in advance, particularly proof of funds if your deposit comes from more than one source, is the single most useful thing you can do to speed up the early weeks of your purchase. Buyers who arrive at instruction without this evidence often lose a week or more while the solicitor chases documents back and forth by email.

Once you have chosen a solicitor and gathered your documents, the actual instruction process is more straightforward than most first-time buyers expect. It typically takes a day or two from first contact to a fully open file, though AML checks can occasionally add a little more time if documents need to be re-submitted. Here is what happens, step by step.

1. Make initial contact: Call, email, or fill in an online quote form with your property details and the names of everyone on the purchase. Most firms respond within a few hours during business days.
2. Receive and review your quote and terms of engagement: This sets out the fixed fee, disbursements, and what is and is not included, read it carefully before agreeing.
3. Sign the retainer letter or client care letter: This is the formal contract between you and the solicitor, confirming what they will do, what they will charge, and your responsibilities as the client.
4. Complete AML and identity verification checks: Usually done online via a secure link, taking a few minutes if your documents are ready, longer if anything needs re-checking.
5. Pay any upfront fees: Most firms ask for search fees upfront, typically £250 to £400, before they order local authority, environmental, and water and drainage searches.
6. Your solicitor contacts the seller's solicitor: This is the moment your file formally opens and the legal timeline of your purchase begins.

From step one to step six, most buyers are fully instructed within 48 to 72 hours provided documents and payment are ready to go. Delays almost always come from missing AML paperwork rather than the solicitor's own processes, which is why preparation before you make contact pays off.

Once your file is open, a defined sequence of legal work begins, most of which happens in the background without much need for you to do anything beyond responding to occasional requests for information. Understanding this sequence helps you know what a reasonable pace looks like, and when to start chasing if things seem to have stalled.

• Draft contract and title requested: Your solicitor writes to the seller's solicitor asking for the draft contract, official copies of the title register, and the property information forms.
• Property searches are ordered: Local authority, environmental, and water and drainage conveyancing searches are ordered, usually taking one to three weeks to come back depending on the local council.
• AML and ID checks are completed: Any outstanding identity or source of funds checks are finalised in the first week or so.
• Your mortgage offer is reviewed: Once issued, your lender sends the mortgage offer to your solicitor, who checks the conditions match the property and your circumstances.
• Enquiries are raised: Your solicitor reviews the seller's answers and title documents, raising any follow-up questions before you are asked to approve the contract.

As a general timeline, expect one to two weeks for these initial checks to get underway, with the full transaction taking anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks from instruction to completion for a straightforward chain-free purchase. Our guide on how long does conveyancing take breaks this down stage by stage if you want a fuller picture of what affects your specific timeline.

Cost is one of the biggest unknowns for first-time buyers, and understanding what you pay when helps you budget properly rather than being surprised by a bill later. Conveyancing costs split into two categories: legal fees for the solicitor's own work, and disbursements, which are third-party costs the solicitor pays out on your behalf and passes on to you.

Typical legal fees for a standard house purchase run from £800 to £1,800 including VAT, varying by property price, whether it is leasehold or freehold, and the firm's location. At instruction stage, you will usually be asked to pay search fees upfront, typically £250 to £400, before searches can be ordered. Other disbursements are paid later at completion rather than instruction: the Land Registry fee ranges from around £20 for a low-value electronic application up to £910 for the highest price bands, and Stamp Duty Land Tax depends on the purchase price and your buyer status. Our full conveyancing fees guide sets out a complete breakdown by property price and transaction type.

Many firms offer no sale no fee conveyancing, meaning you do not pay the legal fee if your purchase falls through. It is worth checking exactly what this covers, most no sale no fee arrangements still require you to pay for searches already ordered and any work genuinely completed, so read the terms of engagement carefully rather than assuming everything is refundable.

Most delays and unexpected costs in conveyancing trace back to a handful of avoidable mistakes made right at the instruction stage. Knowing what to watch for before you commit to a solicitor can save you weeks of frustration later in the process.

• Not checking the lender panel first: Instructing a solicitor who turns out not to be on your lender's panel means paying for a second panel solicitor partway through, adding cost and delay you could have avoided.
• Choosing on price alone: The cheapest quote is not always the fastest or most reliable, check recent reviews for communication and turnaround time before deciding on price.
• Delaying instruction: Waiting a week or two after your offer is accepted before contacting a solicitor pushes your whole completion date back by the same amount.
• Not reading the terms of engagement: Skimming past the client care letter means you may not realise what is and is not included until you get an unexpected invoice.
• Not providing AML documents promptly: Missing proof of funds or identity documents is the single most common reason a file sits unopened for a week or more after instruction.

If you do end up unhappy with your solicitor's communication or pace partway through, it is possible to move firms, though it can add delay of its own, our guide on changing solicitor covers when it is worth it and how to do it without losing progress already made.