First Time Buyer Moving Checklist: 8 Stages from Offer to Keys

The call to say your offer has been accepted is brilliant. Then, usually somewhere between telling your family and looking at sofas you cannot quite justify, the questions begin.

What happens next? When should you book a survey? When do you transfer your deposit? And when is it actually safe to book the removals van?

This first time buyer moving checklist breaks the process into eight manageable stages, from having your offer accepted to collecting the keys.

This guide covers the buying process in England and Wales. The legal process differs elsewhere in the UK, so always follow the advice of your conveyancer, lender and mortgage adviser.

Your First Time Buyer Moving Checklist

Buying your first home is rarely a perfectly straight line. Surveys can raise questions, solicitors need information and your seller may be buying another property too.

You cannot control every part of the transaction, but you can keep your side organised. Focus on four simple questions:

• What has been completed?
• What is still outstanding?
• Who is responsible for the next step?
• Is there anything I can do to prevent a delay?

For a broader overview, visit the Property Bee Buying Hub or read our guide to buying a property in the UK.

1. Submit Your Full Mortgage Application

Once your offer is accepted, contact your mortgage broker or lender promptly. Your agreement in principle now needs to become a full mortgage application for the property you are buying.

You may be asked for:

• Identification and proof of address
• Payslips or proof of self employed income
• Recent bank statements
• Evidence of your deposit
• Details of the property
• Information about regular financial commitments

Returning complete documents quickly can help prevent avoidable delays.

Your lender will normally arrange a mortgage valuation. This is primarily for the lender, so it can decide whether the property offers suitable security for the loan. It is not the same as a detailed inspection of the condition of the home.

MoneyHelper explains the difference between a lender’s valuation and the other costs and checks involved when buying a home.

Mortgage products and affordability are personal financial matters, so use a qualified mortgage adviser for advice suited to your circumstances.

2. Instruct a Conveyancer

Choose a conveyancer or property solicitor as early as possible, ideally before you begin making offers.

They will handle the legal work, including:

• Reviewing the draft contract
• Ordering property searches
• Checking the title
• Raising enquiries with the seller’s solicitor
• Reviewing leasehold documents where relevant
• Handling exchange, completion and the transfer of funds

You will need to provide identification, proof of address and evidence showing where your deposit has come from.

Do not leave these forms sitting unanswered. A small delay at the beginning can hold up searches, enquiries and the mortgage process later.

MoneyHelper has a useful guide to choosing a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

3. Book the Right Survey

A survey is your opportunity to understand the condition of the property before you become responsible for it.

The lender’s valuation is not designed to provide a complete picture of repairs or future maintenance. The right survey will depend on the age, construction and apparent condition of the home.

A modern flat in good order may need a different level of inspection from an older house, a heavily extended property or a building showing signs of movement or damp.

The RICS guide to home surveys explains the different survey levels and when each may be suitable.

If the report raises concerns, take time to understand them before assuming the purchase is over. Some findings will be routine maintenance. Others may justify specialist advice, quotations or a further conversation with the seller.

Speak to your surveyor first. Your conveyancer, mortgage adviser and estate agent can then help you understand the legal, lending and practical implications.

A good estate agent should keep the conversation constructive, rather than allowing a repair question to turn immediately into a stand off.

4. Read the Legal Paperwork Carefully

Your conveyancer will receive information about the property and explain the important points. Read what you are sent and ask questions while there is still time to investigate them.

For a house, check matters such as:

• Boundaries and shared access
• Rights of way
• Planning permissions and building regulations
• Parking arrangements
• What fixtures and fittings are included
• Responsibility for fences, drains or private roads

For a leasehold property, pay attention to:

• The remaining lease length
• Service charges
• Ground rent
• Building insurance
• Planned major works
• Restrictions on pets, parking, alterations or subletting
• The management company and freeholder

These details do not automatically make a flat the wrong purchase, but you need to understand the ongoing costs and commitments before exchanging contracts.

5. Protect Your Deposit and Budget for the Full Move

Your deposit is only one part of the cost of buying your first home.

You may also need to budget for:

• Conveyancing fees and searches
• Survey costs
• Mortgage fees
• Buildings and contents insurance
• Removals
• Initial repairs or decorating
• Furniture and appliances
• Stamp Duty Land Tax, where applicable

First time buyer relief and tax thresholds can change, so use the current GOV.UK Stamp Duty Land Tax guidance rather than relying on an old article or social media post. Your conveyancer should confirm what applies to your purchase.

Try not to use every last pound on the transaction. Even a modest contingency fund can help when you discover that the property needs new locks, more light bulbs than expected or a washing machine that has chosen completion week to retire.

Take particular care when transferring your deposit or completion funds. Verify bank details using a trusted telephone number before sending a large payment. The official GOV.UK home buying guide also includes advice about protecting yourself from property fraud.

6. Help Keep the Property Chain Moving

You may not have a property to sell, but your purchase can still be part of a chain. Your seller may be buying another home, and that seller may have an onward purchase too.

Stay in touch with your conveyancer, mortgage adviser and estate agent, but keep your questions focused:

• Has the mortgage offer been issued?
• Have the searches been returned?
• Are enquiries still outstanding?
• Is anyone waiting for information from me?
• What is the next expected milestone?

Tell everyone early if your circumstances change, particularly if your mortgage offer has an expiry date, your rental notice period is approaching or you need to move by a particular date.

Property Bee actively progresses sales across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, keeping buyers, sellers and solicitors informed as the chain develops.

Our guide to managing a property chain explains why communication between every part of the chain can make such a difference.

7. Arrange Insurance, Removals and Address Changes

Once exchange and completion dates are being discussed, begin planning the practical side of the move.

Your conveyancer and lender will tell you when buildings insurance must begin. It is often required from exchange, but you should confirm the exact requirement for your purchase rather than assuming.

Avoid making non refundable bookings before contracts have exchanged. Until then, proposed dates can still change.

Once the completion date is fixed:

• Book your removals company
• Arrange time away from work
• Confirm arrangements with your landlord, school or nursery
• Contact energy, water, broadband and insurance providers
• Update your bank, employer, GP and driving licence
• Redirect important post
• Register to vote at your new address

Royal Mail offers an official mail redirection service, and you can update your electoral registration through GOV.UK.

Pack one clearly labelled essentials box containing chargers, medication, toiletries, basic tools, mugs, tea or coffee and anything else you will need on your first night.

8. Exchange Contracts Only When You Are Ready

Exchange is the point at which the purchase becomes legally binding and the completion date is formally agreed.

Before authorising your conveyancer to exchange, make sure you understand:

• The completion date
• The deposit being transferred
• Your mortgage offer and any conditions
• The survey findings
• The searches and legal enquiries
• What is included in the sale
• Any insurance requirements
• Any remaining risks explained by your conveyancer

Ask questions if anything is unclear. It is better to clarify something now than worry about it after you are committed.

MoneyHelper’s guide to exchange and completion provides a helpful overview of the final legal stages.

Once contracts have exchanged, you can confirm removals, finish packing and begin planning your first evening with far more certainty.

Moving Day: Completion and Collecting the Keys

On completion day, your conveyancer sends the purchase funds through the legal chain. The estate agent can release the keys once the seller’s solicitor confirms that the money has arrived.

This may happen in the morning, but it can be later where several transactions are linked. Keep your phone charged and avoid arranging deliveries or contractors for a precise time.

When you arrive:

1. Photograph the gas, electricity and water meter readings.
2. Check that promised keys, fobs and manuals have been left.
3. Test the heating, hot water and basic appliances.
4. Locate the stopcock, fuse box and meters.
5. Check the property before the removals team leaves.
6. Change the external door locks when practical.

Focus on the essentials first. Make the bed, find the kettle, switch on the fridge and leave the decorating decisions for another day.

Your first home does not need to be perfect immediately. Give yourself time to learn how it works, meet the neighbours and make choices that suit the way you actually live.

Ready to Begin Your First Home Search?

A checklist cannot remove every surprise, but it can make buying your first home feel far more manageable.

Property Bee helps buyers across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire arrange viewings, understand what is happening and stay informed as their purchase moves towards completion.

Explore the Property Bee Buying Hub to start your search, or contact our team for friendly, straightforward help with your next move.