Moving home
Conveyancing When You Buy and Sell at the Same Time
Most people moving home are selling one property and buying another, with the money from the sale paying for the purchase. That makes timing everything: both transactions usually need to exchange contracts together and complete on the same day.
Using one conveyancing firm for both sides makes that much easier to arrange. This guide explains how it works and what it costs.
Why one firm for both sides helps
- Exchange on both transactions can be coordinated so that you're never committed to buying without being committed to selling, or the other way round.
- The money from your sale can go straight into your purchase on completion day without passing between two firms.
- You have one point of contact who knows the whole picture.
You can use two different firms, but it adds a layer of coordination at exactly the point where timing matters most.
How chains work
A chain is the line of linked sales and purchases that depend on each other. Your buyer may be selling a home of their own, and the person you're buying from may be buying somewhere else. Nobody can exchange until everyone in the chain is ready, so the speed of a move is often set by the slowest link.
That's why it helps to instruct your conveyancer early and to get your own paperwork done quickly. You can't control the rest of the chain, but you can make sure you're not the link everyone is waiting for.
How we price a combined move
On Conveyancing Network, a buy-and-sell quote comes from one firm that handles both: its price for your sale (on the selling price) plus its price for your purchase (on the buying price), shown as one all-in fixed fee. Only firms that act on both sides are quoted, so you're never left matching up two separate firms.
Once you instruct, your portal shows the sale and the purchase as two separate tracks, because they progress at different speeds. Your move is complete when both are.
See fixed-fee quotes from regulated panel solicitors. No account needed to see prices.
Get buy-and-sell quotesWhat to budget for
- Legal fees for the sale and the purchase.
- Purchase disbursements: searches, the HM Land Registry fee, identity checks.
- Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase (Land Transaction Tax in Wales). Use GOV.UK's calculator for current rates.
- Your estate agent's fee, usually paid from the sale money on completion.
- If either property is leasehold: the management pack on your sale, and landlord's fees on your purchase.
- Removals, and any overlap if the dates don't line up perfectly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use different solicitors for my sale and my purchase?
Yes, but coordinating exchange and completion between two firms is harder. Most people moving home use one firm for both.
Will my sale and purchase complete on the same day?
That's usually the aim. Contracts on both are exchanged together, with the same completion date, so the sale money is available for the purchase on the day.
What happens if my sale falls through?
Until contracts are exchanged, nobody is legally committed, so your purchase may be at risk if you need the sale money to buy. This is why conveyancers coordinate exchange on both sides. Talk to your solicitor before exchanging on a purchase if your sale isn't ready.
Is it cheaper to use one firm for buying and selling?
It can be. Each firm sets its own prices, but one firm handling both avoids duplicated work, and on Conveyancing Network you compare each firm's combined price side by side.
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