What happens after you accept your offer letter: The conveyancing process

Buying a home is exciting, but once your finance offer is accepted, the legal process can sometimes feel like a bit of a mystery. If you’re buying with StrideUp, you’ll notice that the conveyancing journey doesn’t look much different to a conventional purchase, even though the co-ownership structure behind it is different.

Table of contents

• What we heard at MTF 2025
• The data confirms it: Our community is underserved
• StrideUp’s model resonated deeply
• More than a moment – a movement
• The data confirms it: Our community is underserved
• So, what’s next?

Step 1: Accepting your offer

Once you’ve accepted your StrideUp Offer Letter, your application moves into the post-offer stage. This is generally when the legal process begins, and all parties work together to prepare for completion.

At this point, your solicitor will continue acting on your behalf and begin progressing the legal aspects of your purchase. StrideUp’s solicitors are instructed at this stage and will issue the legal pack to your solicitor within 48 hours, so the legal work can get moving quickly. A legal fee applies at this stage, full details can be found in our Tariff List, and your adviser or solicitor can confirm what applies to you.

Good to know: your StrideUp offer is valid for 6 months from the date of property valuation, so there’s comfortable time built in for the legal process to run its course.

Step 2: Understanding the Three-Party Conveyancing Process

With a conventional mortgage, there are usually two legal teams involved:

• Your solicitor, who represents you.
• The seller’s solicitor, who represents the seller.

With StrideUp, there is a third solicitor involved:

• Your solicitor – acts in your best interests and manages your purchase.
• The seller’s solicitor – acts for the current owner of the property.
• StrideUp’s solicitor – acts on behalf of StrideUp as your co-owner.

StrideUp is separately represented because the Law Society recommends that each party to a transaction has its own legal representation, to avoid any conflict of interest. As StrideUp is buying the property alongside you, this means your solicitor acts solely in your interests and ours acts solely in StrideUp’s, neither firm is trying to represent both sides. StrideUp’s solicitor is responsible for making sure the legal documentation accurately reflects the co-ownership structure and that everything required is properly in place ahead of completion.

Although it means there is an extra party involved, your solicitor will handle communication with StrideUp’s solicitor, so you won’t typically need to deal with them directly.

One thing to note: you’re free to choose your own solicitor; either from StrideUp’s panel of pre-approved solicitors or one of your own choosing. The only requirement is that your solicitor must be a different firm from the one acting for StrideUp, so that each party has independent representation.

Step 3: Legal checks and property review

During this stage, the solicitors work together to make sure everything is in order before the purchase completes.

Your solicitor will:

• Carry out searches and review the legal title.
• Check contracts and raise any necessary enquiries.
• Confirm the details of your purchase and finances.
• Be responsible to ensure any SDLT balances that may be payable to HMRC are paid within the required timescales.
• Be responsible for lodging the application at the Land Registry and responding to any requisitions raised by the Land Registry.

StrideUp’s solicitor will ensure everything is aligned within our requirements set out in our Solicitors Guide, and will report to StrideUp on the Title, to confirm all the relevant checks, enquiries and queries have been satisfied to allow for completion:

• Review the legal information provided.
• Ensure the arrangements match your Offer Letter.
• Confirm that any special conditions or requirements have been satisfied.

This process helps protect both you and StrideUp, ensuring there are no unexpected legal issues with the property before completion.

Step 4: Agreeing a Completion Date

Once all legal checks are complete and everyone is satisfied, your solicitor will work with the seller’s solicitor to agree a completion date.

Before confirming this date, StrideUp also checks that:

• Your Offer Letter is still valid.
• The property valuation is still valid (valuations are valid for 6 months from the date of inspection).
• All legal requirements have been met.

Once everything is approved, StrideUp’s solicitor is notified and the completion process can move forward.

Step 5: Preparing for Completion

In the lead-up to completion, the legal teams prepare the final documentation needed to transfer ownership and arrange the release of funds.

Behind the scenes, StrideUp’s post-offer team carefully reviews the legal paperwork to make sure all the information matches the details agreed during your application. This includes checking that any special conditions, such as gifted deposits or other requirements, have been properly satisfied.

One practical thing you’ll need to arrange at this stage is buildings insurance. Your property must be comprehensively insured for at least its full reinstatement value (your valuation report will confirm this figure), with cover starting from completion day. StrideUp’s solicitor will check that a valid policy is in place before funds can be released, so getting this sorted early helps avoid last-minute delays. If you’re buying a leasehold flat, the buildings insurance is usually arranged by the freeholder or management company for the whole block, and your solicitor will confirm the details.

While there’s a lot happening at this stage, your solicitor will let you know if they need anything further from you.

Exchange of contracts

For most StrideUp purchases, exchange of contracts and completion happen on the same day, the point at which the purchase becomes legally binding and ownership transfers together.

In some cases, most commonly new build purchases, contracts are exchanged first and completion follows later. Where this happens, the completion date is agreed at the point of exchange, and your deposit is usually paid over at that stage too. Your solicitor will tell you which applies to your purchase and what it means for your timings

Step 6: Completion Day

On the agreed completion day, which for most StrideUp purchases is also the day contracts are exchanged, the purchase funds are transferred through the solicitors, allowing the property transaction to complete.

Once the seller’s solicitor confirms that completion has taken place:

• Ownership is transferred.
• You can collect the keys to your new home.
• StrideUp’s servicing team prepares your welcome information, including details about your first monthly payment and what to expect next.

Congratulations, you’ve completed your home purchase with StrideUp! 🎉

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the process sometimes take time?

Conveyancing involves several parties working together, and with a co-ownership model there is an additional legal team involved. Delays can sometimes occur if solicitors are waiting for information, property searches take longer than expected or further legal enquiries need to be answered.

The good news is that your solicitor and the StrideUp team work closely together throughout the process to help keep everything moving as smoothly as possible.

Why does StrideUp have its own solicitor?

Because StrideUp is buying the property with you as a co-owner, both parties need their own legal representation. The Law Society recommends this so that there’s no conflict of interest; your solicitor represents your interests, and StrideUp’s solicitor represents StrideUp’s. Our solicitor’s role is to make sure the legal documentation correctly reflects the co-ownership arrangement.

Do I need to speak to StrideUp’s solicitor?

No. In most cases, your own solicitor will communicate directly with StrideUp’s solicitor on your behalf.

Can I use any solicitor I like?

Yes, you can choose a solicitor from StrideUp’s panel of pre-approved firms, or use your own solicitor. The only restriction is that your solicitor cannot be the same firm acting for StrideUp, so each party has independent legal representation, and they should have experience working with Home Purchase Plan transactions.

Will having a third solicitor slow down the process?

Not necessarily. While there is an additional legal party involved, each solicitor has a clear role. Much of the communication happens behind the scenes between the legal teams.

What should I do during the conveyancing process?

The most important thing is to stay in touch with your solicitor and provide any documents or information they request as quickly as possible. This helps keep your purchase on track. Arranging your buildings insurance early is another simple way to keep things moving.

When do contracts get exchanged?

For most StrideUp purchases, exchange and completion take place on the same day. This differs from some conventional purchases where exchange happens weeks earlier. For new build purchases, exchange usually happens first with completion following later. Your solicitor will confirm which applies to you.