What Is the Legal Process for UK Property?

GOGOPROP
Property Guides
June 3, 2025

How does the UK property process works?

The UK legal process involves the legal steps required to transfer property ownership from the seller to the buyer. This process ensures that all legal requirements are met and protects both parties during the transaction.

For overseas property buyers, it is important to understand the step-by-step legal process in the UK in order to make informed investment decisions. Whether you want to purchase a new buy-to-let property or get an equity release on an existing property, GoGoProp offers flexible asset-based loans for investment properties in the UK.

Step-by-Step legal process for buying property in the UK

Step 1: Instructing a solicitor

The process begins with hiring a qualified solicitor or conveyancer who will handle all legal aspects of the transaction to make sure everything complies with UK property laws.

Step 2: Initial property checks

Your solicitor will conduct searches to verify the property’s legal standing. This includes title deed confirmation, local authority searches, and environmental risk assessments.

Step 3: Reviewing the draft contract

The seller’s solicitor will draft a contract containing property details, pricing, and conditions. The buyer’s solicitor will review the contract carefully and raise any necessary issues.

Step 4: Mortgage and financing approval

Securing financing is a critical stage in the purchasing process. For smooth and streamlined financing, GoGoProp offers asset-based loans ideal for overseasbuyers without a UK credit history. For these loans, the approval process is based on property value rather than credit scores.

Step 5: Property survey and valuation

A property survey is conducted to evaluate the condition and value of the property. Common survey types include the Homebuyer’s Report, a basic survey for modern properties, and the Building Survey for older properties that may need extensive renovations.

Step 6: Exchange of contracts

When all surveys are completed and financing is secured, both parties sign the contract, making the agreement legally binding. At this stage, the buyer pays the deposit, which is typically 10-20% of the purchase price.

Step 7: Completion and final payment

To complete the process, the remaining payment balance is transferred to theseller. The solicitor will then register the property with the UK Land Registry to officially transfer ownership to the buyer.

Legal challenges for overseas property buyers

Funding Delays: Delays in loan approvals can slow the entire process. GoGoProp offers fast approvals tokeep transactions moving.

Issues Found in Property Surveys: Unexpected property issues can arise during inspections, potentially delaying or renegotiating the sale.

Legal Complexities: Navigating UK property laws without proper guidance can lead to costly errors.

Why solicitor is crucial to buyers

For overseas buyersun familiar with UK property laws, having a solicitor ensures legal protection throughout the transaction. The solicitor plays an important role in conducting due diligence on the property, managing legal documents and contracts, ensuring compliance with UK regulations, and protecting the buyer’s financial interests.

Easy financing for overseas buyers

GoGoProp simplifies the financing aspect of the legal process in the UK with quick loan processing and approval. Applications can be initially approved within 24 hours, and funds can be disbursed in as little as 10days. This swift process is because approval is based on the property value rather than the buyer’s UK credit history, making it ideal for internationalinvestors.

As a digital lender, GoGoProp provides a secure and convenient platform for short-term asset-basedloans geared towards overseas buyers. Contact us to learn more.

 

GOGOPROP

When our family bought an electric cargo bike earlier this year, one of my biggest fears was that this lovely and expensive new machine was going to get stolen. So I got the best lock money could buy, and I started to investigate: did I need ebike insurance?

First, I called my homeowners insurance provider to see if they would cover the bike if it were stolen. To my surprise, because it’s an electric bike, not only did my policy not cover it, they wouldn’t even add it for an additional fee or sell me a separate policy for it, the way they did for our family car.

Instead they referred me to an insurance company that specializes in bikes and ebikes. I bought a policy from them and sleep a little better for it.

I’ve heard similar stories from other ebike owners. And I’ve heard worse.

What can happen without ebike insurance

The saddest stories are the ones where someone assumed their homeowners or renters or car insurance covered their ebike, and after it was stolen or seriously damaged, it turned out it wasn’t covered.

"And then there are the stories about people whose ebikes were covered by their homeowners policy, but their premium went way up when they made a claim for a stolen ebike."
<span class="blog-quote-name">-Kyle Miller, CEO Brass Hands</span>

Why it’s hard to insure an ebike

When it comes to insurance, ebikes land in a gray area outside standard homeowners insurance and auto insurance. Here’s why:

  • Ebikes are new in terms of the insurance industry. Most of the several million ebikes in the U.S. were purchased in the last two years. Insurers aren’t familiar with them, and insurers don’t like to be surprised by unfamiliar products.
  • Ebikes are more expensive than regular bikes. Policies that cover bikes, like most homeowners or renters policies, might have also covered ebikes until the insurer had to pay much larger claims than they expected to replace a damaged or stolen ebike. See above about insurers and surprise. So some policy terms got changed.
  • Finally, ebikes get stolen a lot, and not only from people’s homes. They are ridden and locked up outside all over the place, which makes them more vulnerable than other valuable household items.

Steps to take to properly insure your ebike

The odds that your ebike is covered by your existing insurance is lower than you may think. Here’s what to do to find out if you need ebike insurance:

  1. Call your insurance company and find out what they cover. Things to bring up: coverage of accidental damage, theft, and travel (like what would happen if you flew somewhere with your bike and the airline did a number on it). Does the insurance company consider your ebike a “luxury item”? If you’re happy with the coverage, great! You’re good to go.
  2. Consider bike-specific coverage. If you aren’t covered, or feel like the coverage you do have isn’t enough, here are some things to think about.

Bike insurance covers all kinds of bike specific things, not just theft. Think damage to the bike from a collision, medical payments if you are injured in a collision, insurance for the bike if you are traveling with it or racing it, or a bike rental while your bike is being repaired. Some policies even cover things like accessories (like bike lights and panniers) and riding clothes.

Bike claims won’t affect your other insurance premium. Should you need to make a claim on your ebike, your home insurance premium won’t change or get canceled.

We can help

Want to learn more about ebike insurance? Join Tempo and get easy access to insurance quotes, and other ways to protect your ebike right inside the app.

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