Pre-Solicitor Preparation

Most house sales lose 4–6 weeks while the solicitor gathers paperwork that the seller could have prepared in advance. This guide covers everything you can do before instructing a conveyancer — so when you do, they hit the ground running.

Saves 4–8 weeks on average · Aligned with Project 28 · No solicitor needed for this stage

The problem: dead time after offer accepted

In a traditional house sale, the clock starts ticking the moment you accept an offer. Your buyer is eager, your estate agent is chasing, and your solicitor is… waiting. For you to return the TA6 form. For the Land Registry to send title copies. For the council to process a local authority search. For your freeholder to produce a management pack.

This “dead time” typically lasts 4–6 weeks. During it, nothing legal is actually happening — your solicitor simply cannot start drafting the contract until they have the documents they need. Meanwhile, your buyer is growing impatient, their mortgage offer clock is running, and the risk of the sale falling through increases with every week.

Pre-solicitor preparation eliminates this dead time. By gathering documents, completing forms, and optionally ordering searches before you even list, you ensure your solicitor can start real legal work from day one.

What you can prepare yourself

You do not need a solicitor to gather your own documents or answer questions about your property. The TA6 is a questionnaire about your home — nobody knows the answers better than you. Title documents are available from the Land Registry for a few pounds. Certificates should be in your files already.

The checklist below covers everything. Pine guides you through the entire process step by step, translating your plain-English answers into correctly formatted legal forms and flagging gaps before they become problems.

Your pre-solicitor preparation checklist

Work through each section before instructing your solicitor. The more you complete, the faster your sale will progress.

Documents to gather

Title deeds or Land Registry official copies (register + plan)
Valid EPC certificate (check free at /epc-checker)
FENSA certificates for replacement windows and doors
Building regulations completion certificates (extensions, conversions, rewiring)
Gas safety certificate (if applicable)
Electrical installation condition report
Boiler service records
Planning permissions and listed building consents
Party wall agreements and awards
Guarantees and warranties (damp proofing, roof work, timber treatment)
Management information pack (leasehold properties)

Forms to complete

TA6 Property Information Form (6th edition)
TA10 Fittings and Contents Form
TA7 Leasehold Information Form (leasehold properties)

Checks to make

Confirm your council tax band on the VOA website
Check flood risk on the Environment Agency map
Review your local authority planning portal for nearby applications
Verify your property boundaries match the title plan
Check whether any building work needs retrospective approval

Optional but recommended

Order property searches early (local authority, environmental, water)
Obtain indemnity insurance for any missing certificates
Commission a pre-sale survey to identify issues before buyers do

Common issues found during preparation

One of the biggest benefits of preparing early is discovering problems before your buyer does. Here are the most common issues sellers uncover during pre-solicitor preparation:

Missing building regulations sign-off — extensions, loft conversions, or rewiring done without a completion certificate. Often resolved with retrospective approval or indemnity insurance.
No FENSA certificate for windows — replacement windows installed without proper certification. See our guide on what to do without a FENSA certificate.
Boundary discrepancies — what you believe your boundary is does not match the title plan. Best discovered and resolved before a buyer raises it.
Leasehold management pack delays — freeholders can take 4–8 weeks to produce a management information pack. Ordering early is critical for flat sellers.
Undisclosed planning issues — conservatories, outbuildings, or changes of use that were never formally approved.

Each of these issues adds 2–6 weeks to a sale when discovered after the offer. Found during preparation, they can usually be resolved before marketing even begins.

How this connects to the bigger picture

Pre-solicitor preparation is the first step in building a sale-ready pack. It also ensures you have everything your estate agent needs to comply with material information requirements. The government's Project 28 initiative — which aims for 28-day exchanges — is built on exactly this principle: do the preparation before the transaction starts, not during it.

Frequently asked questions

Pre-solicitor preparation is the work a seller can do before instructing a conveyancing solicitor — gathering title documents, completing property information forms, obtaining certificates, and optionally ordering property searches. This means your solicitor can begin legal work immediately when instructed, rather than spending the first 4–6 weeks chasing paperwork.

Ideally, start 2–4 weeks before you plan to list your property for sale. This gives you time to complete the TA6 and TA10 forms, order your title documents from the Land Registry, obtain or renew your EPC, and track down any missing certificates for building work. If you order property searches early, factor in 2–8 weeks for local authority search turnaround times.

Yes. The TA6 Property Information Form is a seller’s questionnaire about their property — it asks about boundaries, disputes, planning, utilities, and building work. You are the best person to answer these questions because you live in the property. Pine guides you through each section in plain English, then formats your answers into the correct legal form for your solicitor.

Start with: title deeds or Land Registry official copies, your valid EPC, FENSA certificates for replacement windows, building regulations completion certificates for any structural work, gas safety certificates, electrical installation certificates, boiler service records, any planning permissions, party wall agreements, and guarantees or warranties for work done on the property.

No — the opposite. Solicitors prefer working with prepared sellers because it means fewer delays, fewer chasers, and a smoother transaction. A solicitor who receives a complete pack from day one can draft the contract and respond to buyer enquiries much faster. This is how conveyancing is supposed to work.

In a typical sale, the first 4–6 weeks after instructing a solicitor are spent gathering documents, completing forms, and ordering searches. By doing this work before you even list, you remove that dead time entirely. Combined with early searches, sellers with a complete sale-ready pack can reach exchange in 4–8 weeks after offer acceptance, compared to 12–16 weeks for unprepared sellers.

It depends on your priorities. Local authority searches take 2–8 weeks and are the single biggest bottleneck in conveyancing. Ordering them early means results are ready when your buyer’s solicitor asks for them. The risk is a small cost (£200–£350) if your sale falls through, but the time saving is usually worth it for serious sellers.

Instructing a solicitor early means paying them to start work before you have a buyer — useful, but it means paying legal fees regardless of whether you sell. Pre-solicitor preparation means doing the groundwork yourself (forms, documents, certificates) so that when you do instruct — whether before or after listing — your solicitor has everything they need from day one. Pine helps with the preparation stage, not the legal work itself.

Start your preparation
before you instruct

Pine guides you through every form and document you need. In about 15 minutes, you will have the foundation of your sale-ready pack.

No solicitor needed for this stage

Free to start — takes about 15 minutes

Hand the pack to any solicitor when you are ready

Begin your pre-solicitor preparation

What could delay your sale?

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