An accepted offer feels like winning; in England it is merely qualifying. From this moment until exchange of contracts — typically eight to sixteen weeks away — nothing binds either side, and roughly one purchase in three falls through in the gap. Phase 4 is the discipline of getting a fragile agreement across that gap: legal work, lending, survey and searches, all moving in parallel.
SSTC means not sold
When the listing changes to Sold Subject to Contract, the seller can still accept a better offer, and you can still walk away. Neither fact is rude to acknowledge; both are why speed and communication matter so much in this phase. Every week shaved off the journey to exchange is risk removed.
Four tracks run at once
After acceptance you immediately: instruct a conveyancer (legal track), convert your AIP into a full application (lending track), commission a survey (evidence track), and keep gentle pressure on the chain via the agent (coordination track). None waits for another; delay in any one delays exchange.
Your job is momentum
Professionals do the work, but buyers set the tempo. Respond to document requests same-day, chase status weekly, and keep a simple log of what is outstanding with whom. Transactions rarely die of a single blow — they die of drift, and drift is the one thing entirely in your control.
Your action list
Practical tips
- Ask the agent for the full chain picture at acceptance — its length and weakest link set your realistic timescale.
- Set a standing weekly call or email with your conveyancer; polite predictability beats sporadic panic.
What can go wrong
- Booking removals, giving tenancy notice or buying furniture before exchange is spending against a deal that one in three times does not happen.
- Silence from any track for two weeks is a problem signal — chase it, because nobody else is watching all four.
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