House buying in England and Wales: key parties, exchange and completion, and mortgage legislation

ASEW Learning Outcome 6 covers the house-buying process in England and Wales: who does what, when the deal becomes legally binding, and the wider laws that shape mortgage lending. It is the one learning outcome where the England and Wales paper (ASEW) differs from the Scottish paper (ASSC). Case questions usually test timing and risk, for example:

• "Can the seller still accept another offer?"
• "What must be in place before exchange?"
• "Who is the estate agent acting for?"

This note gives the England and Wales version used for CeMAP® ASEW. A short comparison with Scotland is at the end.

1. The key parties (AC6.1a)

Party	Acts for	Main role
Estate agent	The seller (under a legally binding agency contract)	Markets the property, passes on every offer until contracts are exchanged, and negotiates the price. Must disclose any referral fee it receives for recommending services. Complaints go to The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme.
Valuer	The lender (mortgage valuation) or the buyer (survey)	The mortgage valuation tells the lender whether the property is adequate security. The buyer may commission a RICS Home Survey (Level 1, 2 or 3) to learn about condition.
Conveyancer (solicitor, licensed conveyancer or CILEX practitioner)	The buyer or seller (often also the lender)	Checks title, raises enquiries, orders searches, drafts and negotiates the contract, handles exchange and completion, pays SDLT and registers the buyer at HM Land Registry.
Legal adviser	The client	Gives wider legal advice, for example on tenure, guarantees, trusts or joint ownership. Often the same firm as the conveyancer.
Mortgage adviser	The client (as their agent when arranging)	Recommends a suitable mortgage, manages the application and liaises on the offer.

Agency in practice. An agent's duties run to its principal. The estate agent's principal is the seller, so it is not the buyer's adviser. A buyer who needs advice on price or condition should commission a survey and take legal advice.