Nobody tells you this at the start, so we will: complications are normal. Something unexpected can turn up during a property transaction, and many complications can be resolved without bringing the transaction to a halt. Knowing that in advance takes most of the fear out of it, because the moment it happens you will not be wondering whether your purchase or sale has fallen apart.
What follows is not a list of disasters. It is what a normal wobble looks like, and what should happen next.
The things that usually come up
Most complications fall into a handful of familiar shapes.
A search turns up something. An easement nobody mentioned, a restriction on what can be built, work done without approval, money owed against the property. That is one of the reasons searches matter: they can bring issues to light while there is still time to understand them and decide what to do.
Finance takes longer than expected. This can become a timing issue that needs to be managed alongside the rest of the transaction.
An inspection finds something. Which then becomes a conversation about whether it changes the price, gets fixed, or changes whether you want to proceed.
The other side is slow. You are relying on people you have never met, and their bank, and their conveyancer. Sometimes the delay is not on your side at all.
A date needs to move. Settlement dates shift more often than people expect, usually because someone in the chain is not ready.
Something does not match. A name spelled differently, an identity check that will not go through, a figure that does not reconcile. Small, fixable, and worth catching early.
What should happen when it does
This is the part worth judging a conveyancer on, because it is where they genuinely differ.
You should hear about it promptly, rather than discovering it yourself or finding out when a deadline has already passed. It should be explained in plain language: what has happened, what it actually means for you, and how serious it is. You should be given options rather than a verdict, because a complication may have more than one way forward and the choice between them is usually yours. And you should be told what happens next and by when, so you are not left refreshing your email.
If a complication also affects the cost, you should hear that at the same time, not on the final invoice.
What you can do
Your conveyancer should be doing most of the work, but there are two things you can do that genuinely help.
Respond quickly when your conveyancer needs something from you. A surprising number of delays are simply waiting on an answer or a signature, and the clock does not pause while you think about it.
And ask the two questions that cut through: what are my options, and what does each one mean for the timeline and the cost? A good conveyancer will already be reaching for that answer. If they cannot explain the options straight away, or tell you when they will have that answer, ask when you can expect an update.
What makes it worse
One of the things that makes a complication much harder is not being able to get hold of anyone. A complication you understand is manageable. The same complication with nobody answering becomes the worst week of the process, which is why how reachable a firm is matters far more than it sounds when you are choosing.
That is also why it is worth asking, before you engage anyone, what happens when something unusual comes up. Whether the same person stays on it, who explains it to you, and whether it changes the fee. We go through that and the rest of it in how to choose a conveyancer.
General information only, not legal advice. What applies to your transaction depends on your contract and your state.
