Completion day is the final step in the conveyancing process. It is the day when ownership is transferred over from the seller to the buyer, and they finally get to move into their new home. This is also the point in time when your legal work is all completed by our London conveyancing solicitors. Completion typically happens between 7 and 28 days after contracts have been exchanged and will usually be on a weekday with a target move time around 12 noon and will need to be agreed between all parties.
What You Can Do to Prepare for Completion Day
In order to avoid any issues on completion day, it is a good idea to:
- Be prepared – including having all your household items packed and ready to do, and removal services booked in plenty of time before the move
- Be contactable – ensure you have your phone with you at all times as your estate agent or conveyancing solicitor will need to be able to contact you to confirm completion
- Have any necessary paperwork to hand – you should have all your paperwork in an available place in case you need to check anything prior to moving into your new home
- Ensure that your funds are available – make sure you have the money ready to transfer into your solicitor’s account.
Problems that Can Arise on Completion Day
Some of the issues that can cause complications and delays on completion day include:
- Delay of purchase funds – most people buy a property with a combination of their own money and through a loan provided by a mortgage. If either buyer or mortgage provider are late in releasing the funds to their solicitor, it will cause a delay and completion may not happen on the planned day.
- Missing bank deadlines – funds need to be transferred to the seller’s solicitor’s bank account by 4.00pm for completion to happen. If the money is not in by 4.00pm, the transaction will need to wait until the next working day.
- Delay in the chain – if just one link in the sale and purchase chain fails or is delayed, it will cause a hold up for everyone in the chain.
Completion Day for New Builds
A fixed completion day is not always possible with a new build property. Predominately because the house may still be being built and so, it isn’t possible to give an exact date, as the build could be subject to delay. This sometimes results in an extended period between exchanging contracts and the completion date. What typically has a period of between 7 and 28 days can be months when buying a new build property. So be prepared.
Exchanging and Completing on the Same Day
Although it is possible to exchange and complete on the same day, it is not generally advised. This is because you will not have a binding contract in place until the day you are due to move into the property. This can be risky as it means that the buyer or seller can pull out of the sale or purchase right up until the last minute – the point of exchange.
