Conveyancing completion is moving day – the day the sellers get their money and you get the keys to your new home.
Deciding On A Date For Conveyancing Completion
Once yours and the seller’s conveyancing lawyer (and any other links in the chain) are in a position to exchange contracts you will be asked to agree a completion date. There will usually be at least a week between exchange and completion (though if necessary this period can sometimes be reduced, indeed it is possible to exchange and complete on the same day).
The date will need to be one that is agreed by all buyers and sellers in the chain. It will be contractually binding once contracts are exchanged therefore before committing ensure that you will have to provide your solicitor with all the necessary funds and you will be able to get removals if required. Also, even if you are not actually planning on moving in on the day, it is a good idea to be available to deal with any last minute hitches.
Tip – most people choose to complete on a Friday as it gives them the weekend to get their new house in order, but if something goes wrong and completion is delayed, they face being homeless for the whole weekend!
Preparing For Conveyancing Completion
Contact your conveyancing lawyer two or three days before completion to check he/she has all the necessary signed documents from you and any additional funds you have transferred. Also, ask your lawyer to order your mortgage funds for the day before completion (he/she may do this anyway). This because the funds could arrive any time up to 5pm on the day the bank sends them. If they arrive on the day of completion after the contract time (usually between 1 – 2pm) you will be in breach of your contract because completion will not take place on time.
Tip – try to avoid arranging deliveries, workmen etc for the day of completion. You may not get the keys until late in the day and could incur unnecessary cancellation costs. If possible allow a few days after completion to avoid any extra problems if completion doesn’t happen on the day
Tip – If you have pets, consider putting them in kennels or catteries, or even asking someone to take care of them for a few days. This will be one less thing to worry about should completion be delayed overnight. The same thing applies to small children, though a kennel is probably not appropriate!
Events On The Day Of Conveyancing Completion
In the normal course of things the completion monies will be sent by your lawyer early on the day of completion to the account of the seller’s conveyancing lawyer. If you are also selling a property then your lawyer will need to receive the funds from your purchaser’s lawyer first which obviously means the monies would be transferred to your seller’s lawyer later in the day. Your purchase is considered completed when the seller’s lawyer receives the completion monies and when the seller vacates the property. As the lawyers cannot control what time the funds will reach their destinations there is no guarantee as to what time completion will take place. Generally however it will be around lunchtime.
Once the funds have reached your seller’s lawyer he should call the estate agents (who will usually be holding the keys) and instruct them to release the keys to you.
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This is a guest article and we thank Dean at Free Conveyancing Advice for it’s creation.
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1 Comment Received
Very good articles… all of them. Keep up the good work. I work in a similar field and I’ve not really come across advice so thorough. 5*
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