Exchange and complete on the same day?

funkyfreddy9k

We're in the process of selling/buying and both our buyers and sellers are in a rush like everyone else seems to be.

One thing I've learnt from this is that its best to have at least a week between exchange and complete to allow for finalising things. BT for example had a right moan that they normally need 14 days notice! - I'm sure almost no one gives them that long, but thats what they ask for. Royal mail require 5 working days notice for redirection. Likewise my broadband provider.

We barely had a week between finding out our completion date and that day arriving so even if I had gone ahead at that point with things like that it would have still been cutting it fine. Personally though I wasnt prepared to go ahead with things like that until after exchange incase anything went wrong during exchange.

SUGARSPICE

Sorry Richard Webster for calling you Andrew.

Thank you Chickmug for pointing that out & for your replies.

I didnt realise there were two that could be done & not sure at mo which one I mean .I know that they are borrowing so I guess that it will be the valuation one .

Is it a silly idea to put money down for a place to rent before getting an exchange date?

We are waiting on the survey to be done which should have been done before hand & have been given another 2 weeks grace until our inventory needs to be done,otherwise it will be going back on the market.

Can it be that we can pay the money,not move in yet & just wait for the exchange date?

What should I do? Please help

Richard_Webster

I am not Richard but have given you the asnwers.

But I do agree with what Chickmug says! His posts are generally sensible and obviously come from a lot of years experience as an EA.

Is it a silly idea to put money down for a place to rent before getting an exchange date?

"Exchange Date" doesn't mean very much. "Completion Date" is far more important - that's the date you have to move out or move in as the case may be. Completion dates get fixed at Exchange. You only know when Exchange was after it has happened!

Exchange takes place when it happens. If a solicitor says he thinks exchange will happen around a certain date then there is nothing magic about that - it is simply when he says he thinks it will happen, no more, no less.

So making binding arrangements based upon an assumption that exchange of contracts will happen on some date a week or two away is very very dangerous for the simple reason that until contracts have been exchanged there is no binding commitment.

If a solicitor or estate agent is predicting that exchange will happen on a particular date it may not happen then or at all - then where would you be committing yourself to renting a property that you don't need because your buyer pulled out at the last minute?

SUGARSPICE

Thank you & :mad:arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I suppose I will just have to wait & see what happens.

What could go wrong between exchange & completion? Do you know?

We know that the buyers still want to go ahead.

SUGARSPICE

Richard

Do you meant last minute as in after exchange before completion?

If I know that the buyers are 100% sure that they are still going ahead after exchange,would it then be ok to pay the money for the place I am going to rent?

chickmug

Richard_Webster wrote: »

But I do agree with what Chickmug says! His posts are generally sensible and obviously come from a lot of years experience as an EA.

'Generally' sensible has me worried?

Does that mean I am not sometimes sensible:eek:

Richard_Webster

Generally' sensible has me worried?

Does that mean I am not sometimes sensible:eek:

No!

Richard

Do you meant last minute as in after exchange before completion?

If I know that the buyers are 100% sure that they are still going ahead after exchange,would it then be ok to pay the money for the place I am going to rent?

No. It is very rare that people pull out between exchange and completion - although there is a thread or two at the moment where this has happened.

I think you have to make your arrangements based on the assumption that if exchange has taken place the matter will complete on the completion date set.
I was simply making the point that the expression "exchange date" is not helpful.

Strawberrycake_2

Hi Richard.

What could go wrong between exchange & completion?

Do you know ?

chickmug

Strawberrycake wrote: »

What could go wrong between exchange & completion?

Do you know ?

DO NOT GET HUNG UP ON THIS TYPE OF ISSUE!

Sorry about the caps (above) but in my 40 years and having been responsible for around 12,000 transactions it is extremely rare anything will go wrong. I have known less than handful where there has been a problem in this period. All caused by a death, or sudden serious illness, or serious road accident.

Not one where the buyer or seller has pulled out. An odd one may have tried but when their solicitor advised them of the consequences they didn't.

OK there has been another thread where it has happened but many in the business will not have seen it.

Richard_Webster

I agree again with Chickmug. I can remember two cases in over 35 years where the seller wouldn't complete.

One was a totally ignorant unreasonable type of person who wouldn't listen to anyone and made up his own rules. His behaviour resulted in a 17 year long court case in the Chancery division!

The other was facing repossession and was living in the cloud cuckoo world that he could get another mortgage and move to where his new job was. He was told by his solicitors he had to be out (and the buyers agreed 6 weeks between exchange an completion so he could try to buy this other property with the mortgage he thought he could get) and he just carried on living in his own fantasy world on and after the completion date. In the end we got our deposit back. No point trying to sue him because by the time we did that his lender would have repossessed.

OK so it does happen, but nobody would ever do anything if they always wanted 100% certainty. There will always be nutters somewhere and random things can happen - a lion could escape from a local zoo and eat you all!

I repeat Chickmug's advice:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Strawberrycake
What could go wrong between exchange & completion?

Do you know ?

DO NOT GET HUNG UP ON THIS TYPE OF ISSUE!