Completion day - what happens when selling and buying

bubsy82

Evening all
Previously being first time buyers we are in the process of selling and buying our next lovely home.

There isn't a big chain the people buying our place have just completed on their property and are ready to go and the owners of the house we are buying have no chain and the property has been empty for months.

My question is what happens on completion day? We are hiring a van and can be out of our property at lunch time but surely they won't release the keys to our new place until all paperwork and deposits etc have been completed.

I'm just a bit worried we will have nowhere to go for a few hours once we are out of our house and we have 2 little ones (5 and 2) to move aswell as our cat and only 1 maybe 2 vans to help move us.

Also as the property we are moving into is empty do you think it's worth asking if we can move some garden plants in once we have exchanged to help ease the moving process?

Thanks in advance!

jbainbridge

We moved last year and the money had all been done by about 11am ... we were out the house just after 12. Then dropped off / picked up keys / grabbed a sandwich. Unlocked new house about 1pm and said good bye to the removal men about 3. Fish and chips with fizzy at about 5.30!!

Ask your vendor about the garden plants ... we wouldn't have objected.

giraffe69

WE also moved last year.
Money sorted by Midday.
Keys 10 minutes later
The couple vacating were a bit slow but done by 1.30
Our removal van arrived at 1 and were gone within about 3 hours.
Pub dinner by 8

monty-doggy

Ooh I am getting excited, a few more weeks for us. When do the removal company start emptying the old house and what do they do until you get keys to the new place?

csh_2

Mine loaded the van then went for their lunch break. We went to collect the keys arm met them back at the new place

jackomdj

Legally you need to be out of your old property at the point the solicitors complete the move. However this may be at 9:30 or 4:00! In reality you need to be ready to move as early as possible, then go and have lunch if it is around lunch time, or do a bit of cleaning in your old place (you will be amazed at the dust etc behind wardrobes and personally I like to leave a clean house)

You may find it easier to find someone to have the children on moving day, means you can concentrate on the move, not worry about tripping over them, them running out of open doors, bugging for snacks etc. we moved a couple of years ago and our childcare was well thought out. I walked eldest to school in the morning, passed youngest to another mum who took her to preschool, she collected dd2, then collected from school, another friend collected them both from 1st freeing to take them to swimming lessons (as hers go too), then dropped them back to original friend for dinner. She then drove them to our new house.

arbrighton

We completed on our new place at about half nine as our vendors were going a long way and wanted their completion to happen asap so our funds were sent the previous day and held to order. They had been packed the previous day and we were in rented with long notice as exchange fell just after a notice date so gradually packed and moved.
Last time we moved, packing was done one day by lunchtime and they drove up the next day, arriving about 11 but we were going into rented at that point

Blondygirl

I have always booked my removal van for first thing in the morning & will be doing this time. I've found it can take longer than you think to empty the place & then whip round with the hover to leave it clean. The dog is going to friends for a few days so we won't have to worry about her tripping anyone up or getting out when all the doors are open.

Good luck