Completion Day - around what time were you given keys?

sterl1ng

So finally exchanged yesterday with completion date of 3rd nov, my solictor emailed me upon exchamge stating that on completion day I call him between 11:00-11:30 so to give idea when funds may be released. I've booked mover for 2ish, just wondered how it's panned out for others in terms of times they managed to finally get call to pick up keys? My lender is halifax so not sure how fast or slow they are and with me being at bottom of chain do I first get my funds then the rest or I'd it other way?

Thanks:T

kingstreet

Your solicitor normally draws down the funds the day before.

On completion day, your solicitor sends your purchase funds to the vendor's solicitor. Key release is triggered by the vendor's solicitor confirming receipt, not your solicitor confirming transmission.

The location of the keys on completion day will usually have been sorted out a couple of days before by the vendor and EA. I once collected keys from agent and last time, our vendor was moving next door, so we arrived as they were moving. Our removal men helped them and theirs then helped ours. It went pretty smoothly.

sterl1ng

My completion day is Monday so would solictor request on Friday before and interest be charged? If I'm at bottom would I be first to get keys then further up chain does? What time could i roughly get

kingstreet

My completion day is Monday so would solictor request on Friday before and interest be charged?

Possibly. Ask them.

We can't say what time you will get key release.

The vendor's solicitor may be in a position to confirm key release at 11am, but if the vendor's onward purchase hasn't yet been confirmed and their vendor's solicitor hasn't confirmed key release, they may be in limbo awaiting it and may not yet have dropped their keys in.

In which case, you may not get your keys until later in the day. All you can say is it will happen on a sliding time scale at each point everyone in the chain has sorted themself out.

chanz4

myn was 9:30 , but yes halifax charge from the day the funds are sent

Malks

It all depends on when the money is confirmed to be in receipt of the solicitors.


On our first move that was at 4pm - as the buyers solicitor was useless, and didn't transfer the money until 3.30pm.


The last time we moved, the money was exchanged the day before, so we had the keys by 11am and were sat outside the house we were buying at 12 - waiting for their movers to finish up.


Check the contract, there maybe a clause in there saying you need to be out by a certain time, especially if the transfer happens the day before.

AlexMac

Despite our move being a really simple one-
-One chain-free buyer for our house;
-an efficient solicitor who rang at noon to say they'd transferred the cash to our vendor;
- that we were buying an empty property as the tenant was long gone...

the EA didn't get round to ringing us to offer us the option of collecting the keys til after 3.30pm.

Which would have meant our removal guys twiddling their thumbs for 3+ hours as we only moved a mile...

If we hadn't broken in (to what, by then was 'our' house) and already changed the locks by 12.30...

Not that I am in any way advocating breaking and entering as a general feature of conveyancing!

G_M

You should get keys around midday.

It might be delayed till after lunchtimeish.

Or your removal men may still be sitting in their van outside the house waiting for keys at 5 pm.......

jbainbridge

Our removal men arrived about 8.30am and were done by midday. We were out by 12.30 having given the place a quick hoover and mop.

Solicitor rang about 11am to confirm everything was done.

Dropped off / picked up keys at 1pm.

Had a sandwich and opened the new house about 1.30pm.

Removal men gone by 3.30 at the latest.

It did help that we only moved about a mile!

DRP

about 2pm.

arbrighton

ours were released around 9:30 but we had funds transferred the previous day and held to order as our vendors had a nearly 200 mile move and wanted in ASAP