Completion date and down payment transfer to solicitor?

cidfenmaria

Hi
need some advice about completion date and deposit, I am a buyer and the solicitor just asked about my preference of completion date and down payment/deposit to be transferred to them.

At the moment we have not exchanged contract yet.

Is it normal that I transfer the down payment to the solicitor account and did they mean the exchange of contract would be the same as the completion date?

solicitor did not get back to me yet. so just want some info here if possible.

thanks

AnotherJoe

There are two dates.

Exchange happens when everyone has signed and all the paperwork and mortgage agreements is in order. Your solicitor will ask you if you are happy to exchange at that point. Before exchange you should have transferred your initial deposit to the solicitor.

Completion. Thats when you move. You cant exchange until everyone has agreed on a completion date. Thats also by when you need to have any final money transferred such as SDLT, the solicitor fees and so on. Usually you'd pay that a few days before and quite possibly at the same time as the money at exchange.

So, what the solicitor is asking is;
- What date do you want to move? (this needs to be agreed by all parties so you may not get the date you ask for)
- Are you ready to pay me the money for the initial deposit?

JigglyPug

It sounds like you are almost ready to exchange, so your solicitor is just getting ready for all that entails

Is it normal that I transfer the down payment to the solicitor account

Yes, at exchange you normally put forward a 10% deposit which in this case would be sent to your solicitor.

and did they mean the exchange of contract would be the same as the completion date?

It sounds to me like the solicitor is simply asking if you have a preference for a completion date. For example, you might request a month between exchange and completion if you're renting and need to give a month's notice. It is possible to exchange and complete on the same day, but without knowing exactly what your solicitor said it is impossible to know if this is what they were asking.

G_M

Are you buying,or selling?

If buying:

* you need to agree (via your solicitor) a date for Completion. This is the date you become the owner and can move in. This date will be put into the contract (so that it is legally binding)

* The contract will then be Exchanged with the seller. Once this happens you cannot change your mind and the Completion date is fixed

* At the same time as Exchanging the contract, you will have to pay the seller 10% of the purchase price (or whatever other amount is negotiated with the seller), so you will need to pass this to your solicitor before Exchange of contracts.

* if you are geting a mortgage, you will not receive this till Completion, so the 10% must come from you. Do not confuse this 10% deposit at Exchange with the 'deposit' that relates to your mortgage (ie the difference between your mortgage amount and the purchaseprice, which may be 5%, 10%, 30% or any other %).

cidfenmaria

thanks for the above info, I think they just asked for completion date. The solicitor also sent a completion statement with a balance which includes %downpayment of mortgage+SDLT+solicitor fee to be transferred. I also received a contract document to sign with withness mentioning exchange 10% deposit which is different. so i would confirm with them again