What to b careful of between exchange and completion

luiza8

We are FTB who will be exchanging on our property in the next few weeks. We want to get a completion date soon after exchange as there is no chain (house is vacant now).

What should we be cautious about if we have a short time between exchange and completion? What would be a suitable timeframe given both of our (ours and sellers) chain free position? We don’t want to do it on the same day for obvious reasons. I’ve read somewhere that lenders recommend at least 5 working days in order to allow the mortgage funds to be released?

Any advice appreciated

Slithery

Don't complete on a Friday.

MovingForwards

You can exchange / complete on the same day, provided there is enough time between now and then for your solicitor to request, and receive, the money. As the property is empty there are no issues doing it on the same day.

Consider asking the vendor if you can pop in to make sure everything is ok and take any measurements you need eg curtains. If the vendor agrees then check lights, electric sockets, water runs, toilet flushes, boiler works and radiators heat up, windows and doors open / close without issue.

Other tips:

Make sure you have your buildings and contents insurance company lined up so you can start the policy on the day of exchange.

Make sure you have quotes for removals, if applicable, and there are a couple of firms you can phone to book in.

Don't apply for any credit between now and completion as you risk having your mortgage offer withdrawn.

Ensure you have a box of 'staple' items which you can easily grab and empty to get through your first few hours in your new home (tea/coffee, cup, kettle etc).

Make sure you have the phone number for the utility companies so you can call them the day you get the keys, give them your details and meter readings.

Prepare a list (mental or written) of all your credit providers so you know who to give your new address to, same with the driving licence.

Learn where the stopcock, gas off switch and electric circuit board is in case of emergency.

Start looking for a local Dr.

Buy a bottle of wine.

Move in and celebrate life in your new home

ka7e

Make sure your removal firm/man with van is free before you commit to completion date. We had 3 firms on stand-by and had a list of dates they were free, but 5-day delay in exchange meant they were all booked when we agreed completion. Manic rush to book another firm at short notice was a whole new level of stressful.


Most firms and local authorities will accept details of new address in advance. Utilities/broadband definitely need notice. DWP will not change address detail in advance.


Pack "emergency" bags - mugs, kettle, coffee, tea etc. Nightwear, towels and toothbrushes. Loo roll! Change of clothes. Pet food. Address of nearest takeaway. Contact lens, medications. Phone charger. If you are late getting into your property you don't have to spend the first night unpacking to find the essentials.

luiza8

Thanks for all the amazing tips!

Why shouldn’t I complete on a Friday? What day would you recommend?

We will have our existing flat until the 20th August so packing emergency bags isn’t necessary (although a great suggestion). We will have a month and a half overlap as we are getting renovations done in the new house.

Would you say 3 days between exchange and completion sounds reasonable? Like I say, the seller wants rid ASAP as they don’t live there and we have our flat until August. We just want to make sure it doesn’t fall through and by having less time between exchange and completion this reduces the chances.

Money_maker

Because solicitors etc will be closed for the weekend.

Mojisola

luiza8 wrote: »

We will have a month and a half overlap as we are getting renovations done in the new house.

Change the locks as soon as possible and think about some added security for the empty house.

A relative who was renovating his new house while still living in his rented property arrived one morning to find that the new hot water tank and all the copper pipes had been stripped out of the house during the night.

luiza8

That’s something I hadn’t thought about, perhaps we should exchange on a Wednesday.

Yes, we will be changing the locks on day 1, even though the seller lives 200 miles away, we don’t know that his old tenants have the keys back!

ethank

luiza8 wrote: »

Why shouldn’t I complete on a Friday?

Everyone wants to complete on a Friday so it can be more difficult to find suppliers, also solicitors busiest day dealing with completions. Risk you can be sat out all weekend!

luiza8 wrote: »

We just want to make sure it doesn’t fall through and by having less time between exchange and completion this reduces the chances.

At exchange of contracts you are both legally agreeing to buy the property, so there is little risk that you will not be completing. Its actually less risky then prior to exchange!

Albala

I'd say two weeks between exchange and completion, gives you time to set up phone/internet, book removals etc. Friday is bad because if there are problems, you can be in limbo all weekend, especially in long chains. Also because lots of people (despite how mad it is) choose Friday, so solicitors and removals people are especially busy that day, making it even worse.
Same day ex/comp seems totally insane to me- anyone in the chain can pull out, demand more money, demand a reduction, insist on a date change, etc. until exchange.

luiza8

ethank wrote: »

At exchange of contracts you are both legally agreeing to buy the property, so there is little risk that you will not be completing. Its actually less risky then prior to exchange!

Yes you’re right, I know the risk reduces but it never reaches zero until after completion. We therefore want the completion to be soon after exchange.

Albala wrote: »

I'd say two weeks between exchange and completion, gives you time to set up phone/internet, book removals etc.

Not required for us as we will still have our existing flat for a good month - we have it u TIL end of August.

Albala wrote: »

Same day ex/comp seems totally insane to me- anyone in the chain can pull out, demand more money, demand a reduction, insist on a date change, etc. until exchange.

I agree, we won’t be doing same day...