Exchange & complete in 4 working days?

AskAsk

Scotbot said:

AskAsk said:

KateO78 said:

AskAsk said:

the new norm now is to exchange and complete on the same apparently.  i have heard some people say they are doing this now because of the risk of covid 19.  so 4 days is more than adequate.

Thank you - that is helping calm my nerves!
This whole process is so stressful 

i have never exchanged and complete on the same day even when the circumstance was perfect for it.  that there is no chain, the house is empty and the payment is cash so the mortgage company is not involved.

i was surprised to hear a couple of people say that they completed recently and their solicitors had advised same day exchange and completion even though they are in a chain and they are getting a mortgage.  they have been advised this is much safer as the seller could die from covid between exchange and completion and they won't be able to get their deposit back easily as the courts are slow and getting money from a deceased estate will be drawn out.  then they themselves may lose their job between exchange and completion and won't be able to get the mortgage but still have to buy the house.

apparently mortgage companies are now set up to exchange and complete on the same day.  i think effectively it means the solicitors won't exchange until they are ready to complete.

As a seller I would insist on a couple of days between to sort out the move. The chances of the buyer dying from covid are pretty slim and even if they did they would probably be feeling ill beforehand and ask to delay exchange.  Likewise with losing your job. Sure it could happen but the risk over a 3 day period is minimal and one I would be prepared to take.  I am the one paying the solicitors fees so it is my choice, they can advise but I am the one who i instructs 

the standard 2 weeks gap between exchange and completion is now frowned upon because of covid 19 as it poses a risk to the buyer (not the seller) so the solicitors are pushing to close this gap to same day, but i am guessing people are asking for at least 3 to 4 days to deal with the logistic of physically moving stuff out of the house and into the next one.

Scotbot

It was 7 days for me when I bought my current house in 2017.  I was a cash buyer and  up front that I needed at least 5 working days to transfer funds. The vendors solicitor tried to arrange it for less than that because the vendor 'wanted family to come and help on a certain day.' I pointed out to my solicitor this just wasn't possible financially. I actually went round to the vendor to explain as she was elderly and  I didn't want her upset, turned out her solicitor was telling big fat porkies and she had no issues with the agreed dates.

iwb100

Scotbot said:

AskAsk said:

KateO78 said:

AskAsk said:

the new norm now is to exchange and complete on the same apparently.  i have heard some people say they are doing this now because of the risk of covid 19.  so 4 days is more than adequate.

Thank you - that is helping calm my nerves!
This whole process is so stressful 

i have never exchanged and complete on the same day even when the circumstance was perfect for it.  that there is no chain, the house is empty and the payment is cash so the mortgage company is not involved.

i was surprised to hear a couple of people say that they completed recently and their solicitors had advised same day exchange and completion even though they are in a chain and they are getting a mortgage.  they have been advised this is much safer as the seller could die from covid between exchange and completion and they won't be able to get their deposit back easily as the courts are slow and getting money from a deceased estate will be drawn out.  then they themselves may lose their job between exchange and completion and won't be able to get the mortgage but still have to buy the house.

apparently mortgage companies are now set up to exchange and complete on the same day.  i think effectively it means the solicitors won't exchange until they are ready to complete.

As a seller I would insist on a couple of days between to sort out the move. The chances of the buyer dying from covid are pretty slim and even if they did they would probably be feeling ill beforehand and ask to delay exchange.  Likewise with losing your job. Sure it could happen but the risk over a 3 day period is minimal and one I would be prepared to take.  I am the one paying the solicitors fees so it is my choice, they can advise but I am the one who i instructs 

You pick a completion date and go with it. You might lose your removals fee. But if you exchange ahead the risks are that someone in the chain is sick so has to self isolate, or there is a local lockdown or someone loses their job in the chain and cannot therefore get a mortgage. If you’ve all exchanged you lose a LOT more than a moving fee. The way it works now is chain decides on completion date a week or two ahead once solicitors give go ahead for date to be agreed. You aren’t legally bound in which is a little risky for things like cancelling stuff and booking removals but that risk is way way lower than exchanging early and something going wrong. We’ve just done it like that and all solicitors in the chain were adamant that it was only exchange and complete on same day. Full stop. We asked to exchange earlier but were told absolutely not. 

steadfast123

I moved last week- exchanged on Thursday, completed on Friday. My solicitor had told me the week before not to book anything but we paid a deposit for removal firm as didn’t want the stress of trying to find someone at the last minute. We accepted that we would have lost the £200 deposit if the date changed but it was worth it for piece of mind. 

KateO78

steadfast123 said:

I moved last week- exchanged on Thursday, completed on Friday. My solicitor had told me the week before not to book anything but we paid a deposit for removal firm as didn’t want the stress of trying to find someone at the last minute. We accepted that we would have lost the £200 deposit if the date changed but it was worth it for piece of mind. 

That’s what we’ve had to do, otherwise would be way to stressful trying to find one with 24 hours notice !  Our deposit is £100 - so not too bad 

iwb100

steadfast123 said:

I moved last week- exchanged on Thursday, completed on Friday. My solicitor had told me the week before not to book anything but we paid a deposit for removal firm as didn’t want the stress of trying to find someone at the last minute. We accepted that we would have lost the £200 deposit if the date changed but it was worth it for piece of mind. 

You are lucky. Firms round here were so busy they wanted full payment a week ahead. And we exchanged and completed on same day. It’s a risk but not as big as risk of exchanging earlier in current climate. Also I don’t think in these circumstances anyone should wait for exchange to book removals...if you are exchanging and completing on same day book your removals in advance. We tried to book two and a half weeks ahead and still found many booked up for our date.