How to co-ordinate two sales / completions on the same day

timbotambo

Hi, after some advice please from someone who has done this before.

Myself and my partner are buying a single property together and have two properties to sell. We live about 20mins apart and moving locally. Both of us have accepted offers from no chain buyers, and the house we are buying is also no chain. We need funds from our house sales to buy the new house.

My confusion is over how to physically do the move and the level of risk/stress involved with trying to coordinate two moves and two completions on one day. Both of us need removals firms as we have a lot of stuff (too much to store at a single property), and we both have children (single parents) so want to minimise disruption. One of us could complete and move out earlier (i.e. a few days or a week) but we would have to pay storage fees and removals again. Also a huge faff and disruptive, and my partner is dead against it.

Has anyone else been through this and able to offer advice as to how it went? Are we worrying over nothing?

user1977

You do it in the same way as you would for a single sale/purchase, but with separate removal vans converging on the new place, I guess? As far as the legal side is concerned, the principles are much the same as any other chain in terms of getting everything to coordinate.

Drawingaline

I assume you will both use the same solicitors for both sales and the purchase? So they would handle gathering the funds together in one place ready for completion.

Then once you have exchanged both sort removals out, same or different companies, and then move. But make sure the removals know that there will be two teams and they may have to wait. So may be worthwhile both using the same compan if possible.

timbotambo

Ok thanks, so maybe it isn't much more complex than a normal chain and we are worrying over nothing (and we do have friends / family to help with the move and childcare). Yes we do have the same solicitors, good shout ref removal firms

Thrugelmir

We had the same problem. Selling one before the other is the way to approach the situation. The stuff you don't need in the short term put into storage beforehand. Removes the stress and potential financial risks if matters do not go according to plan on completion day. 

RAS

Presumably you are exchanging in advance, so you can time the completion to suit?

canaldumidi

The only differences to any other sale/purchase are that

1) the solicitor must coordinate both sales with the purchase instead of just one sale (so use the same solicitor!) and

2) you need to arrange two removal firms (or two lots of friends + vans etc) instead of just one. To make planning/arranging easier, have a gap of at least a week between Exchange and Completion.