Between exchange and completion

One of the final steps in the conveyancing process involves your solicitor lodging an interest in the property, which will mean that the deeds to the property are frozen for 30 working days to allow you to pay the seller and lodge your application to the Land Registry to transfer the deeds into your name.

The seller will move out (although they may leave this to the day of completion).

You should get organised for your moving day.

We will send you a statement showing the final figure to pay, which will need to be cleared into our bank account at least one day before completion.

On completion day

The majority of Completions happen around midday on the specified date, although in practice takes place when the seller’s solicitor confirms that they have received all the money that is due. Once this happens the seller should drop the keys at the estate agents for your collection. This means that the conveyancing process is over, and you can move in.

The most common reasons for delays on the day of completion are:

All too often conveyancing solicitors draw down the mortgage funds for the day of completion which could mean you end up waiting for your mortgage lender to release the mortgage money. You should always ask your solicitor to draw down the mortgage advance the day before completion.

Delays in receiving the completion money from the buyer is often a challenge as buyers want to hold onto their money (accruing the interest) for as long as possible. The best advice is to make sure you send your completion monies the day before you are supposed to complete. The completion monies include:

• Balance of the purchase price of the property (less deposit and mortgage);
• Stamp duty (must be held by the solicitor before they can complete);
• Land registration fee;
• Solicitor’s legal fees; and
• Any other property associated costs (including, for leaseholds, ground rent, service charge apportionments and landlord notice fees). 

We can’t complete without being in receipt of the signed transfer documents  from you; some won’t even exchange without this. If you are selling and haven’t received your transfer document to sign (it normally is sent with your contract) then chase your solicitor for it – and never return this in normal post, always send it recorded delivery.

Waiting for your buyer to send their completion money can feel very frustrating as you have no way to speed the process up. What all too often happens is the bottom of the chain fails to draw down mortgage monies the day before completion or the buyer hasn’t sent in their completion monies. The best way to combat this is to make sure your estate agent and solicitors confirm that the buyer’s solicitors are in receipt of the mortgage and completion monies the day before completion.