Conveyancing what happens at completion

 

 

Conveyancing what happens at completion

 

 

What happens on completion day of any house or flat sale is the same, however there are a number of things that can go wrong or that cause delays leading to you not moving in until late in the day, or sometimes not at all. On the day of completion the buyer's solicitor sends to the seller's solicitor the balance of the purchase price (as 10% deposit is normally paid on exchange of contracts). Once received the seller's solicitor releases the keys to the buyer.

You can choose to complete on any day that both the seller and the buyer agree to (read more on how long between exchange and completion).Most people choose Friday as their completion day so they can tie in moving in with the weekend; maximising the time to unpack and get their life in order. However, with Friday being in such high demand, you can find the cost of removals are alot more than any other day of the week. If you have the capacity to do so, choosing a Monday or a Tuesday to complete can save on removal costs and your solicitor is less likely to be busy.

 

Another issue of completing on a Friday is that if you do fail to complete, you have to wait until Monday before you can complete which means the breaching party is covering the other party's costs over the weekend.

 

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

 

1.       No Mortgage Money

 

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.

 

2.       No Completion Money

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).

3.       No Signed Documents

You solicitor 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.

 

4.       No Money From Buyers

 

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