Completion day is the last step in the buying and selling process. On this date, which will have been agreed upon in advance by both parties, the title deed of the property being sold will be transferred to the buyer and they will become the legal owner. The keys will be given to the buyer on this day too meaning the seller will move out and allow the new owners to move in.
However, before any type of moving in or out can happen, funds must be transferred between the conveyancing team of both the buyer and seller. The completion funds include a range of different sources of money. These include the balance of the purchase price of the property, stamp duty, legal fees, land registration fees and any other costs such as leaseholds or landlord notice fees.These funds are usually transferred in the morning and as a seller your conveyancer will notify you when they have received payment from the buyer’s conveyancers. As soon as funds have been received, completion has legally occurred.
The receiving of funds allows estate agents to be contacted in order for the keys to the property to be handed over to the buyer. At this point, the conveyancers of both parties will contact their clients to let them know that completion has taken place and that the buyer is able to collect the keys to their new home. The seller will be expected to promptly move out and vacate the property.
Completion day can run on different timescales according to whether or not a chain is involved in the process. Nevertheless, it should still be a stress-free and easy experience for all the buyers and sellers involved as everyone’s legal teams will strive to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Normally, if there is a chain of multiple sellers and buyers, the process will begin with the first buyer at around 11am and end at approximately 4pm. There of course can be variations and complications which arise and potentially cause some delays but this a rough time scale on which completion days run. Most conveyancers will try to finish all proceedings before 3:30pm as this is a cut-off time for same day bank transfer systems.
In terms of the best day to complete on and allow the smooth running of all these steps, most people choose a Friday. This is because they would then have the whole weekend to move in with ease. However, due to this ease, Fridays are in high demand and removal costs can be inflated due to this.
As you have seen, completion day is the final and most important step in the buying and selling process. It is the day when you can finally move into your new property as its legal and rightful owner and this should all be possible after a chain of efficiently carried out transfers and checks by your solicitors.
Other losses will also inevitably be experienced by the party who did not choose to pull out. They are freely able to take the other party to Court and sue them for breaching the contract and claim these other losses. These losses can be extremely varied but can include conveyancing fees, mortgage costs and rental and legal charges incurred due to the extension or renewal of a previous lease.
