What To Expect When Completing on a Property Purchase
It’s National Conveyancing Week this week, a week long campaign designed to help people better understand the conveyancing process. Today, in collaboration with Mike Dobson Estate Agency, we help you understand a little better what to expect when you are completing on a property purchase.
So, you’ve exchanged contracts and completion day has finally arrived! But what is completion and what should you expect?
What is Completion?
Completion is arguably one of the most important stages of the conveyancing process after exchange of contracts. Legally, it is the final part of the buying process, when the property ownership is transferred from the seller to the buyer.
This is the day that the seller must vacate the property. The contract which both the seller and buyer sign, has certain provisions called “special conditions”. These conditions contain information such as what time the property has to be empty by. Your solicitor will make you aware when sending documents for signing, what time you need to vacate by.
Practically, completion is the day you receive your keys to your new home and move in to the property.
When is Completion Day?
When exchange of contracts takes place, the contract is dated with the completion date agreed by the chain. Your solicitor will have discussed this date with you in advance and you will have agreed that date is suitable for you. Completion is always on a weekday, so the money is transferred and the transaction confirmed on the same day.
Friday is usually a popular option, giving the buyers enough time to move in and unpack over the weekend. You can usually find us lawyers having a very busy Friday!
One Week Count Down To Completion!
Mike Dobson Estate Agent recommends that if you choose them as your agent for your move, you can be assured of top quality service. A week before your move, we will send you a handy check list with tips and things to remember, such as:
- Who you need to notify that you have moved home (banks, doctors, post office etc);
- Ensuring you have arranged a mail redirect;
- Paying all outstanding home bills, including milk, window cleaner and gardener;
- Making arrangements for young children for the day of completion – no one wants an overly tired toddler whilst trying to juggle boxes;
- Look after your pets by using proper pet carriers for them to travel in.
Mike Dobson also advise to touch base with the seller a few days before completion to discuss the keys and when to hand them over. Similarly, they also speak with the buyer to advise them that on completion day, they will let them know once they have heard from the sellers solicitors releasing the keys.
What Happens on Completion Day?
Step 1 – Funds are sent from the buyers solicitor to the sellers solicitor. We are in the hands of the banking system, so unfortunately we cant provide a time completion will take place.
If you have just a purchase, then funds are sent to the sellers solicitors early morning, as we already have your mortgage funds. Where we can, we ask for the lender to send the mortgage funds to us the day before. So we can send the purchase monies out as early as possible on completion day.
Step 2 – Once the Funds are received it is the sellers solicitors job to then call the buyers solicitor and advise them that money has landed. They also then call their client to let them know and check how they are getting on with vacating the property. The sellers solicitor will then call the agent to advise that keys can be released.
Step 3 – Key collection & paperwork. Mike Dobson Estate Agency advises that on completion, once we get the call from the sellers solicitors, that’s when we give the buyers a call and advise either that we have the keys and they can collect or that the seller is still packing up and the keys will be dropped off shortly.
So, we’ve advised you that completion has taken place. In the background, we will also be dealing with repaying your existing mortgage lender and paying agents fees. If you are buying, submitting your stamp duty form and putting in place any indemnity polices.
What Happens After Completion?
After completion takes place, your solicitor is then tasked with updating the Land Registry. This is when the property register changes from seller to buyer. This can take a significant amount of time depending on the transaction type, as we have to wait for Land Registry to process the application.
Contact us
☎️ Call our Wakefield office on 01924 290 029
☎️ Call our Garforth office on 0113 246 4423
☎️ Call our Sherburn in Elmet office on 01977 350 500
☎️ Call our Mapplewell office on 01226 339 009
☎️ Call our Ossett office on 01924 586 466
The content of this blog post is for information only and does not constitute formal legal advice and should not be relied upon as advice. Thornton Jones Solicitors Limited accepts no liability for any such reliance upon this content. Where the post includes links to external websites, Thornton Jones Solicitors Limited accepts no responsibility for the content of such sites. Any link to a third-party website should not be construed as endorsement by Thornton Jones Solicitors Limited of any content, products or services which are outside our direct control.
My Mortgage Offer Has Been Issued – What Are The Next Steps?
It’s National Conveyancing Week this week, a week long campaign designed to help people better understand the conveyancing process. Today, with the help of Luke Senior of Just Mortgages, we explain what the next steps are once your mortgage offer has been issued.
A Mortgage Offer is the final step of the application process and is processed once the Lender has carried out their final checks and is happy to proceed. The offer is official confirmation that the bank will lend you the monies which have been applied for to purchase a property.
The mortgage offer, once finalised, will be issued to you and ourselves as your acting solicitor. As your Conveyancing Solicitor we will carry out a review of the offer which will include:
- We’ll check the accuracy of the mortgage offer – We will check the correct full names are noted on the offer as per your ID documentation and that the property address is correct as per the Title Information Document from Land Registry.
- We’ll check the advance we are to receive from the lender on completion – We will check this is the amount you were expecting to borrow and that we have source of funds for the remainder of the purchase price you are to contribute.
- We’ll check any special conditions of the lender that we as solicitors are to adhere to – For example, if there is an occupier who is to reside at the property the lender will usually require them to sign a waiver to waive any rights over the property prior to completion. The offer may also have conditions referring to repayment of other mortgages/debts that we are to ensure have been repaid by you either before or at the time of completion. We will make you aware of any special conditions upon review of the offer.
- We’ll check the expiry date of the mortgage offer – the offer will have a date it is valid until, which is usually either three or six months dependant on the lender. We will note the expiry date as a guideline for the latest possible date when completion needs to take place by. Hopefully completion can take place well before this, but in some circumstances for example if the matter is complicated and additional legal work needs to be done, there is a long chain or if the property is still being built the mortgage offer may expire.
What if my Mortgage Offer is Due to Expire?
If your mortgage offer is due to expire then it’s important that you meet with your mortgage advisor to discuss our options. Luke Senior from Just Mortgages in his best practise states:
I will communicate with your solicitor during the buying process, and if there are any concerns around being able to complete prior to the expiry of your mortgage offer, the acting solicitor will make me aware . Some mortgage lenders allow you to extend the offer by a month, others will require you to make a new application – which may lead to a change in interest rate and monthly payments”
Luke Senior of Just Mortgages
Can I Make Changes to the Mortgage Offer After it Has Been Issued?
Administrative changes can readily be made before we complete. However, some changes regarding the rate and product would need to be reviewed depending on whether you have time. Luke Senior from Just Mortgages says the rates of interest and products that lenders offer change frequently, especially at the moment and the interest rate each lender is charging can increase or decrease week by week. He keeps an eye on the interest rate your Lender is currently offering, and if the rate decreases from the rate in your current mortgage offer will make you aware, or other preferential alternatives on the market place.
If you intend to apply for more beneficial products or a lower interest rate you will need to check with the solicitor to ascertain the position of the conveyancing transaction and whether there is time to secure the new offer. We will require the mortgage offer you intend to proceed with to be in place prior to exchange of contracts.
How is the Money From the Lender Received?
Once a completion date is agreed we will submit a request to the lender for the mortgage advance which will be released directly to our solicitor’s account.
Most lenders require five working days’ notice as a minimum to release the funds, but we will check this at the outset when the offer is received so we are aware of your lender’s requirements.
The mortgage advance is generally requested for the day before completion, as the lender cannot guarantee the time the funds will be released. If the monies are requested the day before we can ensure all funds are with us in readiness for completion the following day to avoid any issues or waiting time.
Contact us
☎️ Call our Wakefield office on 01924 290 029
☎️ Call our Garforth office on 0113 246 4423
☎️ Call our Sherburn in Elmet office on 01977 350 500
☎️ Call our Mapplewell office on 01226 339 009
☎️ Call our Ossett office on 01924 586 466
The content of this blog post is for information only and does not constitute formal legal advice and should not be relied upon as advice. Thornton Jones Solicitors Limited accepts no liability for any such reliance upon this content. Where the post includes links to external websites, Thornton Jones Solicitors Limited accepts no responsibility for the content of such sites. Any link to a third-party website should not be construed as endorsement by Thornton Jones Solicitors Limited of any content, products or services which are outside our direct control.
