Exchange and Completion
Appointing a solicitor
The best place to start looking for a good solicitor specialising in conveyancing is to ask family and friends for recommendations. That way you will have someone you can trust working on your behalf from the outset.
Get quotes from several solicitors and, make sure those quotes are 'like for like' so you can easily compare them with each other. If friends and family can't recommend someone, you can ask your mortgage lender, the Law Society or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
Exchanging
Before you exchange contracts, you will need to check with your solicitor that:
- you have a valid mortgage offer
- you are happy with the survey and
- there are no unresolved issues in the contract.
When your offer has been accepted and all the conveyancing (legal searches) have been done, your solicitor will send you the contract. This is called Exchanging Contracts, when you also agree to a Completion Date - the date the property becomes yours and pay your deposit through your solicitor. Remember, if you pull out after exchanging contracts, you will lose your deposit.
Make sure too that buildings insurance and any other insurance required is in place for the exchange date, not the later completion date. (Your solicitor will be able to advise you.) This insurance can be arranged by your lender or independently, however, it must be in place and is not optional.
The day of completion
It's customary for the buyer to get the keys to the new property after lunchtime on the day of completion in order to give the previous owners plenty of time to move out and clean before they leave. That same morning, your solicitor will transfer the rest of the money from your mortgage advisor to the vendor. Your solicitor will also pay your stamp duty (if applicable) if you haven't paid it already, or bill you for the amount.
Do I need to consider any other financial products?
Any property is a major asset, and is legally yours only by way of having promised to pay back a substantial loan over a number of years. You'll need to consider buying various other financial products to protect all the concerned parties.
- Buildings insurance helps protect you and the lender against damage to the property in the event of anything happening to it. Storm or flood damage and the repairs involved could cost you thousands without the appropriate insurance, something worth bearing in mind.
- Contents insurance protects all possessions within your home including the fixtures and fittings.
- Life assurance helps protect your dependants from having to meet the responsibility of your mortgage if you die.
- Protection products give you some protection in the event that you become unable to meet your mortgage repayments if you become ill and/or unable to work.
How long will it all take?
Official figures describing a typical timetable for a house sale in England and Wales look like this:
- Finding your ideal home to offer accepted: 12 weeks
- From offer acceptance to mortgage offer: 4 weeks
- From mortgage offer to exchange of contracts: 4 weeks
- From exchange of contracts to and move in: 2 weeks
It's worth noting that these are averages. There's a strong chance the process could take longer. Or, if you're lucky of course, then it could happen quicker.
Issues may arise during the survey and legal process that may have an impact on how long the process takes. Around 28% of accepted offers don't even reach completion and many sales can drag on for months, so don't be too downhearted if you're not walking across the threshold on week 22!
