Completion day when buying a house in the UK

Completion is the most exciting but also the most stressful day in the entire process of buying a house in the UK. It is on this day that your journey to your dream home will come to an end. However, it is worth remembering that completion is much more than just picking up the keys to your new property. We hope that this post will prepare you well for this important moment and ensure that you do not forget anything important.

What is completion?

Completion is the official procedure for the legal transfer of property ownership. From that day onwards, you become the legal owner. Although the handover of keys is now symbolic and refers to the medieval custom of handing over pieces of turf or twigs from a tree,** it is still necessary for the parties to the transaction to meet in person and transfer possession of the keys**. This is a formal requirement accompanying every property transaction in the UK and, interestingly, in the 19th century, it was the transfer of keys that signified the completion of the transaction.

What happens on the day of completion?

As we mentioned, completion is essentially a series of events that must occur within a single day. These are:

Conclusion of the agreement

The whole point of completion is, of course, to conclude a property sale agreement, which is, in a sense, a continuation of the exchange of contracts. From that day onwards, you can call yourself the owner of your home.

Transfer of money

Your solicitor or conveyancer will transfer the money to the vendor’s solicitor. Both the mortgage money and your deposit will be transferred.

Key handover

Usually, the estate agent is responsible for handing over the keys, but this can also be done by the previous owner of the house or their solicitor. As this is a fairly symbolic act, you do not need to worry about other keys, such as those for the gate or the garage door remote control.

Taking care of formalities

Your solicitor will also take care of the formalities related to the transaction. Their responsibilities include paying Stamp Duty Land Tax and registering you with the Land Registry. You will also need to take readings from the water, gas and electricity meters so that you can later change the utility accounts – after all, the bills will be issued to you, not the previous owner of the property.

The most common problems with completion

It is worth being aware that on this day, many things can go wrong and you need to be prepared for that.

Delays in payments

If the transfer is ordered too late, the seller may not receive their money on time. Of course, this means that the transaction will be delayed by several hours or even a whole day. No one will decide to hand over the keys to you if they have not received payment.

To avoid delays, it is important to ensure that the transfer is ordered on time. Your solicitor can set the date in advance, and more cautious solicitors arrange for the mortgage funds to be paid out a few days in advance.

No property insurance

Remember thatproperty insurance must be active at the time of exchange of contracts, not completion. Purchase your policy well in advance – we will be happy to help you with this!

Delays in chain transactions

A chain transaction is a situation in which several people coordinate their completions in such a way as to purchase a new property using the proceeds from the sale of their previous house or flat. As you can imagine, in such situations, all transactions must take place on the same day, which is not easy.

Chain transactions occasionally break down. This is most often due to delays in payments, problems with organising the move, and sometimes also due to one of the participants in the process withdrawing. However, it is worth knowing that if the delay is your fault, you may suffer the consequences, including financial ones.

How to prepare for completion day in the UK so that it goes smoothly?

Completion will definitely be stressful – there’s no way around it. However, you can avoid some worries if you take care of these few things:

Search for properties on the primary market

The fact is that buying a flat or house from a developer is much simpler, because you do not have to adapt to the seller’s availability and you do not participate in a chain transaction. Although less stress does not justify choosing a property from the primary market instead of the secondary market, it is certainly a very strong argument in favour of this option.

Pay for everything before the deadline.

We strongly recommend that you pay your deposit a few days before completion. Your solicitor will need to collect it from you anyway, and the sooner this happens, the lower the risk that it will not reach the seller on time. The same applies to the mortgage payment itself – make sure that it is scheduled for the right date and that no delays are expected.

If possible, try to pay the solicitor’s fees, stamp duty and Land Registry fees before the transaction takes place. This is one less thing to worry about after you move in.

Plan your move in advance

It is difficult to count the number of cases in which our customers have had problems organising their move. This is especially evident when a family buys their first home. Remember that you will most likely have to take more things than you think, which can be difficult if you decide not to use the services of a removal company.

Unless you have very limited resources, it is definitely worth using the services of a removal company. Problems with transporting furniture and clothes are the last thing you want to deal with during completion, and unfortunately, they are inevitable.

Make a list of things to check.

Taking notes really helps. So, if you have agreed with the seller that specific furniture will remain in the house, make a list of it and make sure that nothing is missing. Write down the readings of all meters and notify your utility providers that you have purchased a new property. Many people also extend their checklists to include tasks to be done after completion, such as obtaining a copy of the Land Registry entry confirmation, changing the address on documents, and carrying out minor repairs.

What day should the completion day be set for?

**First of all, it should not be a Friday. **Although this day of the week is chosen most often, lawyers strongly advise against it. This is obviously due to the fact that if a problem arises that prevents the transaction from being completed on the same day, the parties will have to wait until Monday. Equally important, if on the day of purchase or shortly thereafter it turns out, for example, that you need urgent help from an electrician, plumber or roofer, such a service will probably be more expensive.

Since you will have to take a day off work anyway, it is worth considering midweek days, such as Tuesday or Wednesday, for completion. There is a much better chance that you will find an inexpensive removal team for this date, and the risk of delays in the transfer is as low as possible. You will most likely be able to cope with your belongings packed in boxes for 2-3 days, and you can simply spend the weekend unpacking them.

It is worth mentioning that it is very unlikely that the completion will take place on a Saturday or Sunday, mainly due to payment system restrictions.