Buying A Property: Completion
So you’ve got to the end of the buying process and that dream home is almost yours. We’ll now take you through all you need to know about the all-important completion day, when the house officially becomes yours! Before you can collect your keys, your solicitor just needs to transfer the due balance of money (the purchase price minus your deposit) to the seller’s solicitors, and it’s done.
You’d think it should be straightforward. And, usually, it is. But it’s also possible for problems to arise on completion day, which could cause delays. In this section, we’ll look at:
Information about completion day:
- The best day for completion
- Time of day you expect to complete
- What could go wrong?
What you need to set up your home ready for when you move in:
- Buildings and home insurance
- Energy supply
- Things to do when you move in
Research shows that, 28% of house moves happen on a Friday. The second most popular day to move is a Saturday, at 17%. [1]
What is the best day for completion?
You don’t always have control over which day you complete. However, most people try to make it a Friday, for the obvious reason that it gives them the weekend to unpack and settle into their new home without taking too much time off work.
On the other hand, there is no right or wrong so we’ve listed a few reasons why moving on a Friday isn’t always best:
- The popularity of Friday for moving means that removals companies are busier. Even if this doesn’t hike up their cost, it means you need to book them well in advance.
- Estate agents might be busier, too, so collecting keys could take longer.
- If you find an unexpected problem with your new home, finding a tradesman to fix it could prove difficult and/or expensive so close to/over the weekend.
- It’s possible that banking systems might get overloaded, increasing the risk of delays in the money transfer process.
What time of day could it happen?
As with many parts of buying a house, it’s impossible to know exactly when you’ll be able to pick up your keys. However, if you’re a first-time buyer at the bottom of a chain, it’s typically (assuming everything goes smoothly) around mid-morning.
You’re probably asking why there can never be an exact time? Well you need to know what happens behind the scenes to understand fully where things can get delayed…
The completion process usually starts with your solicitor transmitting the required money (the sale price minus your deposit) to the seller’s solicitor. Once it’s received, they’ll send the necessary legal documents to your solicitor, who’ll then pay any taxes that are due (e.g. stamp duty, Land Registry) and register you as the new owner of the property.
So the completion process can’t start until the money from you (the buyer) reaches the seller’s solicitor. This means your solicitor has to both:
- Act promptly on completion day.
- Encounter no technical or legal problems.
What could go wrong?
Although completion goes smoothly for most people, things might go wrong. We’ve put together a list of the most common problems so you can be as prepared as possible and hopefully avoid them:
Money transfer issues
- Before your purchase is completed, your solicitor must transfer the outstanding amount (the sale price minus the deposit) to your seller’s solicitor. This means your solicitor must have the necessary funds from your lender. If this is left to the last minute, delays might occur. If you’re worried about this happening, you could ask your solicitor to confirm that they have the mortgage advance on the day before completion.
Busy solicitors
- Of course, your solicitor should have their full attention on your purchase, but they are likely to be busy and they’re only human – mistakes could be made. A polite early phone call to your solicitors to ask when the transfer is taking place is a diplomatic way of making sure they have their eye on the ball.
What happens if I don’t complete on completion day?
Thankfully, it’s rare that this happens. But if something goes wrong at your end, you could be served a ‘Notice to Complete’ by the seller’s solicitor. This gives you a period (usually 10 working days) to finalise completion. During this period, you’ll be ‘fined’ a daily rate of interest (normally 4% above the Bank of England Base Rate) on the outstanding sum [2].
For example, if the property value is £200,000 and you paid a 10% deposit but fail to complete on the day of completion, then you’ll be liable to pay interest on the unpaid £180,000. You could also be charged an administration fee for the Notice to Complete.
If you fail to complete within the 10 days, the contract of sale could be rescinded, and you could lose your deposit.
Setting up your new home
If you haven’t already arranged home insurance, you might want to consider adding it to the top of your ‘to do’ list. There are a couple of different types which we’ve described below, but basically home insurance falls into two categories:
Buildings insurance
This covers the cost of rebuilding your house from scratch, including labour and materials, should it be destroyed by a disaster such as a fire or a flood. It usually includes:
- The house itself (including roof)
- Permanent fixtures, such as kitchen and bathroom fittings
- Outdoor buildings such as garages, sheds and greenhouses (but not fences, walls and gates)
Note that, although buildings insurance isn’t a legal requirement, most people have it. In fact, it’s common for your mortgage provider to make it a condition of your loan that you take out a buildings insurance policy. If this is the case, you could need to take out a policy at exchange and not completion. Have a good look for the best deal – your mortgage provider cannot force you to take out a policy with them or a preferred provider.
Find more about buildings insurance, including a rebuilding cost calculator, at the Association of British Insurers.
Contents insurance
As the term suggests, this covers your belongings, such as furniture, electrical goods, carpets and curtains if they are damaged, destroyed or stolen.
Contents insurance is completely optional, but is could be very useful should you be the victim of an event such as a burglary or flood. Without it, replacing your possessions could be costly.
You should be able to estimate the cost of insuring your contents by moving from room to room around your house and adding up the total value of all the items in each room. Don’t forget to include any contents in your loft or basement if you have one, and any contents in your garden, garage, shed and outbuildings. It all counts.
Cheapest doesn’t always equal best – so always read the small print of the policy and weigh up what’s right for you and your home.
Energy supply
In all the stress and excitement of buying your first home, one thing that’s often (and understandably) overlooked is the need to sort out utilities like gas and electricity.
Of course, when you first move in, you’ll probably be getting both of these, but are you getting the best deal?
The answer to this is “probably not”. In fact, if you haven’t made any arrangements, you’re likely to be on the existing energy supplier’s most expensive tariff! This is because, when the previous owners moved out, the energy provider to that address could have automatically switched you onto a ‘standard variable’ tariff, in order to ensure continuation of supply. This is often the supplier’s most expensive rate.
To make sure you’re not paying over the odds, online price comparison tools are really helpful to see a range of prices. Also don’t worry- you can always switch energy suppliers and so as long as you are off the expensive ‘standard’ tariff, you are on the right track! When you move in, it’s important to take a meter reading on the day so that you aren’t charged for any previous owner’s energy [3]. To keep the bills down, it also helps to send a meter reading each month to your energy supplier to make sure your payments are more accurate.
Things to do after you move in
For all home movers, whether first time buyers or not, there’s a million things to do, and it can feel quite overwhelming. Here’s a list of a few things worth dealing with sooner rather than later when you move in to keep everything in check:
- Change of address notification – Notify banks, insurance providers and any other financial institutions of your new address. You may also want to consider setting up a redirection service with the Royal Mail for three or six months. It costs from £33.99 (for three months) per surname [4].
- Change address on vehicle log book (V5C) if you have a car– You can be fined up to £1000 [5] if you don’t tell the DVLA when you change address, so this is definitely worth sorting soon!
- Check your belongings for breakage – If you hired a removal company, you’ll have a limited time to report any suspected damage or missing items.
- Take meter readings – This is part of the process of sorting out your energy suppliers, we’ve got more information on this in the energy supply section above.
- Make sure you’ll be able to find your fuse box, RCD consumer unit and stop cock- These are always good to know in case of any issues you come across with the water or electrics.
- Check the smoke detectors – Find all the smoke detectors in the property and make sure they’re in working order.
- Sort out parking – Do you need a resident’s permit? If so you’ll need to apply to your local authority for one.
- Waste and recycling collections – Make sure you know the frequency and times of waste and recycling collections in your postcode. This can usually be found on your local authority website.
Where next?
If you’ve exchanged contracts and know your completion day, you’ll need to start thinking about your move. But should you do this yourself or get professional help? Read more in the next section to help you figure out what is best for you.
Appendix
- Home Owners Alliance – What is the best day to move house?
- Home Owners Alliance – I was due to complete today but no money transferred from my buyer – what next?
- Citizens Advice – Moving home – dealing with your energy supply
- Royal Mail – Moving home: Redirection
- GOV.UK – Change your address or name on your vehicle log book (V5C)
Additional Sources
- MoneySavingExpert – Moving home checklist – 9th April 2019
