Completion day is a huge milestone in the house-buying process. The end is now in sight and you’ll soon be able to move in and start your new life in your new home. After weeks, and sometimes months, of waiting, it can be a big relief to finally get to completion day. But what exactly will happen on completion day, and how can you ensure everything goes smoothly? Find out, with our guide below.
What Happens on Completion Day?
On completion day, the money will be transferred to complete the purchase of the property. Usually, the mortgage lender will have transferred the funds to your solicitors a few days prior. On completion day, the solicitor will then transfer the funds on to the seller. Once the money has been received, the sale is complete, the keys will be exchanged, and you can move into your new home!
How to Avoid Problems on Completion Day
The key to a successful completion day is to plan ahead. There are a lot of parties involved in your completion day – including your solicitor, the bank, the seller, your removals company, and anyone else that might be buying property ahead of you in a chain. Whilst you won’t be able to control what other people do, you can help to avoid anything going wrong by ensuring you have organised your responsibilities.
Get Clear Timings from the Bank
When dealing with such large sums of money, banks can sometimes take some time to process the transfers. These delays can be further extended depending on how far along the property chain you are. For example, if the first bank in the chain takes over an hour to process the payment, each following transfer in the chain will also be delayed.
Whilst there isn’t much you can do to speed this along, you should make sure to speak to your solicitor and the bank to confirm how long your own payment could take. This could help you to organise the day better and prevent any unforeseen setbacks.
Be Contactable All Day
You should keep your mobile phone on you at all times during completion day. Your solicitor and estate agent will need to contact you to confirm what’s happening and they may even need to check details with you before completion. If you can ensure you’re available all day to speak to any necessary parties, you can help to reduce any delays that might arise.
You should also try to keep in contact with your solicitors, especially if you haven’t heard from them for a while. It can be helpful to check-in with them every now and then to make sure things are running smoothly.
Keep Your Paperwork to Hand
You should keep all relevant paperwork with you during completion day. This will mean that you’ll have all the information to hand should you need it at any point throughout the day. It might be helpful to keep copies of all your paperwork together in a folder, including copies of contracts, information about the property, and your solicitor and estate agent’s contact details.
Use a Reliable Removals Company
Delays on completion day can occasionally be caused by issues with removals companies. This can result in you not even being able to move on completion day if the removals company hasn’t been able to move your belongings to your new home for various reasons such as availability, staff illness, late arrival on moving day or double-booking. While some of this is often not the direct fault of the removal company, using a firm with a large network of offices like Britannia does provide additional options allowing us to work around last-minute hitches and provide quick solutions.
Britannia Movers is the largest independent moving group in the UK and we have decades of experience successfully moving our customers across town, across the country, and even across the world. Our unrivalled customer service will ensure moving your belongings on completion day goes smoothly. Plus, we offer a range of services, including a pre-move survey, specialist packing, and loading and unloading your items. We can also provide secure storage solutions, which can be especially helpful if you face any delays with money transfers or problems in the chain which can delay your move.
If you’re planning a move, Britannia Movers International is the UK’s leading removals company. We offer a full range of professional and reliable removals and storage services, whether you’re moving across the country or overseas. Contact us to find out more information or get a Quick Quote for an idea of cost.
