Completing The Sale
What is completion?
Completion is the final stage in the conveyancing process. At completion the balance of the purchase price is paid by the buyer, and the sellers, in exchange for the money, transfer the title by completing the transfer or conveyance.
How is the completion date set?
The completion date is set by a negotiation between the parties at the time of exchange of contracts. A completion date is agreed between the seller and the buyer through their solicitors and inserted in the contract, and that becomes the completion date.
As the buyer, how should I prepare for completion?
If you are a buyer, you need to prepare for completion by making sure that all the monies are in place with your solicitor. That may mean you will have to sign mortgage deeds and other mortgage papers in preparation for completion, and that you'll also have to submit the balance of the purchase price to your solicitor. He or she will tell you how much is required.
As the seller, how should I prepare for completion?
As the seller, you should prepare for completion by making sure that you're packed up and ready to remove from the property. You should also make sure that you've signed the transfer or deed of conveyance in preparation for completion, and that your solicitor has everything from you that he or she needs to complete.
What final checks should the buyer's solicitor make?
The final checks that a buyer's solicitor should make are threefold. First of all, the buyer's solicitor will carry out a final Land Registry search to check that there aren't any hidden encumbrances. Secondly, if the buyer's solicitor is also acting for the buyer's lender, the buyer's solicitor will want to check on the financial position of the buyer: that the buyer is not bankrupt, because a bankrupt can't borrow money. And the third element the buyer's solicitor should check that someone goes to the subject property to make sure it's in the condition that the buyer expects it to be in, for example there aren't any squatters in it.
As the buyer, what payments do I need to make on completion?
As the buyer, you won't need to make any payments on completion because all the payments you will have made will have been made prior to that time. You will have given all of the funds to your solicitor to enable your solicitor to complete, which will mean that at completion all the payments that are necessary to finalise the conveyance and transaction will be made.
What happens to the money from the sale?
The money from the sale is received by the seller's solicitors. Out of the money from the sale, the solicitor will pay off any mortgage redemption money that is due to any lenders, and then they will pass the remaining money from the sale to the seller.
What final arrangements do the solicitors make after completion?
After completion, the seller's solicitor will make a final account to their client for the net sale proceeds. But the buyer's solicitor will have a lot more final arrangements to make. After completion, a buyer has to pay any stamp duty land tax that there may be payable on the property, and once that's been paid, the buyer's solicitor must then register the transfer of ownership from the seller to the new owners, the buyers.
