It’s finally here! The day you say hello to your new property or wave goodbye to your old one. Here is everything you need to know about completion day.
How long does it take to buy or sell a house?
The timing from instruction to completion is quite varied, as each transaction has a unique set of circumstances. We can’t give you a precise and specific timescale; however, on average it takes approximately 8 to 12 weeks from the Memorandum of Sale going out to complete the transaction.
It can be a little quicker, or it may take a little longer. Even the smallest of chains involve surveyors, banks and mortgage providers, local authorities, planners, and the other side’s conveyancers.
We can assure you that on our end we always strive to carry out our duties in a quick, yet diligent manner, and the best way for you to help us achieve this, is to ensure your paperwork is in perfect working order.
It’s completion day! What time can I expect everything to go through?
There are a couple of things that need to happen in order for your completion to go through:
- The Vendor needs to have vacated the property.
- The Purchaser’s Advocate needs to have received all the monies, which they then need to forward to the Vendor’s Advocate.
- All the paperwork is ready.
On the day, we can’t guarantee the specific time a completion will go through; however, it typically tends to be around lunchtime, or just after, if the aforementioned circumstances have been met.
We always aim to complete as soon as possible, and for your peace of mind we will keep you updated on the status of the completion as it progresses.
When should I move out of my property?
The etiquette is for the Vendor to vacate the property as soon as possible on or before the day of completion. Remember, you need to have vacated before the sale can be completed.
We recommend you aim to leave your property by lunchtime at the latest on the day of completion. Don’t forget, we will need a set of keys to your sale property to hand over to the Purchasers upon completion.
When can I move into my new property? Where do I collect the keys from?
We will have the keys to your new property, which will be available upon completion unless other arrangements have been made (for example, via the Estate Agents). Before you can ‘buy’ the property it first has to have been ‘sold’, which can only happen once the Vendor has vacated the property, and monies have moved between Advocates. Once this has happened and the completion has gone through, we’ll let you know it is time to pick up the keys.
If you are in a chain this can be somewhat of a balancing act, but we try to ensure the ‘cross over’ wait is as short as possible.
What happens after completion?
After completion, there are a few final administrative steps to undertake.
Registering Ownership
Firstly, on or shortly after the day of completion we will need to witness all new owners’ signatures of the following documents:
- The Deed of Conveyance/the IOM Land Registry Transfer Form
- The Assignment of Lease
This needs to be completed in order for us to register your ownership with the Isle of Man Government. The best practice is to do this as promptly as possible, and please note in the case of unregistered properties there is a three-month deadline from the date of completion to do so.
Updating Title Documents
Our last job for you, and your lender if applicable, is to formally report to you with your registered title in your name(s).
We will also forward the original copies of any Building Control Completion Certificates and Planning Approval correspondence, together with any Guarantees or Certificates of Installation as passed to us from the Vendors’ conveyancers.
Ready To Start The Process?
There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to buying and selling a property, but you will be in experienced hands with Greg and Paul at the helm to guide you through the process. Get in touch now via our quote form to get a free quote, outlining all the costs involved with buying or selling
