Buyer suggesting exchange and complete on the same day??

[BrightGoldenHazeintheMeadow]

We are selling a house to a first time buyer. We have nothing to sell. The buyer has suggested completing and exchanging on the same day in a couple of weeks - we had proposed exchanging next week. I didn't know this was possible. Instinctively it feels wrong but maybe that's because I've never come across it before. Has anyone ever done this? Thanks.

@Sporranrummager

I'd always do this if at all possible, so I know the mortgage money is in the solicitor's bank account before I'm committed to buying. So simultaneous or two days in between. (I am a property solicitor btw)

Even in a chain involving several people?

@Cs80

There’s a Solomon Grundy or Craig David joke here somewhere

Yeah - they only met on Monday!

We did during our last move but not through choice. We had planned to exchange on the Wednesday and complete on the Thursday. Our blooming buyer didn’t answer her phone to her solicitor on the Wednesday to authorise the exchange. We eventually got hold of her at 8pm on the supposed day of exchange and explained to her the need to answer her phone to her solicitor to authorise it. We agreed to do it on the one day the next day. It was highly stressful as I was worried the same thing would happen again. My son was 3 weeks old at the time as he has been premature. Never again. Always going to push for a week between next time.

Thanks everyone - and thanks Mildura for the Covid factor explanation.

I've done it once. Never again. It was the most stressful day of my life.

Talk to your solicitor. This is the kind of [professional advice and service you are paying them to provide.

Easy if no one is actually moving on that day - e?g. Selling an empty property to someone in a rental.

Otherwise - ridiculously stressful. Can't confirm removals. Can't confirm post redirect, can't confirm utilities/council tax etc changeovers.

I exchanged and completed on the same day a couple of months ago, went smoothly but we were FTB

As most movers won't confirm dates until you've exchanged it is risky. I asked for two weeks between, for one thing i needed to know the sale was definitely going to go through before packing my life up. but on an empty investment flat it was simultaneous and that was fine.

We did this a few weeks ago. We were selling an empty house (previous BTL) so it didn't matter too much if it got pushed back or whatever. Not sure I'd have the nerves to do it if there was any kind of chain involved, nor any kind of moving out to be done!

Went v smoothly.

I've done it twice, both times "properly" moving and both times in a chain.
The first time was v stressful; the second (in Covid) all went smoothly.

Not ideal with a chain but ok otherwise.

My solicitor wanted to do it last year because of Covid. We refused as we were moving into rented and had to commit to the lease beforehand. So we had a 5 day space, exchanged Friday completed Wednesday and signed the lease Saturday. Very stressful. I suppose if you’re on a chain, the worst that happens is no one moves but you e still spent on removals etc. A vendor of a house we viewed had had a sale fall through as he agreed to simultaneous e&c. Packing stuff in the van when the call came through the buyer had changed her mind. Horrible.

Our buyer's buyer tried to pull that stunt on us, but we were not having any. It's totally stupid- people can't book removals or anything. We and our buyers had wanted three weeks, the offenders let everyone think that was okay, then just stalled and stalled to get their way (right before Christmas too, the **s- there was absolutely no justification for it). We ended up getting only a week, with the contracts going through on the last day possible before solicitors went home for Christmas, and as we were no chain, we booked our movers anyway before that and chanced it. Had we not had a great conveyancer and they had forced it to the wire, we'd just have told them to take a walk and told our buyers to find a new buyer, as we could have waited. Our poor buyers were struggling to find removers, and it looked like they would have to do it themselves. Its' totally bonkers. The old 'four weeks between contract and completion' custom was far and away more sensible for everyone.