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Original poster

Exchange and completion on same day, when mid chain with small kids

12 replies

Hungry675tf · 13/09/2021 17:01

Looking like this may become a reality for us this week. Although I'll believe it when I see it.

How awful is it? I've done it before as a FTB with no kids and two weeks left on my tenancy and that was a piece of cake. This feels...different.

We've booked removals and reckon about 1/3 of the house is packed. Any tips to make it slightly less horrific?

What happens if it all goes to shit at 5pm on Friday? Do we just have to unload the van and sob?

OP posts:
maxiflump1 · 13/09/2021 17:10

We did it just after the first lockdown last may. Due to the uncertainty at the time we were advised exchange and completion to be done on the same day. We also couldn't have anyone look after the kids (aged 5 and 1) as there were still restrictions in place. It was very stressful! My top tip would be to pay the removal company to pack for you if you can afford it as it takes so much stress out of it. On the day me and the kids just left first thing and spent the day out whilst DH and the removal company packed it all up. Then we all sat outside the new house (lorry and all) praying that it would all work out! Good luck OP.

Original poster
Hungry675tf · 13/09/2021 19:00

Thanks @maxiflump1 we definitely can't afford to pay someone to pack for us, but we do have time off work to do it. I'm having nightmares about it all falling through once we have a van loaded with stuff

OP posts:
Wandamakesporridge · 13/09/2021 19:28

I did it with 3 kids - but we had the movers pack everything for us which was fantastic (I had given birth 10 days before and had stitches so was not in a good state to be packing boxes!). Our removal company were amazing and had it all packed up by about 10am!

I also paid for a cleaner to come for a couple of hours once they had finished packing up - we had already cleaned most of it but it’s surprising what you find when you start moving furniture out ….

You need to have a plan for where you can hang out for the day - think where you will have lunch and dinner - have everything you need, spare clothes for kids / nappy bags / drinks / snacks / toys etc. Fortunately I had friends who lived near so we went to their house for a bit. Then as the other poster said we sat in the car outside the new house praying it would all go ok.

Unfortunately, our vendors had booked a crappy removal company and they took so long to load they weren’t out until 7pm… that was quite stressful with 3 tired kids….

Original poster
Hungry675tf · 13/09/2021 19:35

Unfortunately, our vendors had booked a crappy removal company and they took so long to load they weren’t out until 7pm… that was quite stressful with 3 tired kids….

That sounds like a nightmare! The kids will be at school in theory, and I can take them out for tea easily enough. Our removals company seem fab, but yes hadn't factored in the issue at the other end if they're shit!

OP posts:
mountains76 · 13/09/2021 19:42

Which party is pushing for completion and exhange on the same day? It's an awful idea tbh, and just adds exrta complexity to an already stressful transaction. Failures to exhange happen all the time, I would ask for a week between the two.

maofteens · 14/09/2021 06:56

I did have two weeks between exchange and completion (on my insistence) and was packed, cleaned and out by noon. I was going to a hotel and stuff to storage as not buying straight away, which thank goodness was the case because there was a hitch down the chain and we did not complete at all that day! It was a Friday so in the end we didn't complete til mid Monday. I was entitled to interest but as it wasn't my buyers fault I didn't ask fir it. But the house was empty , still and I was paying for a hotel, dogs with friends etc etc. It would have been worse if I had been planning to move straight into another house, so I was saved that nightmare.
So with all the will and planning it can still go wrong, so have a back up plan, and don't complete on a Friday!

alwayswrighty · 14/09/2021 07:25

We had to exchange and complete the same day mid chain. It was 2 days before complete lockdown last year.

The FTB at the bottom of the chain solicitor hadn't requested funds for that day so we had to wait until 3.45pm for confirmation we'd sold and then it was 5pm before we got confirmation the purchase had gone through. We were discussing key indemnity as we got the call (Estate Agent was a friend).

Only thing I will say is make sure you've booked all day removals.

PenguinWings · 15/09/2021 11:01

We did it as a chain of 7.
Our buyers were waiting to move in and our vendors weren't out yet, they were still loading the removal van. We agreed at about 4pm to move out and complete on the house we were selling to break the chain.

Then there was a problem, the vendors decided after 10 days of pissing around that they weren't going to move after all and we had a month of staying in my parents' 2 bedroom house with our 2 kids and all our stuff in storage. We're in a rented house now.

I wouldn't do it like that again.

Original poster
Hungry675tf · 15/09/2021 11:20

@PenguinWings

We did it as a chain of 7. Our buyers were waiting to move in and our vendors weren't out yet, they were still loading the removal van. We agreed at about 4pm to move out and complete on the house we were selling to break the chain.

Then there was a problem, the vendors decided after 10 days of pissing around that they weren't going to move after all and we had a month of staying in my parents' 2 bedroom house with our 2 kids and all our stuff in storage. We're in a rented house now.

I wouldn't do it like that again.

That is absolutely horrifying. I feel a bit traumatised just reading itFlowers
OP posts:
Peanutsandchilli · 15/09/2021 11:22

We did it with a week old baby. I won't say it wasn't stressful, but it will just fall into place. Get as much help as possible and don't leave any packing until the last minute. There's more than you think!

TakeYourFinalPosition · 15/09/2021 11:25

We’ll have to do this, I think, if our chain doesn’t collapse. I’m not looking forward to it but our solicitor has said it was commonplace throughout the pandemic, as the risk of someone getting infected and having to isolate in the house was higher, so they’re well versed in it now.

We’ll push for an early exchange & completion time to give us as long as possible to get in, and we’re hoping to go for Thursday instead of Friday so we’ve got a “back up day” before the weekend if we need it.

Paranoidandroidmarvin · 15/09/2021 12:03

There are lots of storage places that do one months free rental. So keep that in mind if u need to store stuff in a pinch. Though I suppose you would have to go home and unpack if there was a real problem. Ugh. This is awful for you. I’m sorry.

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