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Original poster

Time from exchange to completion.

32 replies

kitchen1 · 30/09/2022 23:36

What is the normal time period from exchange of contracts to completion? Who decides in practice how long it should be?

We are downsizing so obviously need to get rid of some furniture before we move. On the other hand we want to keep the house looking furnished in case the sale falls through.

Also need time to confirm removal company booking.

OP posts:
Jarstastic · 01/10/2022 00:35

2-4 weeks seems fairly commonplace. We’ve just got over 4 weeks due to giving notice on our rental but the top of chain who is moving in with family also wanted 4 weeks to pack up, use their preferred moving company etc

DramaAlpaca · 01/10/2022 01:22

My parents hsve just sold their house and will have a week between exchange and completion.

TheMadGardener · 01/10/2022 01:23

Last time we moved it was a week.

Skiingwithgin · 01/10/2022 01:46

I got 2 days notice in 2919, my sibling exchanged and completed the same day in 2021 so I think it’s a how long is a piece of string sort of thing

Monty27 · 01/10/2022 03:05

I think it's pretty good much what works best and agreed by everyone. Amicably I would hope.

Twiglets1 · 01/10/2022 05:59

The time period is agreed by everyone in the chain but is normally 1-4 weeks.
There is such a thing as simultaneous exchange & completion but that’s very stressful so I wouldn’t recommend. As you have furniture to dispose of I would try for 4 weeks but as I say, you don’t necessarily get what you want as everyone in the chain has to agree to the same date.

eurochick · 01/10/2022 06:05

I've done same day for my past two moves. It's absolutely awful. I said never again after the first time but through various circumstances we ended up having to do it again for our last move or have the whole thing fall apart.

Twiglets1 · 01/10/2022 06:09

eurochick · 01/10/2022 06:05

I've done same day for my past two moves. It's absolutely awful. I said never again after the first time but through various circumstances we ended up having to do it again for our last move or have the whole thing fall apart.

I’ve done it in the past too when I was a first time buyer. Not so bad when you don’t have much “stuff” to organise but I would never agree to it now with a 4 bed house full of furniture!

MarianneVos · 01/10/2022 06:45

My solicitor said she needed at least a week to draw down mortgage funds. My buyers wanted a small gap, my sellers wanted four weeks to move into a rental, and we've ended up going with the four weeks. It works well for me as it's a nice long time to get things ready, eat through the freezer etc.

Donttakeafence · 01/10/2022 06:49

I think we had 3 weeks when we moved into our old house (might have been to do with someone’s holiday), and a fortnight moving into this house (there was a bank holiday and the solicitor needed time to draw down funds, plus removal slots etc). Some people have just a week, some (crazy) people go for simultaneous exchange and completion.

eurochick · 01/10/2022 06:57

@Twiglets1 our last house was a six bed plus loft and shed. It was an absolute bloody nightmare. I have palpitations just thinking about it. At lunchtime we had three removal lorries packed up and ready to leave but exchange hadn't even happened. So stressful.

To answer the OP's question, anecdotally I would say two weeks is average but it all comes down to negotiation with others in the chain.

StillNotWarm · 01/10/2022 06:58

How long is a piece of string?
2 hours when we moved this summer. That was a bit short! I think 4weeks sounds quite long tho. I reckon a week is probably the sweet spot.
We are selling some furniture from the new house, having moved it and duped in the garage.

Fourmoos · 01/10/2022 07:05

We just moved in the last month and had one week between exchange and completion. But we had already got rid of excess furniture etc. We too downsized, best thing we’ve ever done. I advertised all unwanted furniture free on Facebook and didn’t have to pay for someone to clear it for us.

Twiglets1 · 01/10/2022 07:22

eurochick · 01/10/2022 06:57

@Twiglets1 our last house was a six bed plus loft and shed. It was an absolute bloody nightmare. I have palpitations just thinking about it. At lunchtime we had three removal lorries packed up and ready to leave but exchange hadn't even happened. So stressful.

To answer the OP's question, anecdotally I would say two weeks is average but it all comes down to negotiation with others in the chain.

God that sounds absolutely horrendous!

My own moving horror story is that when we bought our previous house, the Completion money didn’t move up the chain in time so we had moved out of our old house but couldn’t move into our new house! Our stuff stayed in the lorry overnight and we stayed in a hotel 🥴

notdaddycool · 01/10/2022 07:24

I think the default is a week, but you can push for more, the shorter the chain the easier the conversation.

donttellmehesalive · 01/10/2022 07:26

Two weeks here. Mainly because removals around here are all now non-refundable if you cancel or change the date, so too risky to book before exchange.

YourUserNameMustBeAtLeast3Characters · 01/10/2022 07:47

Skiingwithgin · 01/10/2022 01:46

I got 2 days notice in 2919, my sibling exchanged and completed the same day in 2021 so I think it’s a how long is a piece of string sort of thing

Well I’d say 900 years is quite a lot of notice.

Can you put the excess furniture in storage (get removals to take it) then sell it at your leisure? Or just pile it into new home somehow.

We had 3 weeks which I thought was unusually long, as one household in the chain needed to secure a rental. There are a few risks the longer it goes. Eg not sure what happens if someone in the chain dies! My move was as covid cases were soaring so that was on my mind too. Also there are very limited circumstances under which the mortgage offer can be withdrawn (in the mortgage offer Ts &Cs).

Skiingwithgin · 01/10/2022 08:13

900 years was plenty thank god! Sorry guys haha!

oceanbleu · 01/10/2022 09:52

13 days for us. The upper chain couldn't get removals apparently sooner than this.

WomensLandArmy · 01/10/2022 09:55

We have just moved and it was exactly a week between exchange and completion. But we had a rough idea in advance of the actual date and i had already started sounding out removal companies. We also hired a storage facility two weeks before and had been decanting the contents of the house into it to make the actual move less stressfull. This proved to be a very good idea and I cannot recommend it enough. All non-essential furniture, unseasonal clothes, the contents of the loft etc were cleared and out into storage.

Unescorted · 01/10/2022 09:56

Depends on what you agree with your vendor/ buyer. A week is most common.

Startuplife · 01/10/2022 09:57

Our recent sale was 4 weeks because our vendors wanted the time and we were happy to be flexible to accommodate them.
Needless to say they were still packing when our removal van turned up at 12pm having completed at 10am 🙄

PaperPalace · 01/10/2022 09:57

Typically a week, but it can be longer if both parties agree.

sevenbyseven · 01/10/2022 09:59

It can be same day, it can be 2 months (I've done both!)

I get the impression a week is more usual.

PuttingDownRoots · 01/10/2022 09:59

We were supposed to be one week last year, but paperwork wasn't in place from sellers on the proposed exchange date, it was 2 days in the end (we were determined to keep the same proposed completion date).