Completion day is the one with the removal van outside and the keys in your hand. Everything before it — the offer, the survey, the searches, the slow drip of paperwork — exists to make this single day work. Sometimes it runs like clockwork. Sometimes it involves a tense hour of waiting for a bank transfer to land. Knowing the order of events makes it much easier to keep a grip on.
Exchange and completion: what's the difference?
Exchange of contracts is the point where the sale becomes legally binding. Your deposit is paid, the completion date is fixed, and neither side can walk away without consequences. Completion is the day the property actually changes hands: the balance of the purchase price reaches the seller's solicitor and you get the keys.
The gap between the two is usually a week or two, sometimes a month or more if a longer date was agreed to suit a chain or a school term. Occasionally both happen on the same day, which saves time but leaves no room for error. Your conveyancer will have checked your lender's requirements well before this point, but confirm the completion date in writing so everyone is working to the same one.
The week before: small jobs that save a lot of stress
- Confirm the date, the exact amount you need to send and the deadline with your conveyancer.
- Send cleared funds to your solicitor in good time rather than on the morning itself.
- Book removals, agree arrival times, and ask what happens if you're delayed.
- Arrange buildings insurance from exchange, not completion, unless your policy or conveyancer says otherwise.
- Set up mail redirection and tell the council, your bank, employer and GP about the move.
- Pack a first-night box: kettle, mugs, toilet roll, bedding, chargers, medication, pet food, a few basic tools.
- Charge your phone and save your conveyancer's number somewhere other than your inbox.
Keep ID and proof of address to hand, too. Solicitors and estate agents sometimes ask for them again before releasing keys.
What happens on the morning of completion
Morning is mostly waiting. Your conveyancer requests the mortgage money from your lender, then sends the full amount to the seller's solicitor by same-day bank transfer. Nothing moves until that payment arrives.
In a chain this becomes a relay: the first buyer's money releases, then the next, and so on up the line. That's why completion rarely happens at 9am. A late-morning or early-afternoon handover is normal, and collecting keys at 4pm isn't a disaster. Your job is to be contactable and to resist the urge to chase three different people who know less than your solicitor does. Removal firms are used to sitting outside for an hour; tell them what you know as soon as you know it.
Getting the keys and checking the handover
Keys usually come from the estate agent once the seller's solicitor confirms the money has landed. Sometimes the seller hands them over in person, and occasionally the solicitor holds them.
At the door
- Take gas, electricity and water meter readings, and photograph the meters.
- Ask about alarm codes, boiler instructions, bin day and where the stopcock is.
- Check every key works, including back doors, garage and window locks, and count the spares.
- Walk round while the place is still empty and note anything that differs from what was agreed.
If something is missing or broken, don't start an argument on the pavement. Tell your conveyancer in writing the same day and keep photographs.
When completion day slips
Delays are common enough to plan for. Money can be held up by a bank's cut-off time or an internal security check. A lender can release funds late. Someone further up the chain may not be quite ready. None of it is personal, and almost none of it is fixable by you.
What helps:
- Stay in touch with your conveyancer, who is the only person who can tell you what's actually happening.
- Warn your removals firm early — most charge for waiting or rebooking, so read your terms.
- Have a backup for the night: a spare room, a hotel, and somewhere for pets.
- Keep receipts and a running note of extra costs.
- If you're selling as well as buying, remember your contract commits you to complete on the agreed date. Delays can mean contractual interest or a claim, so speak to your conveyancer rather than guessing.
If completion doesn't happen on the day, it's often completed the next working day. Frustrating, but usually recoverable.
Completion involves binding contracts and large sums of money. Always take advice from your own solicitor or conveyancer rather than relying on general guidance like this.
After the keys: the first few hours
Change the locks if you want to — it's a common first job and some insurers prefer it. Find the fuse box and the stopcock while it's still light. Test the smoke alarms, and buy some if there aren't any.
Then unpack the kettle box, order food, and leave the big DIY ideas for another day. Keep every receipt, contract and completion statement in one folder, because your conveyancer will normally handle the Stamp Duty Land Tax return and the title registration shortly after completion. Ask what they need from you and when you'll get confirmation.
Finally, sort the boring admin within the first week: utilities, council tax, broadband, TV licence and a note of your new meter readings. Do that, and completion day stops being a cliff edge and becomes what it should be — the day the waiting ends.
Photo: Ingo Joseph / Pexels
