Exchange and completion, explained.

Exchange of contracts

Your solicitor and the seller's solicitor swap signed contracts, usually by phone in a formal call. From this moment:

• You are legally committed to buy and they are committed to sell. Pulling out means losing your deposit and possibly being sued.
• The completion date is fixed. It can be the same day (rare), a week, two weeks, or longer if agreed.
• You pay the exchange deposit, usually 10% of the price, via your solicitor. If your mortgage deposit is only 5%, your solicitor can often agree 5% with the other side; ask early.
• You are responsible for insuring the building from now, not from completion. Have buildings insurance ready to start on exchange day.

Between exchange and completion

• Your solicitor requests the mortgage money from the lender for the completion date.
• You transfer the rest of your deposit and the fees to your solicitor (they will send a completion statement).
• Book the removals, set up the mail redirect, tell the utilities. Our moving day checklist has the lot.
• Do a final walk-through if you can, especially if the seller is leaving items.

Completion day

1. Your solicitor sends the money to the seller's solicitor, usually in the morning.
2. The seller's solicitor confirms receipt, often between noon and 2pm.
3. The agent releases the keys. You are a homeowner.
4. Your solicitor pays the stamp duty (within 14 days) and registers you as owner at the Land Registry (can take months; nothing to worry about).

Things that go wrong, and what to do

• Money arrives late: a delay up the chain, or a bank issue. Usually resolved by mid-afternoon. Do not have the removal van waiting outside from 9am.
• Seller has not moved out: rare, and a breach of contract. Your solicitor deals with it.
• Something is broken or missing that should be there: tell your solicitor the same day; the property information form is what the seller committed to.

A note on the numbers. Thresholds, schemes and typical costs are correct as far as we know at the time of writing and are for England and Northern Ireland unless we say otherwise. Rules change and lenders differ. Check the current position, and get advice from a qualified broker before you commit.