Why should you avoid exchanging & completing on the same day?

We would only suggest exchanging and completing on the same day if you are selling an empty property and do not have a related purchase.

It is not for the faint-hearted.

To be frank there is a lot to lose, because until you have exchanged contracts nothing is guaranteed and a lot can go wrong!

Make sure you know the risk.

For starters, there will be a reason why you are asked to do this, which should get the alarm bells ringing straight away.  What if someone is relying on receiving a mortgage offer, or there is a major delay that no one can make sense of?  Even worse, what if your so-called cast iron buyer pulls out right at the last minute, leaving you unable to complete on your new home? There are too many things that can go wrong.

Apart from taking the unnecessary risk of having your whole life in the back of a lorry whilst you deal with your natural instincts whispering what if something goes wrong.  The stakes are too high and you need to consider the huge cost and stress it could cause.

The out-of-pocket costs…

If you failed to complete, you would still have to pay for your removals and go through the pain of moving back into your home.  That’s not without considering the time you took to organise everything for the move beforehand and the zero compensation you will get for the time taken off work… it’s just not worth the risk!

Have you got nerves of steel?

Even if you do have nerves of steel – our advice would still be to only exchange and complete on the same day if you are selling an empty property and do not have a related purchase.

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Article written by

Matt Holmes

Director