Once your mortgage application has been accepted, your property has been valued and the lender is happy with you as a potential borrower and that the property is suitable for mortgage purposes, they will make you a mortgage offer.
If you are happy with the terms offered by the lender and your solicitor is happy with the legal aspects to the property’s title, you will be ready to exchange contracts.
Exchange of contracts.
At this point, all the solicitors in the chain will exchange the contracts they have drawn up for each property in the chain and then a date is fixed for the completion of the sale. This is the date that the property is legally yours and you can move in.
Normally, 10 per cent of your property purchase price will be needed in advance and paid at the exchange of contracts. At this point, you are also bound to go through with the purchase or lose the deposit.
Once you have exchanged, you will be advised of the completion date when you can arrange your move.
Completion of your purchase.
The completion of the sale usually happens soon after the exchange of contracts (usually one to two weeks), but can happen immediately after exchange or longer than two weeks, depending on the number of other purchasers involved in the property chain.
If you live in England and Wales, on completion, the transfer document and any mortgage details will be sent to the Land Registry for registration. When this is done, the Land Registry will guarantee the title that has been created.
At completion you are the legal owner of your new home and once you have the keys you will be able to move in. Be aware that the transfer of fees can take a little time so you may not get the keys as early on the day as you had hoped.
