Question 1

What is the difference between exchange and completion?

Accepted Answer

These are the two decisive moments in an English or Welsh property purchase, and confusing them causes real problems.

**Exchange of contracts** is the point at which the deal becomes **legally binding**. Both parties' solicitors swap signed contracts and agree a completion date. Before exchange, either side can walk away for any reason with no liability. After exchange, they cannot — a buyer who pulls out forfeits their deposit, typically **10% of the purchase price**, and can be sued for further losses.

At exchange the buyer pays that deposit, and — critically — **the risk in the property passes to the buyer**. This is why buildings insurance must be in place from exchange, not from completion. If the house burns down between the two dates, it is the buyer's problem.

**Completion** is when the money moves and ownership transfers. The buyer's solicitor sends the balance of funds, the seller's solicitor confirms receipt and releases the keys, and you can move in. The seller must vacate by an agreed time, commonly around midday.

**The gap between them** is usually one to four weeks, negotiated to suit both sides and everyone else in the chain. **Same-day exchange and completion** is possible and sometimes necessary, but it is risky — there is no window to fix a problem, and if funds do not arrive in time the transaction can fail on the day.

**After completion** the solicitor pays any Stamp Duty and registers the change of ownership at HM Land Registry, which can take months and does not affect your occupation.

**Scotland differs.** Missives conclude to create the binding contract, and the equivalent of completion is called the date of entry.

Do not book removals, give notice or arrange anything irreversible before exchange.

Question 2

How is buying a property at auction different?

Accepted Answer

Fundamentally, and the differences are legal rather than atmospheric. The critical one is that you are contractually committed the moment the hammer falls. The traditional auction process: The fall

Question 3

What happens if you pull out after exchanging contracts?

Accepted Answer

You are in breach of a binding contract, and the consequences are substantially more serious than most buyers appreciate — which is precisely why exchange is treated as the point of no return. What

Question 4

What is gazumping and can you do anything about it?

Accepted Answer

Gazumping is when a seller accepts your offer and then accepts a higher one from someone else before contracts are exchanged. It is legal in England and Wales, and it is possible because of a

Question 5

How is buying a house in Scotland different?

Accepted Answer

Substantially — the offer becomes binding much earlier, the survey is done by the seller, and the tax is a different tax entirely. Advice written for England and Wales can be actively misleading. The

Question 6

How does buying a house in Wales or Northern Ireland differ?

Accepted Answer

In tax, tenancy law and process, each in ways that catch people who assume the English position applies throughout the UK. Wales: Land Transaction Tax replaces stamp duty, with different thresholds

Question 7

What actually happens on moving day?

Accepted Answer

A sequence of dependent events, most of which you do not control — which is why the day feels chaotic even when everything goes correctly. The legal mechanics. On completion day, your solicitor sends

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