I'm confused about the various forms of completion that can
follow on from exchange of contracts in a property deal. What is
completion on notice? What are long stop dates? Can you advise?
In the majority of cases, the date on which a deal should be
legally completed is noted in the contract and is then binding on
all parties. The buyer and seller have to find a date to which they
can both agree. There is no real minimum or maximum time limit, but
normally they fix a date between a week and a month after contracts
are exchanged.
Particularly when you are dealing with a brand new property,
contracts will be exchanged before the actual build has been
finished and so it's not possible for an exact completion date
to be set. Instead, the contract will usually give an anticipated
date and the developer will give formal 'notice' to the
buyer once the property is structurally complete and ready for
occupation - although there may still be some minor
'snagging' items to be
