The completion-week checklist

Nothing new gets negotiated in completion week — it is pure execution, and every item below has personally delayed someone's completion. Work the list early in the week, not on the morning.

Money mechanics

• Completion statement checked against your own arithmetic — gross, deductions, net — query differences now, not at the bank
• Funds requisition submitted inside the lender's cut-off — cut-off times are real; a missed one is a lost day
• Your solicitor's client-account details verified by phone — on a number you found independently — payment-diversion fraud is live in property transactions, and one call defeats it
• Shortfall funds cleared in client account — your contribution sitting ready, not in transit

Documents and people

• All signatures witnessed correctly — wet ink where required, witnesses who qualify, everyone physically available
• Independent legal advice certificates delivered — for every guarantor, not just booked
• Undertakings agreed between solicitors — the promises that let money move — confirm they are settled, not still in draft
• Redemption statement still current — statements go stale; a re-request takes a day now and a week later

The property

• Insurance on risk with evidence delivered — lender noted, sum insured matching the reinstatement figure
• Access and keys arranged — for completion day itself

The day after

• Charge registration confirmed in motion — your solicitor's job; your diary entry
• Term end and mid-term review dated in your calendar — the loan is now live — so is the exit plan