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The buildings insurance gap that could cost you everything if you exchange without it.
The fraud that stole an average of £78,393 from buyers who didn’t know three simple steps.
The broadband mistake that ruins moving day for 40% of people who move.
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Read this before anything else
The average amount lost by a victim of conveyancing fraud in the year to March 2025 (Action Fraud). Since October 2024, banks must reimburse victims of this kind of bank-transfer fraud — including CHAPS payments — up to £85,000, but a payout isn’t guaranteed and recovery can be slow. The safest protection by far is stopping it before you transfer.
Before anything else
From the moment you exchange contracts, the property is legally your risk. If it burns down the day after exchange — weeks before you get the keys — you still have to buy it, at full price. 42% of homeowners don’t know this.
Get buildings insurance quoted and ready to activate the moment you exchange. Short-term “exchange-of-contracts” cover exists if you need to bridge between exchange and completion.
The gap nobody tells you about
Exchange to completion typically takes 4-8 weeks. During that time you’re legally bound to complete but don’t own the keys. Your solicitor can tell you the exact exchange date — that’s when cover must start.
What to check in your policy
Make sure your policy covers the building while unoccupied. Standard policies sometimes exclude unoccupied properties or require notification. Confirm with your insurer before exchange.
Now — offer accepted
The first week after an offer is accepted is the most important. Most buyers celebrate and wait. The ones who move fastest instruct immediately.
Your mortgage broker
First Financial Services
FCA regulated · Free, no obligation
Ground rent was banned on new leases in 2022. But existing leasehold properties can still carry clauses where ground rent doubles every 10 years. A £250 rent doubling every decade reaches £8,000 a year within 50 years — and 78% of agents say an escalating-ground-rent flat struggles to sell.
Ask your solicitor to pull the projected ground rent at the next three review dates and give you the figures in writing before exchange. If it doubles, you need to know now, not after you’ve paid.
A professional snagging inspector finds around 150 defects on a typical new build. You’d find 10-30 on your own. And you’re legally entitled to bring one in before completion — under both the Consumer Code and the New Homes Quality Code — but most buyers never know this right exists.
The “10-year NHBC warranty” doesn’t mean NHBC fixes everything for 10 years. Years 0-2 it’s the builder’s job. Years 3-10 covers major structural defects only. Book a snagging inspection and exercise your pre-completion inspection right before you hand over any money.
Diarise year two
The builder’s obligation to fix defects runs for 2 years from completion. Put a reminder in now for month 22 — walk the property and report every outstanding snag in writing before the window closes.
Get a professional inspector
Book before your pre-completion inspection date. HomeSnag, New Build Inspections, and Premier Snag all offer RICS-regulated inspections. Expect to find 100-200 items.
Two weeks before completion
Enter your completion date above to see your real deadlines.
Moving day
Everything else can wait. These cannot.
Photograph every meter
Gas, electric and water — timestamped, before any boxes come in. This is the single piece of evidence that defeats a disputed final bill. Takes two minutes.
Find the stopcock
The water isolation valve. Usually under the kitchen sink, in an airing cupboard, or outside under a small cover near the boundary. Know where it is before you need it.
Collect every key
Front door, back door, garage, garden gates, window locks, alarm fobs. Count them. If any are missing, deal with it now, not next week.
Change the locks in week one
Previous owners, estate agents, and their contractors may have copies. A locksmith visit costs £80-150. Book it before moving day.
First month
Every mover inherits the previous owner’s energy tariff, and it’s almost always a poor one. Submit your opening meter readings (the photos you took on moving day) and switch supplier or open a new account within days. The Ofgem back-billing rule means you can’t be charged for energy used more than 12 months ago if the supplier was at fault.
Also in the first month: register for council tax before they find you, review your life cover and income protection against the new mortgage, and chase any outstanding paperwork from the seller’s solicitor — boiler history, FENSA certificates, alarm codes, appliance warranties.
Check your council tax band
Bands were set in 1991 using rough estimates. One in four challenges succeeds, and refunds can go back to April 1993. Worth 20 minutes of your time in the first month.
Chase the retention
If you sold a leasehold property, your solicitor may be holding back a service-charge retention of £200-500. Chase it in writing at month 12. They’re allowed to give it to charity if they can’t trace you.
Who to tell
Tick each one off as you go. The ones people forget are highlighted.
Sort the essentials
The handful of things worth sorting the week your offer’s accepted. We only list ones we’d actually use.
Broadband
Broadband
Compare every provider that actually reaches your new address — order early, it's the most-regretted moving-day delay.
Coming soonRemovals
Removals
Instant online quotes and part-load pricing — good firms book up 3–4 weeks out, especially on Fridays.
Coming soonEnergy
Energy switching
Compare tariffs once you're in. Honestly — savings are slim under the price cap, but it's worth a look off the previous owner's deal.
Coming soonChange of address
Change of address
Tell councils, utilities, the taxman and more that you've moved — free, from one place, instead of thirty phone calls.
Coming soonBuildings insurance
Buildings insurance
The one that matters most — cover should start at exchange, not completion. Don't wait for us: get a policy quoted now.
Coming soonHome emergency
Boiler & home-emergency cover
Cover for boiler breakdowns, leaks and lockouts once the house is yours.
Coming soonYour personalised pack
Everything above, personalised to your completion date and postcode. Your actual deadlines. Your local council. Your water company. Free, in your inbox in seconds.
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