What happens if a settlement is delayed? This week’s guest blog is from Ben Ballard, from Complete Removals. Ben explains below when a settlement is delayed, what they do for their clients when there is a hiccup on settlement day. Unfortunately, due to factors outside of our control, there are times that settlement is delayed. Your Tuckfield Conveyancers will do everything possible to get your settlement through on time.

“One of the ramifications of a settlement delay which can compound an already stressful time for any homeowner is the actual moving day. Generally speaking, it is acceptable to schedule moving day for the same day as settlement day. However, there are a few things that should be kept in mind, even if only to cover all possible outcomes.”

“Over the years, it has been common to encounter a short delay of a few hours on settlement day. Although it might seem like a large issue, a few hours delay is nothing to be worried about; this short delay is an inconvenience, but a manageable one.

Typically, our removalists will take an “extended lunch break” to make sure that the homeowners are not paying for the time that is being held up by the delay. Ideally, we like our “extended lunch breaks” to take no longer than an hour and a half.

Within an hour of the delay, your conveyancer will generally have a good understanding of whether this small bump in the road is going to become a larger problem or not.

If they are confident that the settlement will be going through, then after our short “extended lunch break”, our removalists will head to the new home and start getting the truck unloaded onto the driveway and/or front porch area.

Although this isn’t the most efficient option possible (due to the dreaded double handling) it allows us to get the move completed earlier in the day for you and helps our guys get home to their families a sooner.”

“When the little delay becomes a larger delay (as in a day or longer), then the inconvenience factor definitely increases, however, it is still manageable.

For delays which your conveyancer is confident that the next day will be ok, we can often return the truck to our depot and leave the furniture and goods locked away in the truck overnight. The next day we can complete the delivery as previously arranged.

This does, however, depend on the schedule that we are currently running and if the truck is needed for a second job that day or the following morning.

The worst case scenario is that we have to unload everything into a short-term storage unit, and then reload the truck when the settlement does go through. This can become quite an increase in price, but is unfortunately unavoidable.”

“The ability to leave everything in the truck for a few days is significantly decreased as opposed to keeping it overnight. We will, however, check for you in these scenarios, as our goal is to find the most convenient measures possible. Additionally, removalists have an unholy fear of any double handling that can be avoided!

Conversely, there have been times when a settlement on a Friday has been delayed (they always seem to be Friday’s in my experience) yet we were still able to leave the items in the truck over the weekend. This was due to the Saturday and Sunday schedules being less busy.

Once again, this is something that needs to be assessed as it unfolds. Unfortunately, more often than not a delay of more than one night will end up requiring double handling and the belongings will be placed into a short-term storage facility. These things just cannot been avoided some times.”

“When it comes to settlement day, the greatest thing that you can do to prepare yourself is to have a conveyancer who communicates effectively with every other professional involved in the transaction. We know that when you enlist the services of Tuckfield Conveyancing for managing your settlement, you are in safe hands.”

Thanks, Ben for taking the time to share this information with our clients.  Get your BEST Quote by Adelaide’s Friendliest, Most Trusted and Reliable Removalists. 

Article written by Tammy Edwards

Please note that the information contained in this article is of a general nature only and does not constitute legal advice. Tuckfields does not take responsibility for any errors or omissions obtained from the use of this information.