Becoming the legal Home Owner?

[Scott330ci]

At which point is it?

Exchange or Completion?

Slightly confused as the Halifax requires the house to be insured from the point of exchange.

Your thoughts?

Thanks

[The jiffle king]

You need insurance from the point of exchange.... official ownership at the point of completion

[ColinM50]

You don't become legal owner until completion, however once you exchange contracts you're legally obliged to complete and if you don't complete you'll lose your deposit, normally 10%.

So it makes sense to insure the house yourself since if it did burn down or a plane crashed into it or some other disaster befell it, or you died or someone stole it betweeen exchange and completion, you'd still have to buy it, Or of course lose your deposit. And of course IF one of those disasters occured, the current owners wouldn't neccesarily have it insured and anyway that's their business not yours.

So by insuring it yourself from exchange you're protecting your investment.

[ColinM50]

Actually what I wrote isn't quite true. It's the building society or mortgage lender who insists on you protecting your/their investment by insuring the house from exchange. If you were buying for cash, there's no necessity to insure it, same as if you own your home and don't have a mortgage you don't have to insure it. I'm fortunate enough to not have a mortgage anymore and don't bother with insurance. How many houses burn down each year? Anyway its a risk I'm prepared to take.