Three hours after completion still in my house

[Twatarse]

As the title.

Completed at 2pm.

No keys. Agents frantically calling vendors. They are still packing the van. Agent and solicitor tell them in no uncertain terms that they do not own the property anymore and are now breaking the law.

An hour and a half passes and they drop the keys off with the agent.

Phew, we think, they are all gone. So we pick up the keys and drive to the property - they are still there and the house is still full. I mean full - could still see paintings on the wall in the lounge, hallway and kitchen filled with boxes, appliances.

Get a sob story of how they have been at work all day (completion date hardly comes as a fucking surprise, maybe take the day off as we did?)

I tell them that they no longer own the properly, me and my husband do, and that actually, we could legally walk in and lock the doors, “you couldn’t” came the reply - I don’t know what planet some people live on.

Called the agent who was like, What?! Solicitor aghast too. Our solicitor have contacted thieves saying that yep, we’ll just lock them out if we chose to and charge them to remove their properly.

I didn’t go in and lock the doors, I’m not that much of a prick even though it’s now my property and they are trespassing. My 15 month old was knackered in the back of the car.

Back at home now, thankfully only 5 mins down the road and thank god in a rented house so no massive deal tonight although removals booked for 9am.

I’m so pissed off. We’ve had a really awful few months, I’ve got a close relative in hospital, Ive been fighting for a diagnosis for them, I’ve been ill myself.

Why are people such dicks?

No chance would I be booking a removal van for the day (or even the day after) the vendors are supposed to be out of the house. Not that there's anything wrong with per se, it's perhaps just a touch naive because people can be disorganised, entitled cunts.

But then you need to be in a position where you can own or rent 2 properties simultaneously.

The OP happens to still have access to a rented house, but I don’t think most people are in that position.

Glad they're out OP what a nightmare!

Well done for staying calm and managing to fit all of your usual commitments around their CFery.

Can you go over now to clean it so that you don’t have to in the morning? You’re likely to be too high on adrenaline to rest much anyway (plus, then you can spy on proceedings as they move the stuff off the drive!)

[quote Winterfellismyhome]@tomwombsgans i remember that one! She was outraged that the new owner began knocking the kitchen out [/quote]
It was hilarious to read

@Butchyrestingface so if you're buying and selling in a day, which is the done thing in the U.K., what are you doing with all your stuff and where are you staying for the night?

The OP is lucky she wasn't selling as she would have had a removal van full to brim with all her possessions waiting outside the property for these CF to leave!

It's definitely not unreasonable she has booked removals for the following day. It wouldn't be unreasonable if she had booked for the same day. The rule you have to be out by 12pm is there for a reason.

They are twats.
If they've left it like and been dicks till this is there nothing you can do in regards to money from them?

@DancingQueen85

Why are you so pissed off if you have a rental property to stay in? They absolutely shouldn't have done this but it sounds like it isn't much of an inconvenience to you, so why stress about it

Because it is now the OP's house!!

at people not understanding the legalities of it! It's the op's house and it's only luck she's in rented at present otherwise they would have to find somewhere to stay and goodness knows what happens with removal companies who probably have another job lined up the next day! I presume the CFs were using your electricity and water?

But then you need to be in a position where you can own or rent 2 properties simultaneously.

Nope. On on occasion, I put stuff into storage. A costly ball ache, I grant you. But there's nothing I'd put past folks, unfortunately. And being a single non-driver, I can't afford to take the risk. I have pets and decanting to a hotel and running up a huge bill on the CF's tab, much as I'd like to, isn't really practical with these pets.

The OP happens to still have access to a rented house, but I don’t think most people are in that position.

Most people aren't, but on this occasion she was. I suspect she won't book a removal van for the very next morning should the situation arise again. Not worth the stress if if can be avoided.

Similar happened to me but to do with the money side. Buyer's money didn't hit my bank acct because of some technical bank delay or whatever and completion day was a Friday. Come 4pm still not credited so at that point knew l wouldn't get it till Monday. Cue several phonecalls asking for the keys as they'd nowhere to go, kids were tired, blah blah blah. My solicitor practically forbade me to give them the key sans money in the bank and said absolutely should not do this. I've never since given personal details to a buyer however friendly it all was. They practically stalked me all weekend and finished off with an abusive phone call on the Monday when they finally got the keys when the money had come. through. I gave as good back mind

Yep, we were sorting out a house for the Pil & the sellers hugely underestimated how long it would take to move out. Thankfully, Pil weren't arriving that day, as they're both elderly & one has dementia. Regardless, they have massively high standards & would have been incandescent at the state of the house. It's very stressful.

You poor things, I'm so sorry this happened to you.
I would take great pleasure in binning every piece of Mail that comes for them because they won't have organised re direction as they sound hopeless.

[quote User0658]**@Butchyrestingface so if you're buying and selling in a day, which is the done thing in the U.K., what are you doing with all your stuff and where are you staying for the night?

The OP is lucky she wasn't selling as she would have had a removal van full to brim with all her possessions waiting outside the property for these CF to leave!

It's definitely not unreasonable she has booked removals for the following day. It wouldn't be unreasonable if she had booked for the same day. The rule you have to be out by 12pm is there for a reason. [/quote]
@Butchyrestingface so if you're buying and selling in a day, which is the done thing in the U.K., what are you doing with all your stuff and where are you staying for the night? confused

I put my stuff in storage.

The buying and selling isn't really relevant in this case though as the OP was renting. I'm not in any way defending the CF sellers but I do think booking a removal van for the same day or even the very next day, especially when you're renting, is exposing yourself to stress, unfortunately. Shouldn't be the case.

The vendor who posted a few months ago about her terrible buyers, who were trying to move in around as she ate sandwiches in the garden and shot the breeze with neighbours, was really quite something. Hadn't even defrosted the fridge or taken linen off the beds, as I recall. These people exist.

So as I suggested there has been pretty much zero consequence to the situation. They were out a couple of hours later, the op can move in tomorrow. They were absolutely in the wrong but it doesn't sound like there was much harm done in the end.

We had this, stuff all over the place, rooms still as if they were not moving our. Our removal guys moved our stuff in, we moved from over 150miles away, and labelled it with post it notes, in one of the living rooms. I had a breast feeding 6mth old at the time. By the time they moved out it was evident they never cleaned, mouldy food under beds, dogs biscuits and hair everywhere. Their excuse was they worked full time and had two kids, both teenagers! So did we, and had a baby. We still get mail for them 10yrs later. We left our old house pristine.

@Twatarse Before cleaning anything, take photographs!!!

I have not RTWT but aren't there quite severe penalties financially for this?

You’re not alone, OP….

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2579966-Bought-a-new-house-and-the-old-owners-didnt-think-they-had-to-move-out

@00100001

Why on earth do people leave all/most the packing until the day of the move???

Surely 95% of it is done a week or so beforehand?? Like the last two days, we're living out of a suitcase. One with clean clothes, one for dirty... All toys, Clothes, kitchen stuff etc is packed...

Only time I've known it to be left til the day is when someone has booked the full packing and moving service. So the moving firm come in first thing (:sometimes day before) and back up the whole house for you. So little is packed up before.

But that would generally not cause a delay to anyone.

Guess only issue is if the firm cancelled last minute - hence I'd only want to use a big firm where replacements could be arranged.

Yep, this happened to us. We’d driven 450 miles with kids, cats and dogs, removal men following on, got to the house an hour after agreed time and they were still there. They seemed quite irritated that we were there!
It was a lovely August day, so we picked up sandwiches for the removal team then went to have lunch in our new town (which was lovely, actually) but wouldn’t have been impressed late November.
Some people just don’t think.

And…

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/3285543-Completed-this-morning-but-vendors-still-in

I would always say have another visit to the house around the exchange date.

I am convinced loads of people don't bother cleaning their houses once they have an offer and definitely not between exchange and completion. Dirty bastards.

And anyone who thinks this isn't a big deal either has no clue or is one of these people that makes buying g a house a nightmare.

@Soldoutinyoursize

I would assume something had gone very wrong from them today. Go stay in a hotel for the night & tell them you'll be back at 10am.

So ignore the fact that the OP had a whole host of other issues going on right now and this is another stress for them?

And ignore the fact that their house insurance could well be invalid right now?

As it happens the OP has somewhere to stay. But if they didn't - you think the op and family should stump up for a hotel room for adults, baby and other children? Seriously?

We were all packed up, hired removal people who arrived at 9am in a much too small van (despite knowing what they were moving) and ended up being an hour late leaving because we had to go an hire our own second van. But it genuinely wasn't our fault and we put things in the front garden and a neighbour's garage to get out as quickly as we could. I felt awful we couldn't clean as well as I'd have liked because of it.

Even if you are using the full packing service it would unusual for them not to start the day before. Certainly the last two moves we have done ( admittedly both ages ago now) the packers started the previous day.
We had the same thing with our current house with the vendor not being ready but in his case the main problem was his removal firm had thought they could get all his belongings from a large house and lots of outbuildings into a 7.5 tonner. They couldn’t of course and as he was moving 200+ miles south to be with his daughter there was a bit of a build up.
We sat with the kids in the car in a lane down the road and eventually got in someone time after 8pm. Fortunately ( and a sensible suggestion for anyone) my mum had said to me to ask the removal firm to put the kids beds in last, so they were first out and we had them in bed by about 10pm. We did have to pay our firm extra to come and finish unloading the next day.