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Original poster

Bought a new house and the old owners didn't think they had to move out!

491 replies

thumb3lina · 26/02/2016 21:24

So today we went to complete on our new house, very excited and all packed ready to go. We got a call from our solicitor to say it was completed and we left to go to our new home, with all of our things. Stopped off at the estate agents, got the keys, everything fine.

We get there, go to the front door, put the key in and have a massive shock to find the previous owners sitting in the lounge. We asked who they were and they introduced themselves as the previous owners. They hadn't even packed one box!! DH asks them why they are still in OUR house and they inform us that they decided not to move out until Sunday!? We pointed out that we had all of our things in a van outside with our 2 month old baby and DH politely asked them to leave to which they replied it would be too inconvenient for them to leave today!

We ended up threatening to call the police as we legally owned the house and now had nowhere to go, so they said they would leave in an hour but acted as if we were being very unreasonable. We had to get all of our helpers to help them pack and they ended up leaving 5 hours later.

I'm also quite pissed off with the agent as surely they should make sure these situations don't happen.

OP posts:
RhiWrites · 27/02/2016 15:58

I wouldn't help friends move again. They are never packed and always underestimate how long it takes to pack and move. Anything more than a student room you need professional movers for.

One ex-friend did this to us twice! We must have been mad to help her. Then she wanted to charge us for the pleasure of moving her.

nevertakeyouriphoneinthebath · 27/02/2016 16:01

I agree Rhi the kind of people who ask for help thinking they can do it DIY are usually exactly the kind of people who are disorganised and haven't got a clue!

clam · 27/02/2016 16:07

Then she wanted to charge us for the pleasure of moving her.

Eh? On what possible grounds?

DinosaursRoar · 27/02/2016 16:08

yes, anyone who asks friends to move, are also the type to hire a van that's not big enough to take everything in one trip, going backwards and forwards is what takes so long. Use a removal company, they'll just send enough vans for all your stuff to go in one trip.

ilovespringflowers · 27/02/2016 16:21

To those saying to use professional packers/removal company, have you seen the cost of them?? I have moved a lot (until this house I'm in now, I'd never lived anywhere as an adult for more than 18 months) and every time we did it ourselves with a van - just me and my (now) ex.

Pipbin · 27/02/2016 16:25

ILove. Our removal people cost £400 and it was the first time I've ever used professional movers.
If I ever move again that cost will be factored in.

specialsubject · 27/02/2016 16:33

good grief. I suppose no-one is born knowing this stuff, and I don't know if it is anyone's job to tell buyers/sellers how it works - but it sounds like it should be!

for any confused Americans; the England/Wales system is two stage. EXCHANGE of contracts commits the sale and means neither side can pull out with heavy penalties. This is the point at which removals etc can be confirmed. COMPLETION is when the money transfers and the buyers can have the keys. This is also when the sellers and all their possessions need to be gone, they no longer have rights to occupy. If there is a chain then this all happens to lots of people on the same day (usually a Friday, it must be a banking day) and those at the end may find they don't complete that day. It is always worth having a backup plan for a hotel and storage.

BTW buyers need to insure properties from exchange, and sellers MUST be out at completion. Exchange and completion can be on the same day on mumsnet, but I've never heard of it elsewhere as it seems to be a way of adding massive extra stress.

My last move involved renting between buying and selling. Storage, two moves, extra packing etc etc etc - but boy is it worth it on moving day. We vacated the old place two days before completion, so all the buyers had to do on completion day was get the keys from the agent and go straight in, we were long gone. When we bought, the vendor had also gone a day or so before. We could actually have waited to get into the new place as we still had our rental but who is that patient?

I would never allow a seller to stay after completion. I did allow our buyers to bring some stuff into the garden after exchange - by then we had nothing to shift from the garden so there was no chance of confusion. But no way did they get (or ask for) keys in advance.

Lonecatwithkitten · 27/02/2016 16:44

Special subject exchange and completion does happen on the same day and I will be doing this in May. The day will be set over two weeks in advance. We are doing this because one of the properties is a probate sale and the executor is very elderly and ill, there is a significant risk if him dying. If he dues before sale day the solicitor can take over and complete the sale. If, however, we do not exchange and complete on the same day and he was to die after exchange, but before completion this could hold the sale up for a significant period of time. Actually the proposal is that we exchange and complete within the hour, fortunately very short chain.

Goingtobeawesome · 27/02/2016 18:06

We moved with a five month old. They allowed us into our own house as they finished packing and made a show of hoovering a room Hmm. They took a break to eat lunch while I fed my baby cold vegetables as they were just so horrible we didn't dare move into the kitchen. I did eventually say about it being my house..took me ages to get it clean.

She was divorcing, maybe didn't want to move but tough.

They left tonnes of stuff, tonnes of rubbish, took stuff they said they would leave and left stuff they were supposed to take. Some one came a few weeks later for a nosy to pick up something and seemed annoyed I wouldn't let him have a look around Hmm.

No guilt we spent the vouchers that kept coming for months.

countingto10 · 27/02/2016 18:09

Thumbwitches The 'D'H was a very intimidating Iranian who used to turn up at the house after we moved in when he knew my mum was alone with us Hmm

My mum said when we moved in there were dents and stains on the kitchen walls that looked like things had been thrown at them (tea stains etc) Sad

I can just imagine the thread from the poor woman (and my mum) had mumsnet been around then ........

nevertakeyouriphoneinthebath · 27/02/2016 18:10

special we've bought several houses where in theory, from a personal point of view we could have exchanged and completed on the same day but I've yet to find a lawyer who is actually willing to do this!

shinynewusername · 27/02/2016 18:18

Same thing happened to my BF. Next time I move, I will be getting my solicitor to check that the sellers understand they have to be out when the sale completes.

LifeofI · 27/02/2016 18:26

wow just wow Confused

specialsubject · 27/02/2016 18:34

lonecat interesting, thank you. At least that way you can book removers, arrange redirect and all the other etceteras. I can't imagine how it is done without knowing the date firmly in advance. Sounds like the law needs tweaking for this situation.

Hope it all works out.

Littlecaf · 27/02/2016 21:43

Ok, a nice story here.....

We moved out of our first flat and into our first house two years ago. Turned up at house on completion day to find a spotless house, with all the made to measure curtains, light bulbs and tasteful lampshades still in place, loo roll in the bathroom and tea & milk in the kitchen. While we were unpacking a sheepish looking lady put her head round the door and said she was the daughter of the vendor and they'd had a lovely childhood in the house which her parents bought new in the 1950s. She left us a lovely card and left us to it with reccomendations of local dentist, doctors & church (!).

Although she seemed lovely we did wondered if we might have a clingy former owner situation who would pass judgement on everything new we did to 'her' house. But the next time we met was over a year later at my first foray into local playgroups with a 4 week old DS. She has now become a friend who calls buy VERY occasionally with little treats for our DS (she has grandchildren locally so is known at the local play schools, toddler groups etc), plus always invites us to her charity coffee mornings, local WI get togethers, PTA quiz nights etc. We are very pleased with our lovely house and our friendly ex resident!

SmaDizietSma · 27/02/2016 21:59

Happened to us AND DH nearly did it (didn't understand what completion was).

Owner left loads for crap and a full loft. We got some ace memorabilia from WWII.

Swirlingasong · 27/02/2016 23:20

We exchanged and completed in one day, but we were buying the house we were already renting so very straightforward and no packing needed.

StillMedusa · 28/02/2016 00:55

Similar story here... when I was 10 we moved..completion came and went and we rolled up at our new home to find the previous owners still there... no packing in sight. With bad grace they eventually started packing and were gone by 8pm but left a ton of stuff behind... shoes, clothes, a little cheeese plant...

30 years later my Mum still has the same cheese plant which covers the width of the living room and is most impressive Grin!

HarrietVane99 · 28/02/2016 01:27

good grief. I suppose no-one is born knowing this stuff, and I don't know if it is anyone's job to tell buyers/sellers how it works - but it sounds like it should be!

Kirstie did a series once about property chains and all the things people can do to piss off everyone else in the chain. Like pulling out the day before exchange. Should be required viewing.

She had one family who hadn't begun to pack when their buyers arrived. Hippy types who were moving themselves with a van and thought it would all just magically sort itself out. IIRC the buyers and their movers started shifting the vendors' stuff into the garden so they could get their stuff in.

GrinAndTonic · 28/02/2016 02:56

Is it normal to move in as soon as you legally own the house? Admittedly I am not in the UK and every time I have moved/rented/bought a house we have moved in a few days or weeks after we got the keys. No one I know leaves their old place to move in to the new place on the same day.

When we bought our current house the lady hadn't cleaned and I was pissed about that but it is nothing in comparison when compared to these stories.

Bogeyface · 28/02/2016 03:41

Is it normal to move in as soon as you legally own the house?

Generally yes because if there is a chain of buyers/sellers then everyone has to leave their old property and the only place they can go to is their new one.

However, people going from rentals/parents/house shares may wait a few days/weeks, but they still expect the ex owners to be out.

The fact is that you have no right to occupy a property that you either dont own or dont have a tenancy for.

NadiaWadia · 28/02/2016 03:41

'no-one I know leaves their old place to move in to the new place on the same day'

So what happens then - where do people stay in between?

nevertakeyouriphoneinthebath · 28/02/2016 03:56

Grin while there is no real reason to HAVE to move in to the new place the same day you legally own it, you do have a legal responsibility to move OUT of the place that is no longer yours.

So unless you want to pay to put your furniture into storage and get the removal men to re-load and re-deliver it all a second time and pay to stay in a hotel or with relatives, then why wouldn't you move straight into a house that's now legally yours? Few people are lucky enough to have the funds to complete on a new house while continuing to own and live in the old one and sell it later on.

lertgush · 28/02/2016 04:01

When we bought our house we had already been renting it for a couple of months. The seller had spent those two months gradually emptying the basement and lean to, including selling us quite a lot of tools including lawnmower, snowblower, etc.

He left his boat on the driveway and lived in it the whole time...

GrinAndTonic · 28/02/2016 04:13

I understand the legalities but I have never known anyone to do it that's all. Most people I know have had different settlement dates for buying and selling that's all.

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