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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:
Peaceandloveeveryone · 28/02/2016 13:45

We are in the position at the moment that the landlord moved us in and then decided to sell. We have to move with two months notice, my eldest two are doing A and GCSE levels in three months and the youngest has autism. We have to accommodate viewings. It's utterly shit.

SenecaFalls · 28/02/2016 13:52

Sorry, my last sentence in last post should be "our experience as buyers."

Pipbin · 28/02/2016 14:04

The American system does make a lot of sense but.......
What if I see a house I love, buy it, get the mortgage but cannot shift the place I'm living in. What then? I'm stuck with two houses. No way of affording a 100% mortgage on the one I'm buying as all the deposit is tied up in the one I'm selling. I guess I can rent it out but I thought the rental laws in the US were stricter than here.

It does seem to explain though why on American TV programs and films people are always viewing empty houses.

I guess you need more houses in the housing stock too as there must be a lot of situations where people are living in one house why trying to sell the other house which is standing empty. We simply don't have enough houses here for that to happen.

SenecaFalls · 28/02/2016 14:20

Pipbin It will depend on the financial circumstances of the people concerned. Some people will not be able to get a mortgage on a new (to them) house until they sell the one they are in. If they do qualify for a new mortgage and have not been able to sell their old house, they might choose to rent it out. I have two friends in this situation now. I'm not sure what you mean about rental laws being more restrictive in the US. In all of the states I am familiar with, including the one I live in, there are few restrictions on renting.

QuiteLikely5 · 28/02/2016 14:33

I think I'm missing something so feel free to correct me........

How on earth do you expect everybody in a chain to complete at the same time?

If there are four people in a chain their funds aren't going to magically appear in everyone's solicitors account at the same time are they?

No funds from bank no call from sol to say it's complete!

Plus the sensible thing to do is tell your sol not to transfer funds yet because you aren't fully moved out.

With a couple of kids and for instance removal couldn't come til 12 that day then it's wise to tell everyone no keys til 5pm

I'm surprised that some folk here seem to think you should be able to just move with a click of the fingers

Lonecatwithkitten · 28/02/2016 14:45

Not everyone completed at the same time quite likely.
The money starts moving in the morning from one solicitor to another when you actually completed depends on the length of the chain and your position.
It is generally accepted that everyone is out by 12 and then you may have completed or not.
With very long chains it can be late in the day if you are towards the top of the chain. With very long chains it can be risky that it may not happen in one day. If this is the case your solicitor should advise you in advance and what the implications are for you. I was once nearly the top of a long chain completing on the Friday before a bank holiday weekend solicitor explained there was a risk and that we would need to pay our vendors interest over the weekend and stay in a hotel. In the end we completed at 3.45pm.

clam · 28/02/2016 14:49

I'm surprised that some folk here seem to think you should be able to just move

It's not us "seeming to think," it's how the English system works. Have you never bought/sold a house in this country before? Hmm

DeoGratias · 28/02/2016 14:51

My daughter's lender sent the funds too late to complete the planned day! It was definitely not our solicitor's fault. The solicitor said it was very rare and they had done everything to make sure the stupid lender transferred on time. Luckily daughter was still living at home and the sellers had already moved abroad so the place was empty and daughter had to pay extra interest to the seller because she had not completed on the Friday and only could do so on the Monday and she gained entry on the Monday when the lender deigned to move the money.

On my own purchases we have always found people have moved out in time and the stories on this thread are awful. It just emphasises the fact solicitors need to drum it into sellers what you would have thought is obvious - once you sell you don't own the house and you cannot stay there even for one night.

Usually a seller will get their removal firm to get everything packed up in the morning, then the removers know they have to hang around somewhere until confirmation of completion and then you move in.

The same day completions do work in English law. I don't think we would want to move to a US system. We have very little new empty property in the UK and most people who are buying are also selling and would not qualify for bridging loans and cannot afford hotels.

Lonecatwithkitten · 28/02/2016 14:52

Of course you have been working towards the sale usually for several months and have had warning to pack, declutter etc.

Pipbin · 28/02/2016 14:57

With a couple of kids and for instance removal couldn't come til 12 that day then it's wise to tell everyone no keys until 5pm

I'm surprised that some folk here seem to think you should be able to just move with a click of the fingers

Well, firstly, that is exactly how it works and generally works fine.
Secondly, if you are saying no keys until 5pm then that doesn't give anyone much time to get move in does it? You can't move in with the click of the fingers as you said. I don't think that many removal people would be happy to still be moving people in at 8 at night.

No removal company worth it's salt would say 'sorry love we can' make it until 12.'
Our problem when we moved was that 3 houses in the chain were using the same removal firm! They moved us out in the Thursday and put our stuff in storage. We stayed with friends. Then we completed and picked up the keys on the Friday. The removal people then moved us in on the Saturday morning, already having moved the sellers out on the Friday!

throwingpebbles · 28/02/2016 15:13

quite you don't seem to understand how the system works here

QuiteLikely5 · 28/02/2016 15:46

Yes I do! I have bought plenty houses thank you and I can tell you my removal men did not have a slot until early afternoon! (On that occasion)

My point is: it's all well and good people here saying it should all be done ASAP on the day but when there is a chain that doesn't happen and the fact is, if I'm moving and my desired removal men can't come until 12 then that's life!

pipbin are you saying removals only do one removal at 9am and none thereafter...........

Oldraver · 28/02/2016 15:49

Quite That's how it works in this country, everyone has to go with it.

Our last move should of been simple. We bought off a developer who bought our house off us in exchange (and they hadn't sold it on at the time of completion)

It should of been the easiest of moves but they still managed to bugger it up delaying for another week without giving us a reason, while at the same time berating us for not exchanging and reminding us the carpets and tiled flooring where a condition of the six week sale.

I bypassed the solicitor who couldn't get an answer for the delay off theirs.. and told the fuckers to rip out the blinking carpets and tiles then... and if they didnt complete the following week we would pull out...never did find out what the dealy was.

clam · 28/02/2016 16:04

pipbin are you saying removals only do one removal at 9am and none thereafter

Well, yes, as most house removals will take a whole day. Empty the old house in the morning (or the day before if it's a large property and a long-distance move or if packing is required) and travel to the new house and empty van in the afternoon.

I can tell you my removal men did not have a slot until early afternoon

So you find a different removal company then, who are free.

Are you sure you've bought and sold in this country? How do you not know how it works in most cases if so? Hmm

clam · 28/02/2016 16:07

You need to be packed and ready to go by the time funds are transferred at Completion. From that point on, the house is no longer yours and you cannot suddenly start packing up at that point. The new owners would be justifiably furious.

Pipbin · 28/02/2016 16:09

pipbin are you saying removals only do one removal at 9am and none thereafter...........

Well yes, as you say you cannot move house in the click of the fingers.
They turn up at about 7.30 or 8. Load all your stuff onto a van. This will take until about 11am. Drive to your new house. Wait for the confirmation that it has all happened while you get the keys/ lunch etc. Start moving you in from say 1pm. Finish by about 4. Pub.

clam · 28/02/2016 16:09

You need to be packed and ready to go by the time funds are transferred

I should add, notwithstanding some unavoidable problem - which would not include you choosing to go with a removal firm that can't accommodate your move until the afternoon.

SanityClause · 28/02/2016 16:12

If that's the American system, it's easy to understand how the whole banking crisis happened.

Pipbin · 28/02/2016 16:12

My point is: it's all well and good people here saying it should all be done ASAP on the day but when there is a chain that doesn't happen and the fact is, if I'm moving and my desired removal men can't come until 12 then that's life!

Good luck saying that to the people who come to one into your house at 12 and you are still taking hours to pack up.
I would be very pissed off if you gave me that attitude. After completion, usually at 12, the house is no longer yours.

Pipbin · 28/02/2016 16:13

If that's the American system, it's easy to understand how the whole banking crisis happened

Exactly - houses standing empty and people with two mortgages makes me worry.

morningtoncrescent62 · 28/02/2016 16:29

Not to mention that their SNAKES were still in the spare room

Grin I'm very sorry for everyone who's had hellish moving-day experiences (as if moving house wasn't stressful enough) but I must say this has been a very entertaining thread. I was tempted to make up a story of my own, but I don't think I could possibly compete!

SenecaFalls · 28/02/2016 16:42

The banking crisis in the US happened for a lot of reasons, but the ease with which people could get mortgages, with many of them at 100 percent financing, certainly played a part. It's much harder to get a mortgage now, which has meant that the housing market still has not fully come back. Very good for cash buyers, but there aren't many people in that category.

Tabsicle · 28/02/2016 16:42

When I moved recently my removals firm moved me in the morning (collected at 9 am, unloaded in new place by 11 am) and left to move another household in the afternoon. I think it depends on the size of the job.

NotCitrus · 28/02/2016 16:53

It would help if completion could be guaranteed to happen by 12.
We finally exchanged to buy our first place (previous attempt had the vendor decided not to sell on the day of completion - which worked out quite well for us as we got a flat in the same block with better view for much cheaper), to complete 2 weeks later.

Went round for noon on day of completion, and we got phone calls from the agents saying the funds hadn't been transferred yet. So we spent the afternoon having tea with lovely Mr and Mrs Vendor, who were waiting for confirmation that they could move a few miles away. By half two they were told they could move but not to give us keys as our money hadn't gone through yet. By 5pm (a Friday) Mr Vendor said "Sod this, here's the keys, we know where you live if it's not sorted by Monday!"

So we moved in over the weekend as planned. Turned out the money had been transferred but no-one had told the solicitor...

clam · 28/02/2016 16:56

I don't doubt that some people's moves might be small or local (for the removal firm), and could be completed in a morning, but that still doesn't make it OK for someone in a chain to delay their buyers from moving into what is now their house because they've deliberately chosen (presumably because it's cheaper to have just a half day?) a specific company that are only available later in the day? That's just not acceptable.