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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:
nevertakeyouriphoneinthebath · 27/02/2016 06:57

LOL Grin

Katenka · 27/02/2016 07:03

This must happen a lot.

When me and dh bought our first house we moved in the day after completion. I was working but dh was moving out stuff in with my dad. The bed, fridge etc was being delivered.

He turned up at 9am to find the previous owners in their pjs having breakfast.

I couldn't get me head round it. They had completed but thought it was normal to keep a set of keys and take a few days to move out.

6 hours later they finally managed to get a van and leave.

Twowrongsdontmakearight · 27/02/2016 07:14

Some people are totally bonkers!

Mind you when DH sold his house the purchaser was in the midst of divorce and was going to be homeless for a few days. So DH agreed that we would move out and purchaser move in 3-4 days before completion! Apparently he trusted him. Obviously didn't think about insurance etc. And his (crap) solicitor knew but said nothing either.

Bellygirl · 27/02/2016 07:18

Wow this is so weird that I honestly thought you must have been making it up until I read a bunch of others saying similar had happened to them!!! I wouldn't even have known what to do in that situation! Confused

merseyside · 27/02/2016 07:32

People are bonkers!

My family is the opposite - I sold to my best friend and we agreed we could stay on for a few weeks after completion as they were renting and we were doing something up.

We had a full tenancy contract drawn up by a lawyer. Why wouldn't you!!??

Lonecatwithkitten · 27/02/2016 07:42

All of this reinforces the advice that I was given by a developer that you change the locks on day of completion as the new owner.
I am moving in a few weeks and have the locksmith booked for 4pm to put in new locks.

CigarsofthePharoahs · 27/02/2016 07:42

When we moved we just had to put up with a huge overflowing skip blocking the garage, years of encrusted dirt in every room and various fixtures half hanging off the wall. It looked like someone had tried to swing from the curtain pole in the living room.
The kitchen was truly grim. I spent hours cleaning it before I'd let anything of mine in. I was so glad DH agreed with me to bring forwards our plan of a new kitchen, I did have fun smashing it up!
We then had to put up with nasty notes from a neighbour about the mess left due to the skip company refusing to take it all. I know who sent the note and I have no intention of ever being anything other than icily polite in her direction even though now she keeps trying to be friends.
Now we just have to contend with mail for them. It's been three years and we've had car tax, car insurance, something else from the DVLA I didn't open, stuff from banks and a very polite letter from HMRC advising the old owner how much tax he is now due to pay. We've also had debt letters and the Police call round so now I steam everything open just in case. Assholes.

Tabsicle · 27/02/2016 07:44

I thought my move story was bad but I'm now feeling really grateful it wasn't worse.

We bought from a BTL landlord. When we were looking round the house, the estate agent said "he'll sell you the furniture if you want" and I said "no thanks. We have furniture" and left it at that.

We arrived on completion day at 4.30 pm as we'd had various other hiccups throughout the day but we weren't moving in for a few weeks (but had plumber/builder/painter decorator arriving the next day as the place needed some work).

Nothing had been moved out. Nothing. His tenants had left their dirty dishes in the sink. They had taken their clothes but that was it. All the furniture. All the junk. Cupboards of rubbish.

Neither he or his lawyers would answer their phones for three days and when they did he then tried to charge me for the furniture he'd left and got very stroppy when I said I'd had to have it removed and definitely wasn't paying. He then threatened to come round and remove everything that wasn't fixtures and fittings, like the curtains/toilet roll holders/light bulbs/garden plants if I didn't pay him for "his" furniture.

It was bizarre.

IslaSinga · 27/02/2016 07:44

Our solicitor made it very clear to us that 'competition day is also moving out day' after experiencing disasters like this.

Op - so sorry about the dirty house. Our vendors were still here (hanging around) when we pulled up with the keys, ready to move in. They had simply removed all their things without doing a single bit of cleaning - not even running a vacuum round not to mention the filthy shower and toilet. It was a hard slog getting the place clean - if you can, could you get professionals in to help you?

Justputyourshoesonnow · 27/02/2016 07:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

rumbelina · 27/02/2016 07:58

The vendors of my first house wanted to stay an extra couple of days. I wasnt moving in straightaway as I had two weeks left on my rental and was a bit soft and naive so said yeah fine. Solicitor got wind and went ballistic with their solicitor and told them to be out on completion day. They didn't want to delay completion as were in a chain.

The house was a shit tip and they left a massive chip pan full of fat in the cupboard.

greenfolder · 27/02/2016 08:04

We have had this both ways. First house rocked up at 2. Sellers were nowhere near moved. They had locked themselves our if new property by accident (tamper proof double glazed windows and a front door that locked automatically) and had to call an emergency locksmith to drill the door out. Somehow their rabbit escaped, there 5 year old dd discovered the cage empty. We slunk off and came back 3 hours later to enable them to have a huge row in private. Fast forward maybe 10 years. We were moving. Had full time jobs and 2 dds. We were moving round the corner to my parents house we had bought. Delayed endlessly cos the used countrywide ridiculous solicitors so none of our expected help available. It was a disaster! Our lovely buyers, first time buyers turned up to tell us not to worry, they were just going to bring their parents round at 5ish but not move in that day.

tobysmum77 · 27/02/2016 08:04

Well I've moved into a dirty house where the previous owners had left a right load of old crap including urns Shock but some of these stories truly do begger belief. Flowers op what a nightmare

BYOSnowman · 27/02/2016 08:05

We were worried our vendor was going to leave the box room stuffed with the crap she had in it so insisted on a pre completion inspection

We have never moved in on the day of completion though so that has helped

poocatcherchampion · 27/02/2016 08:09

Sorry for being flippant ^ it sounds like you didn't find it funny Flowers

SanityClause · 27/02/2016 08:12

Wow this is so weird that I honestly thought you must have been making it up until I read a bunch of others saying similar had happened to them

Me, too, Belly. I thought, "Yeah, that happened Hmm", but obviously didn't post that, because it would be troll hunting, and besides, where's the harm, really? But it seems I was wrong, and these things really do happen more frequently than you'd expect!

Braeburns · 27/02/2016 08:14

As long as your contract doesn't include letting the previous owner remain... Can you imagine dealing with Hefner wandering about!

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35288460

SewingAndCakes · 27/02/2016 08:16

This happened to us; went to our new house with the kids after school on completion day, with some essentials, and found the lady still there. She hadn't packed or moved a thing. She was an alcoholic and had relapsed the day before, refusing to let the removal guys in the house. DH moved some of her furniture the day after to her new house and moved our stuff in.

We had to completely empty her stuff out; bathrooms, fridge, etc. She had vomited in the bathroom so that all needed cleaning up too.

I felt sorry for her and stories emerged of extended stays in hospital, and how her pets had died in the house when she was admitted Sad The trauma of the move, combined with having a 6 month old baby, ds1 having ASD and it being weeks away from Xmas, triggered a depressive episode for me.

Op I understand what it's like for you and I hope you get into your new house asap and can look back at this and laugh one day Flowers

SewingAndCakes · 27/02/2016 08:21

The vendor also turned up at ours when we were away on Boxing Day that year and tried to let herself in... Luckily our neighbours intervened and I think got the police to help her back to her new place.

Aeroflotgirl · 27/02/2016 08:36

Oh my goodness, poor you Shock.

FinallyFreeFromItAll · 27/02/2016 08:39

I was selling a house once and when we were supposed to be exchanging and completing - the buyers had a problem getting the funds. So completion was delayed by them.

Imagine my shock when their tenants showed up, with a tenancy agreement telling me to get out of "their" house! It was a week later when buyer finally managed to exchange and complete. Who the hell rents out a house and creates a tenancy agreement, for people to move in to the property before you've actually bought it?!?

RaspberryOverload · 27/02/2016 08:50

I thought mine was unusual, but it seems mild compared to some of these.

We we packed and keys handed in by completion (due at 1pm, we were ready to go by 12:30).

Go to collect new house keys but told there's a bit of a delay, could we wait until 2pm, so go and have lunch, removal chaps asked to return at 2pm.

So we get to the house but they are still moving out. Using a little van to shuttle back and forth across town. During half term, on a day with a big event in town. A town with a crap road system such that the traffic was seriously bad all day.

By 3:30pm, we insisted on access to the house to start cleaning and moving in. They still ended up leaving stuff in the garage and collecting it next day.

Lucky for me, DD had spent the day with a friend, but we were so late geting into the house we arranged for her to spend the night at my parents. DS was easily bedded in a travel cot.

DD had the humph about being the only one not spending the first night in our new house, but seems to have forgotten it 9 years later.

I must admit, we didn't change the locks, but we had so many keys given to us that we bought a bolt for the door that we used for a good while after before getting the door changed.

Next time I will,ensure new locks and also make sure the people know to move out at the right time.

RedToothBrush · 27/02/2016 08:52

DH and I once helped a friend move 200miles in rented accommodation. It was all signed, we hired a van, moved her stuff out and got to the office to pick up the keys.

We were there for two hours whilst it transpired that the previous tenant hadn't moved out. The landlord wanted our friend to stay in another property for two days whilst he moved out!

DH is a master of sorting stuff like this out. Our friend was in tears. He refused to go anywhere else (we couldn't anyway - she didn't drive and we were only there for another day and we had a van full of things).

We eventually got the keys and moved all of the tenants stuff into the spare room with the permission of the agent (tenant was in breech of contract). Our friend had to sleep on the sofa, whilst we had her bedroom as a result. The flat was supposed to have been cleaned by the agent before she moved in, it wasn't. It was disgusting. Think student dirt and rotten food in the fridge.

It turned out the tenant had actually moved in with girlfriend several days earlier, but couldn't be bothered to move out.

OP You have my sympathies.

TheLesserSpottedBee · 27/02/2016 08:58

Years ago we relocated 150 miles. My Mum collected Ds1 who was a toddler and took him to her house and kept him overnight whilst the removal men put our already packed boxes into the van.

As it was winter we had agreed with the removal men to stash our stuff on the van overnight (national company and secure place to store van at night) and move us in the next day at 8am rather than in the dark at night on completion day.

We set off to the new house, a good 3 hour journey and had a blow up mattress to sleep on and bedding and painting gear to quickly paint Ds1's new room from girlie pink as clearly we have time to do this.

We arrive at 3pm to find the vendors still moving their stuff out. The house was ours from 1pm. They are both very pissed off as they decided to move themselves and hired a van with promises of help from friends. The friends are nowhere to be seen and let down they are packing themselves.

I think they finally left at 7pm, leaving us enough time to get one coat of paint on the walls Angry I did get up at 6am to paint a second coat figuring it would be dry enough by the time the removal men came with our stuff. I was stomping mad but did feel very sorry for them having had amazing friends who helped us move years ago. I would have hated for them to let us down. We did offer to help them pack but they said no.

cashewnutty · 27/02/2016 09:02

When we moved into our current house, we rocked up with our massive van at the allowed time to find that the previous owners were still trying to shift stuff and clean the house. It transpired that it was a divorced couple with three very small children. Her ex had moved elsewhere and was supposed to have the children for a few days to let her get on with the move but had her let her down. She was tearful and apologetic and a neighbour had come in to help her. In the end we told her not to clean the house and we helped her to get stuff out into the drive (big drive, sunny day) to collect later. We started moving our stuff in and she was still moving hers out. I see this woman socially from time to time and we are now able to laugh at what happened.