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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this buyer is being totally and utterly unreasonable?

164 replies

stillpinching · 12/03/2018 18:49

I am so stressed about this I don't know what to do - and I now feel powerless until tomorrow at least.

We are selling a house having already moved over 100 miles away. That's been a nightmare in itself, but we are/were finally due to complete tomorrow. Just a couple of hours ago I had a phone call from the agent to say the buyer has been round today and seen 'a load of rubbish' in the garden. This is bollocks anyway - there's a table and chairs, which, while not new, are not rubbish and are perfectly usable, and a few pots. Nothing has been said before about them wanting it cleared but now they're saying they won't complete while it's there.

Me and dh have work tomorrow and can't take leave at this notice and there's no one else to ask. We are absolutely on the bones of our arse at the moment and desperately need the money from this sale. I can't stand for it to all fall through now. Can they do this? I'm not UR am I - if they had said a couple of months ago when they put the offer in they wanted it cleared we would easily have got it done by now, but we haven't got a magic wand to sort it now.

OP posts:
Icklepickle101 · 12/03/2018 19:52

I used to work at estate agent. If it wasn’t on the fixtures and fittings it has to go, if it is still there they will bill you for the removal of these items (at an inflated costs!)

WhatWouldOliviaPopeDo · 12/03/2018 19:53

Are you sure you've also cleared everything from the house too?

And the buyer's not saying they won't exchange at all, they're saying they'll delay it until you've done what you're supposed - leave the house in vacant possession.

FlouncyDoves · 12/03/2018 19:54

Have you exchanged contracts already? If so explain that you’re happy to remove the items at the weekend, which is when you can next get there and if they aren’t happy and want to pull out they’ll need to pay the 10% fee of the value of the sale. That’ll shut them up.

YABU to leave any items at the property though (bar a bottle of champagne to congratulate them). You should have listed items you were leaving/selling to them and removed everything else.

viccat · 12/03/2018 19:54

I too would want to make sure it's just those items and not some random fly tip of actual rubbish.

Every property I've bought has had some of the previous owners stuff left behind... It wouldn't have occurred to me to pull out of a sale because of it, given how expensive it is to reach the completion stage of a house purchase.

Oh and in regards to them raising the issue now, my solicitor has always recommended I visit the property 1-2 days before completion to make sure everything is as I expect it to be.

userofthiswebsite · 12/03/2018 19:55

I was annoyed when the person who sold me my flat left things behind; some random bits such as a beer tankard, first aid kits, a few coins here or there, an air freshener, a lamp and a small shelving unit.
Managed to get a local charity to come and collect the unit but the vendor should have sorted that out themselves.

I have kept the beer tankard on the top of the kitchen cupboards as a memento of the previous owner, saying that :-)

Bluelady · 12/03/2018 19:55

Hasn't exchange already happened? I thought we were talking about completion.

Avasarala · 12/03/2018 19:57

When we bought our house, the previous owners had the same last name - all found it very amusing and also meant that even though he redirected the post, it all went wrong and they got post for us and we got post for them for ages (until he could change his address with everyone and remove the redirect) but since he only moved to 15 minutes away, we'd just pop round each other's houses to swap. He also came back here a couple of times to get some thing they'd forgotten in the garage - not a problem. And they came back with a builder to take a look at the stone used in the house as they were re-building their new house to look like the old one - they downsized but wanted the same look! Again, we let them do whatever. It's really not much of an inconvenience to just be nice! They left some stuff around the house since it wouldn't fit in their new one, but we just used it as free stuff until we planned all the decorating.

I don't understand why people let small things piss them off. Don't sweat the small stuff and you have a much happier life!

Jux · 12/03/2018 20:00

We do have a couple of chairs, a mirror and a few other bits which the previous owner left behind. She'd also left a load of stuff which we'd discussed and bought from her in the lead up to completion. Luckily, the things she left were nice, useful and in good enough nick for us to keep them. They're all still here 12 years later.

SusieOwl4 · 12/03/2018 20:04

When we bought our house there was “rubbish “ in the garden . We had it cleared and sent the seller the invoice through the solicitor and it got paid . That is what happens . So either you get the items removed or they can send you the bill . Have you tried free cycle ?

SkaPunkPrincess · 12/03/2018 20:04

Where is the house OP? I'll help if it's close enough.

FranticallyPeaceful · 12/03/2018 20:06

If there’s not much as you say just tip run it in the car?

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 12/03/2018 20:07

Why did you even leave it there in the first place, OP?

If you didn’t want it, what made you think they would want it? And have you left any other stuff you didn’t want but couldn’t be bothered to get rid of?

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 12/03/2018 20:09

And of course you like the idea of offering to pay them because it means you can just wash your hands of any responsibility and continue to do fuck all while leaving them to clear up after you.

They’re not your help; you can’t just throw money at them and expect them to clear up your crap because you couldn’t be bothered to take it with you in the first place and tried to secretly get away with it.

Applesandpears23 · 12/03/2018 20:10

I wouldn’t want to pull out of a house purchase for the sake of a table and chairs so I would worry they want to pull out and this is the excuse. So I wouldn’t lose a day’s leave over this in case they pull out anyway. Say they can invoice you for the cost of getting it removed or you will go down at the weekend and move it.

Andrewofgg · 12/03/2018 20:11

It's a shit place to be but they are right.

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 12/03/2018 20:12

OP don’t worry about it. Phone your solicitor tomorrow and tell them you want to issue a notice to complete. You never know, if they really do pull out you’ll get to keep the deposit. Free money!! Bet you could do with that more than you could driving hours to pick up a bit of garden furniture

Celebelly · 12/03/2018 20:13

Don't sweat the small stuff and you have a much happier life!

Yes, so much this! It amazes me the things people get upset about. I wouldn't call myself particularly zen or overly laid back (I can be quite highly strung about some things!), but some things are so not worth getting worked up about. It's exhausting and just makes life that much harder. Being generous and polite and tolerant of people is much easier than the alternative, actually. But some people seem to go through life looking for things to be outraged about so they can play the martyr.

CotswoldStrife · 12/03/2018 20:28

If it is the table and chairs, it's a shame that you didn't put them on the fixtures and fittings list. Can you get the EA or solicitor to clarify exactly what it is that they want removed just in case more stuff has been dumped?

LannieDuck · 12/03/2018 20:30

Have you already exchanged, or were you planning to exchange and complete on the same day?

JassyRadlett · 12/03/2018 20:30

Obviously OP should remove the table etc since they've asked her to but some of the criticism here is a bit over the top.

I suspect it’s touched a nerve with quite a few people who have moved into houses where the previous owners left their old crap for the new people to deal with....

BringMeTea · 12/03/2018 20:33

Crikey give the OP a break! I wouldn’t want any stuff left in a house I was buying. In fact I wanted to add a clause to withold nominal funds until we moved in to our most recent purchase in case we had to clear anything. (DH talked me out of it) But even I couldn’t get so upset I was threatening to pull out at the 11th hour over a garden set and some plant pots. If it really is just those items it sounds like the buyers are chancing their arm for a substantial ‘discount’ for their ‘inconvenience’.
OP I would offer a hundred quid if I couldn’t arrange for its removal. No more. Good luck.

Original poster
stillpinching · 12/03/2018 20:44

Thanks for supportive comments and offers of help. Dh is going down, he's stressed out by it all and thinks he'll be more in control if he's there.

I'm not trying to get away with anything, the whole thing's been a nightmare, which I won't go into in case I get accused of drip-feeding, and it's not the point anyway, but it's not like we've been sat here laughing thinking we've got away with something. I haven't even been in that garden for months and honestly gave it no thought.

No issue with paying for it to be removed, but just wish it hadn't all been so aggressive and ott. Oh well...

OP posts:
londonrach · 12/03/2018 20:46

Of course op yabu. Clue in the name..vacant possession. Your buyers can legally charge you for the removal of your rubbish from their garden.

SuperBeagle · 12/03/2018 20:46

Of course you're being unreasonable.

You've just left the shit you can't be arsed to move there in the hopes that they'll do it for you. It's your stuff. Move it, whether that be to take it with you (though you obviously don't want it) or to take it to the tip. It's your responsibility.

HooverMover · 12/03/2018 20:50

You should leave it clear. I bought a house where the seller left a load of stuff. It was very annoying