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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

New owners after competition, wanting us to pay Out more

182 replies

Pringlemonster · 10/09/2020 07:56

Completed yesterday, have the money
Relatives house ,I’m trying to keep on top of situation ,but I’ve a difficult home life ,and I don’t live anywhere near the sold house.
They got us down £20000 of the asking price,
Elderly relative in rest home ,needs money to pay for care .
Cleared out relatives house as best could ,left some rubble in garage, due to Covid no one would remove .not a huge amount.
They are asking us to pay for a skip to remove rubble
Dh says I’m giving relatives house away as it is and he reall y disagrees if I pay for a skip for them.
It’s a huge plot of land ,and I too feel annoyed they pushed the price down.
AIBU to not pay for a skip

OP posts:
HexyAndIKnowIt · 10/09/2020 10:51

I had similar with some shelving in the garage. It was part of the garage storage but the buyer rang and was pretty nasty about it demanding we come and remove all our crap.
The house was sold because my Mother had died and frankly I didn't need his shit.

We'd left the buyer a beautiful ornate mirror that slotted in a space between the built in wardrobes perfectly, and a gorgeous expensive brass fender around the fireplace.
DH knocked on the door, smiled sweetly and apologised, said he'd arrange for the shelving in the garage to be removed but he'd take the mirror and fender we accidentally left now.
Much stuttering and buyer said it was fine he'd sort it 😂

LauderSyme · 10/09/2020 11:18

I think OP has behaved with marvellous grace and maturity Star Flowers

prh47bridge · 10/09/2020 11:22

@Hoppinggreen

You have completed, it’s now their house and their garden. You don’t have to hire a skip for them, presumably they saw the rubble when they viewed the house
I'm afraid this and similar posts are wrong in law.

If the house was sold with vacant possession that means the outgoing owners must remove everything, including any rubbish. If there is enough rubble to justify a skip that presumably means the garage cannot be used until it has been removed. The OP is therefore required to either remove the rubble or pay for its removal.

BigBadVoodooHat · 10/09/2020 11:25

If it was there when they viewed and they didn’t specifically ask for it to be removed it’s down to them.

Please, please tell me you're not employed in conveyancing or anything to do with property whatsoever! Shock

The sale of contract will likely state vacant possession, as this is standard, meaning that the property should be empty of people/all items not detailed in the fixtures & fittings list or otherwise agreed within the terms of the sale, and that the purchaser can enjoy immediate exclusive possession, occupation and control of the property.

"If it was there when they viewed and they didn’t specifically ask for it to be removed it’s down to them" is utterly made-up bollocks! Grin

BigBadVoodooHat · 10/09/2020 11:29

I'm afraid this and similar posts are wrong in law.

There's a lot of that being bandied about on here. I don't know if it's hilarious or worrying that people think 'tough shit, it's your problem now, nernernernerner' is an acceptable and legal process in transacting a house purchase. Grin

kirinm · 10/09/2020 11:31

Obviously the legal position is, it needs to be removed. But, the practical position is (in my experience), the best the buyers can do is sue them and who is going to sue over £200? That is what happened to us and even as a litigation lawyer, I couldn't be bothered with that. Morally - well, that is a different situation!

BigBadVoodooHat · 10/09/2020 11:37

@kirinm

Obviously the legal position is, it needs to be removed. But, the practical position is (in my experience), the best the buyers can do is sue them and who is going to sue over £200? That is what happened to us and even as a litigation lawyer, I couldn't be bothered with that. Morally - well, that is a different situation!
We had a similar situation in that loads of odd-and-sods were left in the house and we didn't bother suing for removal as it wasn't worth the hassle. I'm just bemused by the number of people who genuinely think that 'garage full of rubble' is something you purchase as a fixture/fitting unless you specify that it needs to be cleared!
KeepingPlain · 10/09/2020 11:39

I think the buyers sound like twats to be honest. Who asks for stuff to be replaced on a house that isn't even yours yet? If you want a brand new house, fork out the cash for it, stingy gits. I wanted a house that needed no work done, therefore we paid more.

Unfortunately you do have to remove the rubble but you know that now. And you shouldn't have budged on price, I'd have told them to fuck off, but what's done is done. You've handled it well, stop feeling stressed at their demands, they are assholes that want a castle for the price of a flat. You can't please such people.

m00rfarm · 10/09/2020 11:43

As an aside, I bought an old house in the village where I live in Portugal last year. The owner tried to sell me his furniture - I said no thanks, I will pay the full price, but on condition you clear the furniture. When I arrived, it looked like everyone in the village had brought their unwanted furniture, house decor etc to the house and dumped it - it was completely full! So I ended up spending 3 days clearing the house out!

SantaClaritaDiet · 10/09/2020 11:43

@VintageStitchers

Cheeky feckers! They’re taking the piss.

Tell them to sort it themselves with the money they saved from the purchase price.

I had buyers trying to get us to give them money for something after the sale but I just ignored them.

oh dear.

and this is why the courts are full of petty dispute because of people who do not understand the basics of a legal sales...

KeepingPlain · 10/09/2020 11:44

Actually, with them being stingy assholes, is leave it there. Payback for their demands.

SantaClaritaDiet · 10/09/2020 11:47

Who asks for stuff to be replaced on a house that isn't even yours yet? If you want a brand new house, fork out the cash for it, stingy gits. I wanted a house that needed no work done, therefore we paid more.

Who? Any buyer with a bit of sense.
The seller is free to refuse and sell to someone else!

I love how posters think offering a low price is being a CF. That's literally how it works, even nowadays when houses are selling like crazy. When a seller agrees to your 1st offer, it generally means you have offered too much.

Who in their right mind want to spend more on a house than they have to pay?!

KeepingPlain · 10/09/2020 11:58

Who? Any buyer with a bit of sense.
The seller is free to refuse and sell to someone else!

Nah you don't do that, you've seen the house, if you don't like the standard of it, move on. If you don't like the kitchen, the bathroom etc, move on. Don't like the fact the roof leaks? Move on. No bloody way would I buy a house with a problem if I wasn't willing to fix it myself, you've no idea which tradesmen they will use and if they'll even do a good job. They could go up onto the roof themselves, 'fix' it and claim its all fine. You buy the house, and the next time it rains, your house is ruined. You're screwed now because you bought it. Someone recently found that the warranty from a roofer couldn't be moved on to the next buyer either, so if the roofer hadn't done a good job, the buyer then has to pay for another roof.

Offer a lower price, if its in keeping with the prices near by and its a fair price, but don't ask your sellers to change stuff for you. That's rude.

BigBadVoodooHat · 10/09/2020 11:59

I love how posters think offering a low price is being a CF.

That seems to be how it works on MN, bizarrely. 'Asking price' is deemed to mean 'the incontrovertible and absolutely quantified value of said house' (rather than just a 'best guess' made up by the estate agent and/or vendor on the basis of recent sales of similar houses in the area, with perhaps a bit more stuck on for luck) and making an offer (key word: 'offer' - a proposition that may be accepted or refused) is tantamount to punching the vendor's grandmother in the face and shitting on their doormat.

Whereas in the real world, house prices are negotiated on the basis of all sorts of factors as an accepted and recognised part of the buying and selling process.

Giraffey1 · 10/09/2020 12:01

The price you sold the house at is neither here no there. You chose to accept and sell, no one made you. It was your responsibility to clear the property and garage before completion - a pile of rubble is not regarded as fixtures and fittings!

I think you need to do the right thing and pay for a skip and disposal, which is what you should have done anyway.

Billben · 10/09/2020 12:05

@KeepingPlain

Actually, with them being stingy assholes, is leave it there. Payback for their demands.
With plenty of posters (one actually being a lawyer themselves) pointing out why OP has to have the rubbish cleared, we still have people coming out with nonsense like this on the 6th page 🙄 Don’t people try to educate themselves anymore ?
DishingOutDone · 10/09/2020 12:30

Ask your solicitor, simple e-mail, end of.

billyt · 10/09/2020 12:30

Unfortunately, you(if you are representing the actual home seller) are responsible for clearing.

But if as you say it's only a small amount how about a grab bag? They can hold up to a ton!! And cost about £50-£60. Bag gets dropped off, filled and then collection arranged. Easy and no issues about a huge skip or licenses if using a 'man & a van'

SissySpacekAteMyHamster · 10/09/2020 12:30

Pretty sure legally it should be removed, but actually I think morally it should be.

Would you want to buy a house and then have to pay to get the previous owner's crap removed.

Pretty shitty way to treat people.

GnomeDePlume · 10/09/2020 14:39

Dont forget to stop the cheque book the skip!

KatieB55 · 10/09/2020 15:39

When we took possession of our house we found the vendor had left the loft full of junk - our solicitor made them arrange a skip & workmen to remove it all.

Pumpkinnose · 10/09/2020 15:59

Wow. Yes they’ve given you a huge amount of money. It’s definitely your

AWryGiraffe · 10/09/2020 16:08

@LeroyJenkinssss

AIBU to not pay for a skip

Except that is literally what you asked.

Our sellers left a load of crap everywhere and then had the cheek to rock up two weeks later asking for some of it back (but not all of it, just the stuff they realised they actually wanted). It was a good thing my DH answered the door not me.

We had the same! Crap left in the house including food, piles and piles of rubbish on the patio, and wanted to keep coming back to collect things! They were late getting out of the property too. Fuckers. Still makes me cross, I was pregnant and tired and couldn't be arsed pursuing for the costs but I did send a very cross email after the latest request for stuff they 'may have left'.

I had scrubbed the house I sold from top to bottom as well.

Neron · 10/09/2020 16:29

tantamount to punching the vendor's grandmother in the face and shitting on their doormat

😂

Elbels · 10/09/2020 16:32

Alternative point - we bought a house that we got £20,000 off but it was a total wreck so we compromised by not asking the owner to clear the garage of crap they'd left behind as we knew we'd be hiring skips to do renovation work so it felt petty.