Seller is 'taking' furniture despite my including it in offer letter?

[Rae34]

I have a worse than useless solicitor who I have spoken to just twice even though my date of entry is in 2 days. Really tearing my hair out here and have had no documents of any kind but anyway.

He has finally contacted me and said 'the seller is taking x pieces of furniture during the move, is that okay?'. This means I will now have nothing at all to sit in in the living room to start - these furniture pieces were included in the offer. What are my legal rights??

for you on the stress of home buying with endo..

Thanks @OneEpisode 💐 I did speak to a sympathetic doctor this afternoon who said he would help sort out my surgery once covid settles down.

I struggle with serious brain fog during these flare ups. Trying to do my full time job and sort this flat at the same time has been a major challenge.

@Rae34 - that's possibly too late for a same-day CHAPS payment, 2pm used to be usually be the outside limit. Can you start work late and just go straight to the bank at 9am? Any work you can do by email on your phone while you wait?

Also @Rae34, have you tried progesterone while you wait? Ask your GP, it may reduce the pain.

@MRex the closing time for CHAPS at my bank is 2.59pm

No I can't start work late. I have multiple meetings tomorrow. Typical because I usually don't have meetings on a Friday!

How do you mean @MRex? I was on the pill because they wanted to take it 3 months back to back to prevent bleeds hurt they came through anyway.

I am taking naproxen now, although it barely touches the pain half the time. When I feel like this, aside from the searing pain, it as though someone has put a bomb through my thoughts and nothing makes sense. Major issue for work.

But surely the sellers need the money in the bank to be able to complete their purchase?

Is there not usually a time set for the money to be exchanged?

The issue is that you need the solicitor to get the funds, then send them on. Well, that's how it worked in England, I presume it's the same. If you put it through at 2.59pm and there's a delay in the double transfer, they could miss the 5.40pm deadline and then you haven't completed the sale.

Progesterone might help or it might not, it's up to you if you want to look it up or not.

The solicitor told me on the phone he hadnt set the strict date so it could be left until Monday if it came to it.

The seller has said they are ok with it being Monday and almost expected this to be the case given how useless my solicitor is.

This is the most laid back house move I have ever heard of. Are your sellers buying?

No they arent buying. The seller is a woman who is selling up to move in her with daughter. She has now moved out and is living with her daughter so the flat is empty.

Oh that’s not bad then! You are lucky on that score.

@strawberrymilkshakemonkey

why would you want them to leave their sofas? this makes no sense. it is normal to move in and have no furniture for a few weeks while you measure up the space/wait for it to be delivered, etc.

Ive heard of that being normal, of course you don't move in and hav3 nothing to sit on !

@Nicknacky

CheetasinFijitas Missives are letters exchanged between solicitors, I don’t think the buyers/sellers see them although someone else might be able to confirm.

I've done 11 conveyances in Scotland .

Its true that missives are exchanged between solicitors, but in all our conveyances (sale and purchase) the lawyer acting for me sends me a copy of the missives and then goes through it with me, page by page, on the phone. Sometimes there's some clause the other party has challenged; sometimes there's some condition we dispute or agree to strike out . But I have ALWAYS read every word of the missives with her, and asked my lawyer to explain anything I don't understand. My lawyer then requires me to confirm my agreement in writing (email).

paganbilly I’ve bought and sold a number of times and I’ve never left a sofa and never been asked. You do generally have time to order one before you move in!

It would also mean there would be a knock on with the sellers needing a sofa left for them!

I have bought one sellers sofa though, as it went with the style of the house better than mine did, and I had one leave an almost brand new one which was handy as it was a house with two living rooms.

2bazookas Thanks, it was so long ago I couldn’t remember and to be fair, it was probably H that dealt with that!

I haven't read all the threat so apologies if I'm repeating what others have said. I gather you are in Scotland. When you accepted the written offer they should have told you what was in the written offer then accepted it verbally, normally you would be sent a copy of the offer and be advised of your next steps. The solicitor should then go through the terms of the Offer and the Scottish standard clauses, agree a date of entry and formally accept the Offer in writing. When a contract is formed both parties must adhere to it including the date of entry and any items included or the party that fails to do so effectively breaks the contract and is subject to penalty. You should be kept informed every step of the way, but I know that many solicitors are utterly swamped so they only get round to looking at your file when the date of entry approaches. Unfortunately this is common. I personally recommend using smaller local firms. Not sure that helps at this stage but I wish you all the very best of luck.

Thread* haha no doubt there will be loads more typos. I'm super tired.

Additionally it is heard of to agree to leave items of furniture in the property and it should be clearly stated in the Contract.

Your solicitor is useless! You shouldn’t have to go into your bank to arrange the CHAPS, the solicitor should have had that all sorted. What a mess.

Absolutely agree @MathsFiend. When it is all over I will be making a complaint.

I told him 3 weeks ago 'I am working until this time on the date of entry so I need to know details". The second I finish work I'll need to drive straight there and hope I make it in time.

@Rae34

The solicitor told me on the phone he hadnt set the strict date so it could be left until Monday if it came to it.

The seller has said they are ok with it being Monday and almost expected this to be the case given how useless my solicitor is.

Eh? You’d be in breach of contract if you don’t pay and the transaction doesn’t settle until Monday.

If no date is set then missives cannot be concluded.

Your solicitor is useless! You shouldn’t have to go into your bank to arrange the CHAPS, the solicitor should have had that all sorted. What a mess.
He may be useless but the client always has to arrange the CHAPS transfer,how could anyone else do that?

I think what @MathsFiend meant is that normal practice is to transfer the funds to the solicitor in advance. They then only have one transaction to pay on the day itself (no timing hassle for the buyer nor seller) and give any interest accrued on the current account back to the buyer.

@MRex can you call your bank in advance so they have it all set up and ready to go for when you arrive and they know to push you to the front of the queue etc. No idea if that's possible but just a thought - might make it a tiny bit less stressful. Really hope it goes well for you - go carefully if you're rushing later.