To ask for help with this cluster? House sale related

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This may be long, sorry.

In December I surrendered my house via voluntary repossession. (I don't want to go into the reasons why - just it was an urgent situation and one I had no good way out of!)

It has been up for sale for the past few months. I drove past yesterday and there's workmen in pulling the kitchen out.

Came back home and rang the mortgage company. They are still waiting for the funds to clear and as far as they're concerned, the house isn't sold. Estate agents won't speak to me, will only deal with the mortgage company and so I'm waiting to hear back from them but i feel genuinely sick with worry over it all - they've trashed what was a new kitchen (redone in 2020) even though nothing has completed, according to the mortgage company.

It was my first house (rented before) but it seems totally wrong to me that the new owner has access even though he technically hasn't paid?

Please can someone help me make sense of this? It is all 100% true and accurate - I have not misinterpreted anything.

surely if you surrendered it, it’s no longer your house? It’s the mortgage company’s house. Having workmen in before completion does seem dodgy. But it’s not really your business anymore. You’ve notified them and there’s nothing more you can or should do.

I’m sorry cos it must be really hurtful to see someone pulling out your lovely kitchen, on top of losing your home

I know it's not my house. I'm concerned about what will happen if the money never shows up - i still had 46k to pay off tbe mortgage that this sale should have cleared! (it sold for 70k)

You need a solicitor to advise. The first question is is the property still owned by you? Did you sign a transfer and did it complete in terms of a transfer to any new owner, whether the new owner was the lender who might have acquired it or a new buyer? Look carefully at every document you signed. You can also pay £3 to search the land registry although changes of owner take months to show up on there. If that yields nothing ask the lender who currently owns the house.

If you do then they should not be doing anthnig to your kitchen. If you no longer own it then it is very common for lenders to get whatever they can even if it means the individual ends up with a bigger debt to the lender, sadly which is why if you can it is better to sell it yourself than hand in the keys and take the risks of that.

As far as the mortgage company are concerned, they still own the house. The estate has given out keys so the new buyer has access without everything completing properly!

And yes, I know I'd have been better off selling it myself - unfortunately due to the situation I needed to move ASAP.