To say no to my house buyers wanting to redecorate before completion?

[Tarantella43]

I know my house buyers slightly as they were parents at the school my kids attended until recently. They found my phone number from a former school year group parents WhatsApp group and set up a group chat with me once they made their offer (though estate agent — it’s not a private sale). Anyway, my house is now empty and it turns out they somehow presumed they would be able to have early access before completion to have floors sanded and walls painted, My solicitor strongly advised against this as it brings various risks, not least that I’d ultimately be liable for any accidents or damage. I said, on an awkward phone call they asked for with me, sorry, no, I’m not comfortable with this. They said it will be hard for them to do the work with kids and furniture. Seems like they’d assumed my goodwill in this. AIBU?

We’ve just bought a place and this is exactly what we’re doing.
It is hard to renovate with kids around (we have a 1 and 3 year old so it wouldn’t be safe to do some of the work we want to do with them living in the house), but that means we’re staying in our rental flat for a few extra months until the main work is completed. It’s an expense we factored in as part of the purchase of the house we chose.

We’ve had 2 property purchases fall through less than a week before completion (the seller changed their mind/the chain collapsed). We also pulled out midway through the process after surveys and searches came back with unexpected issues. When we sold a previous property a buyer pulled out the day before completion because he lost his job.
Even if they fully intend to complete the purchase unexpected things can happen and you don’t want to be left with a property that’s now full of their half finished projects that you then have to fix before you can find a new buyer.

Also, like everyone else says there are implications for your insurance if anything happens during their renovations whilst you still own the property. It’s frustrating for them but you’re completely reasonable to refuse (especially as you’ve had legal advice that this is the best thing to do)

I’m all for doing people a favour but they’re taking the piss 🙈 Are they first time buyers and maybe just naive to the implications this can have?

With the last home we sold, I had a furniture delivery turn up at the door as we were finishing off some repairs. We had already moved into rented so the house was empty. It was the buyers sofa & armchairs 🫠🫠
They actually lived in a (tiny 1 bed) flat across the road from us so I popped over and asked her to come and sort it out. She was absolutely mortified. They’d ordered from DFS as it was a 12 week delivery and they wanted it in time for Christmas. Delivery should have been about 6-8 weeks after they got the keys according to the date DFS had given, but they turned up to deliver 2 weeks after her ordering 🙈 Her partner was down as the contact for the delivery and he was abroad for work so they hadn’t received the call saying it was being delivered that day.
The delivery driver was a horror and was telling her it would go down as a failed delivery and she’d be charged a silly amount for redelivery and he couldn’t guarantee when it would be as this sofa would be returned to the warehouse etc and likely go to someone else. He was certain they wouldn’t have it by Christmas.

She was pregnant with her first and due just after Christmas 🫠

So I told her not to stress and just allowed the guys to deliver the sofa etc. She came in and they unwrapped it all, she checked it all over and accepted the delivery and then we rewrapped it all so it was covered until they moved in.

Made no real difference to me as we weren’t living there and we had it delivered into a room that wasn’t needing any work done. So I was happy to do them a favour and take away that stress.

If they’d asked to redecorate my house before they owned it I’d have told them where to go!

I am actually doing this! Our sellers have agreed that we can have some fencing replaced between exchange and completion. Boundary needs to be secure or the dogs will be off! But, it is their fencer, they are paying him and we have a contract in place with them to say we will reimburse them for the works. I would not ask to start doing renovations prior to completion though.

ABSOLUTELY NOT. Apart from accompanied visits to measure up, or for a survey, buyers should get zero access before completion and your solicitors confirm to you that they have received the money, not even access the morning of completion day. I have worked at a conveyancing solicitors and things can and do go wrong last minute.

This was my first thought! I'd be removing myself from that WA group and telling them all comms need to go through solicitors.

Tell them it will be hard for you also to have the work done with kids and furniture..

Just blame your solicitors they’ve advised you not to.

You are paying your estate agent handsomely to handle negotiations with the buyer. Exit the group chat and tell them to talk through them.

Of course they can’t do that! It’s not their house.

Absolutely no chance!
What if the sale were to collapse at the last minute! Just no way.

We sold my late parents' house a few years ago, completion was on a Friday (always a bad idea) and the buyers' money just didn't reach our solicitor's bank account before close of business. They had all their furniture in a removal van, two young kids and a dog, and nowhere to go. Everything was signed, it was just that because they were at the end of the chain, the money hadn't transferred in time.

I'm a lawyer, and understand the risks, but I would have let them move in ... my brothers, both self-employed businessmen, said no. I think we let them put the furniture in the garage, but they had to stay in a hotel for the weekend and couldn't get the keys till Monday. Harsh but them's the rules!

So absolutely not - tell them 'my solicitor says' and as others have said, drop the WhatsApp group - you don't owe them anything and you don't have to be their best friends, this is a business transaction. You'll get endless questions about how the boiler works and where's the key to the meter cupboard ... or worse.

As it’s entirely hypothetical, of course they’ll say they would. Not that it matters whether they would or not.

Don’t do it.

Selling to people you know is an absolute nightmare! We just completed in the last week and the entitled CFs who bought from us led us a merry dance - but that request takes the biscuit - would absolutely not have agreed to it and we indulged a lot.

No, no, no and no!!!! I know someone whose buyer gave them a hard luck story about needing to be out of their current house and into their new one (his house) before the completion date and could they move in and rent the house for 2 weeks until completion date. Owner had already moved out and didn't see anything wrong with it so agreed and the buyers moved in. As soon as they did they ripped wallpaper off, carpet up, knocked internal walls down etc etc and they never actually completed the sale. The completion date kept being moved for various reasons such as waiting for finance to come through. Kept owner semi-happy by giving him rent, although not on time and never full amount. They buyers never did buy the place and it took the owner 2 years to evict the family!!! Turns out the buyer was a con-artist and had done this to numerous people - he ended up in prison for fraud!!! Cost the owner over £30k to repair the damage!!

You are not being unfair it is just not worth the risk and they are CF for asking. I would pass this to either your solicitor or the Estate Agent to tell the buyer no - that’s what they are being paid for you shouldn’t need to get involved!

I can’t believe their solicitors have advised this! No way ! It’s not legally binding until exchange and even then one can pull out before completion incurring costs! Get your solicitor to let their solicitor know this is not acceptable and can’t be done . That will take the heat away from you telling them.

edited to say block them from your phone number you don’t want them calling you up for any problems after sale !

You could offer to rent it to them (i know lots who have done this) but its still a degree of risk.

The house isn't theirs. Sales fall through before completion all the time. Happened to us multiple times.

The answer is no and it's not a tough one

Definitely this would be an issue. Personally I think they are being cheeky.

They should have insurance anyway from exchange.

If it’s already vacant I’d say yes as it is a faff redecorating once your furniture and children are there (!) BUT only with a formal licence to occupy, drawn up by the solicitors, dealing with: what they’re allowed to do, how long they can do it for (e.g until completion date, so if it doesn’t complete the licence falls away and they need to a) return it to how it was and b) leave), confirm it isn’t a tenancy, and importantly they have to cover your legal costs in drawing the agreement up. That may well focus the mind!

Yes. We had a mortgage rescinded on settlement day once. Big scramble to get a new lender.

Not after you’d exchanged though? If so, you are incredibly unlucky as that’s far more unusual!

Tell them your solicitor has advised against it so no. They are really naive, probably first time buyers as I can’t think anyone else would be this stupid unless they are just CFs. I would have refused the WhatsApp group too. JFC

I’d be very suspicious, of course you can decorate with furniture and children in a house, loads of people do it

yanbu. Give them an inch ......

I had this with my last buyer. She asked if she could have some stuff delivered to my garden the day before completion. I said yes. I didn't think it would be a problem. Some sand and cement were delivered. Then two workmen with pick axes and a minidigger turned up. When I refused to let them start work, they got nasty and I had to threaten them with the police before they would leave. Then she rang every two minutes until I turned my phone off.

After we'd moved she sent me a solicitor's letter threatening me with court if I didn't pay her £500 because I had left a stack of logs in the log shed. I pointed to a clause in the sale document that all fuel should be left behind and told her politely to get stuffed.

Don't agree to anything. They can wait until the house is theirs.

@Empress13 I think if you read the post, you'll find that the buyer's solicitor is never even referred to - its the seller's solicitor telling her not to allow it. I assume the buyer's solicitor is blissfully ignorant about the plans of this cheeky pair. The seller's solicitor is right about the awful risks you would be undertaking - there is no guarantee they will complete and you could be left with their half baked renovation efforts eg maybe the wallpaper wasn't to everybody's taste but half stripped walls are worse. For what it's worth, I am a solicitor, not in the UK, and I personally wouldn't dream of allowing them into the house in these circumstances. The fact that they tracked you down and made an unreasonable request and then doubled down about their children underfoot would make me consider them more likely to take advantage than the average person.