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Original poster

Advice on completion day logistics/late moving out

19 replies

Sarahlouboo · 20/06/2015 09:02

Our vendor has indicated that he hasn't booked removals till late in the afternoon ! We are second from the bottom in a chain of five. We have removals booked for 1 pm. I assumed that everyone would have to be out for lunch time/early afternoon? I have asked him to consider moving earlier and he said he would try but he has a meeting mid afternoon...he was the one who pushed for this particular date so I am a bit annoyed tbh. Should i just chill out? Or do you think I should have a word with his EA?! Anyone got experience of this type of scenario?

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MegMogandOwlToo · 20/06/2015 09:40

Speak to your solicitor. The vendor needs to be out when the funds have been transferred, he can't decide what time suits him!

If that date is inconvenient, perhaps he should rearrange.

Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 20/06/2015 10:49

Thanks Megmog. Just spoke to his EA who said yep the house is yours when the funds have transferred so he needs to get out! She is going to have a word. I didn't want to be unreasonable but it does sound as though dinner time is the norm!

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specialsubject · 20/06/2015 10:56

vendor doesn't get to choose. As noted he needs to be out ASAP, and if he is so lah-de-dah important he can pay someone to deputise, or get the removals done a day early and store stuff/stay in a hotel.

keep chasing this one as he will cause chaos otherwise.

crispycake · 20/06/2015 11:38

We had completed around 11am & our sellers did not move out till 5:30! They then handed the keys into the estate agents around 6 who then closed, which meant we couldn't get the keys until the following day.

Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 20/06/2015 12:16

Crispycake - some people are so inconsiderate! At least I have the heads up, would have been awful if we just turned up on the day and he hasn't even started moving!

Special subject - hopefully the EA will talk some sense into him but yes, I will pursue it!

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FishWithABicycle · 20/06/2015 12:30

Make sure the contract has penalty clauses written in for any expenses incurred for delays he causes, and do not give him the money for his house until his house is empty of his possessions. He should reschedule his meeting or pay others to clear the house. It is ridiculous for him to expect to be allowed to do this.

specialsubject · 20/06/2015 13:03

I'm not sure that you can control the money transfer timing. It all moves up the chain. Once the money has transferred, the house belongs to the buyer and the vendor no longer has a right to be there.

I was lucky with my last move as the vendor had left the day before; and for our sale, we moved two days before completion. Keys get left with the agent who won't release them to the buyer until the money has transferred to the seller.

as noted, your vendor simply cannot play these games and you need to get your solicitor and the EA to read him the riot act now.

Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 20/06/2015 13:16

Tbh I think he is just a bit clueless rather than wilfully obstructive. But what did he think we were going to do ffs?! Anyway, I'm sure it will all work out. Thank you for bolstering me up, I am not naturally assertive so the whole house buying process has been a bit torturous for me!

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specialsubject · 20/06/2015 13:19

clueless is no excuse, this is a grown up game.

take no prisoners!

Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 20/06/2015 13:47

Ha ha, you are scary in a good way! I will try and channel you in future dealings!

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BlackbirdOnTheWire · 20/06/2015 21:24

This reminds me of when we bought our house many years ago. We were FTB moving from fully-furnished rented, so picked up the keys at lunchtime from the EA, then moved our stuff in a hired van after work that evening.

We had a bit of a shock when we turned up at 8pm and found the house still furnished, with the family still packing their belongings. We ended up helping them carry their stuff out to their assortment of cars and vans borrowed from relatives. They finally vacated just after midnight, handing us the spare keys they'd kept 'to see themselves out'.

hope you get things sorted!

specialsubject · 21/06/2015 15:09

are you sitting next to me, sarah ???

it's not scary, it is assertive. I have also been treated like little people in a housing chain and I am worth more than that. As are you.

Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 21/06/2015 18:47

Well we have some movement - vendor has now cancelled his meeting and aiming for early afternoon move! Hurrah! Thank you.

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Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 21/06/2015 18:47

Blackbird - that is !!

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Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 27/06/2015 07:12

Well we got the vendor to agree to move out at a reasonable time but we may as well not have bothered. His removal "company" consisted of a man, his wife and child and a van! They were two hours late having gone to the wrong address, took ages to load everything and two trips etc etc BUT that didn't matter because our removals were also two hours late!! the head guy is a family friend so this made things very awkward and he kept standing around talking like it was a social occasion! I was a tad stressed! However, I was very assertive, even within these constraints, thanks to you guys, I insisted we were given access to the property so we could start unloading stuff. We still didn't get finished until 6! Lesson learned - book a reputable removal firm and insist that everyone else in the chain does too!

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wowfudge · 27/06/2015 09:16

Ime it always takes anyone doing their own removals far longer than they think, but a decent removal firm can do it really quickly. The tenants moving out of our place weren't gone until 4.30. As it was that was the least of our worries as the bank transfer didn't go through and we ended up completing the next day. Luckily we had planned to move then because the house was filthy and needed scrubbing from top to bottom.

Bohemond · 27/06/2015 09:23

We fortunately used the same firm as our vendor - important since the house was down a single track road and we both required two large vans. We would have been sunk if there hadn't been great communication between the two teams!

We also sold using the same estate agent which meant they had a huge incentive to negotiate a deal.

specialsubject · 27/06/2015 11:08

there's no such thing as a stress-free moving day but very glad you got in eventually, and thanks for the update.

our second removers (from storage to the new house) had been given the address of the rental we were leaving, an hour in the wrong direction. Fortunately they checked before driving off!

best wishes in your new home. And it is all over!!!

Original poster

Sarahlouboo · 28/06/2015 21:40

Wowfudge - your move sounds spookily like ours although we fortunately completed 5 minutes before the deadline with everyone threatening to apply penalties! But tick for the filthy house we are still cleaning!

Behomand - that's a great idea. I will defo suggest that for a future move based on our terrible experience.

Specialsubject - thank you we do love the house, it's the right move but it really didn't need to be so painful. Hopefully we will have better luck next time (which won't be for a loooooooooong time.)

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