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Original poster

Our house buyers want to move in two weeks before completion....can we allow this?

100 replies

DCsnatchsunhill · 01/06/2007 23:26

Our house buyers want to have an earlier completion date than us. We have redemption penalties on the mortgage that finish at the end of this month, but they want to move in ten days earlier.
We have asked them to wait but they have said they'll pull out if we don't let them.
Our solicitor is not happy but has said they can move in "under licence"??
Does anyone have any experience of this?

OP posts:
hoxtonchick · 02/06/2007 07:40

i think you should call their bluff, though i do understand that being on the other side of the world complicates things.

Idreamofdaleks · 02/06/2007 08:07

Offer them early completion for £2k extra on the purchase price or else they move in on completion date and not before.

This is both fair and safe. What is the buyer's situation, are they really likely to pull out over this? And if you do have to find another buyer how much of a problem will this cause you...are you likely to find another buyer quickly and potentially one who is prepared to offer more money anyway?

gess · 02/06/2007 08:13

God they sound vile & completely unreasonable. They pay redemption penalites or they move at a date that suits you. No discussion.Don't let them in early. No way. Dh (a lawyer)would pass out at the suggestion!

They won't pull out- if they do they'll be in to their next properly later.

persephonesnape · 02/06/2007 08:41

the only other thing i can think of is a compromise position and you split the early redemption fees between the two parties. If they won't accept that I'd tell them to bugger off... but i'd be inclined to tell them to bugger off anyway - i think they're trying to call your bluff and taking advantage of your overseas position.

3sEnough · 02/06/2007 08:49

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! You're just considering it because you might lose the sale - if they are as unfair as they sound, they could move in as squatters and you'd loose your house for a bit until evicted. IT'S JUST NOT ON!

Carmenere · 02/06/2007 08:53

You are absolutely mad imo. Your solicitor(the only person who has your interests at heart) is refusing to act for you if you do this. That is about as strong a messege that she can send you about how risky this is. They will NOT pull out. They can't, they are ill or whatever and need to be in there. If I were you I would pull out all together and find someone else. If you have taken a 28k hit on this and are willing to take another 2k hit to keep them happy( or give them your house as a squat). You can afford to put it back on the market.
Do not do this, it is wrong and you will regret it.

fillyjonk · 02/06/2007 08:58

oh god NO, don't do it. most unwise

UNLESS they are prepared to pay the redemption penalty

fillyjonk · 02/06/2007 08:59

don't see why you should split the penalty either

they want to move early, they pay extra

Freckle · 02/06/2007 08:59

Absolutely do not agree. If they are being this difficult at this late stage, it does not bode well if things go wrong.

Give them an ultimatum. They either cough up the redemption fees or they agree to the original completion date. I can almost guarantee that they will not walk away from this. They'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they did.

lyrabelacqua · 02/06/2007 09:03

Absolutely not!!!!! They could withhold the rest of the money and still have possession of the house. Don't even let them SEE the keys till that money is in your account.

plummymummy · 02/06/2007 09:03

These people are fleecing you. If you give in to their demands they might try it on even more.

lyrabelacqua · 02/06/2007 09:05

If you have already exchanged they will lose their deposit if they pull out so stick to the date YOU want.

tatt · 02/06/2007 09:12

well I have moved into a flat on license and we did complete the sale - but then we weren't being very unreasonable before that, we had exchanged and it was our vendor who changed the completion date. We had to pay rent for that period, you should ask for that.

As you're on the other side of the world and unable to repossess your property easily I wouldn't take the risk. You may find a buyer prepared to pay more and if you let these people in and they don't complete its very hard to get them out again and you may only have their deposit.

LIZS · 02/06/2007 09:24

We tried to gain access to the house (empty) after exchange and before completion ot have some work done and remove old furniture they planned ot elave but in order to do so ti would ahev been very complicated (we'd have had to transfer all the bills, set up insurnace etc) and the vendor set such preconditions like no skip, restricted hours of access, no obvious work taking place (such that if we did anything outside them they would reserve the right to retain our full deposit and remarket) that we decided not to bother. Basically it is a legal minefield and what would you do if they then failed to complete as suing for the costs and eviction would be your only option. You wonl;t sleep for those 2 weeks for fear of what might happen. How much is your penalty, ask them to fund it so you can move at their convenience otherwise they will have to wait. Unless it is a major op a couple of weeks after should be equally fine.

chaffinch · 02/06/2007 09:26

I have little to no legal knowledge but my gut feeling is screaming NO No No. I know you are getting worried but this really could cause a lot more worry for you in the long run. Please please listen to your solicitor.

lyrabelacqua · 02/06/2007 09:29

Just seen that you haven't exchanged yet.
Another thing, what if they managed to burn the house down in the two weeks they were living in it as tenants? They definitely wouldn't want to complete then.
It is FAR too risky imo. Find another buyer.

Judy1234 · 02/06/2007 09:32

Yes, perfectly possible. You need to check with your lender and make sure insurance is sorted out. You can rent houses out, move grannies in, hire them out for filming, all kinds of things so no reason you can't let them in but remember if they don't complete despite exchange they are in possession so you then would have to bring possession proceedings to get them out.

Roskva · 02/06/2007 09:47

Personally I would not take the risk. If anything goes wrong, or they then refuse to exchange, you are stuck with tenants, which will make it difficult for you to sell to anyone else.

Original poster
DCsnatchsunhill · 02/06/2007 10:55

Wow, I am overwhelmed with the responses. Thanks everyone.
Have realised now that my solicitor WAS acting in my best interests...got to admit, we felt she was being over-protective, but have understood all of your points. Thanks for that.
We are still leaning towards giving in to them as we cannot continue with our lives here (eg buy house and settle down) until the house is sold. We are paying rent here and mortgage at home, and we are nearly broke.
But we'll have another chat tonight and we'll see if we feel brave enough to call their bluff.
Any other info still gratefully received.

OP posts:
Carmenere · 02/06/2007 11:01

The question is really can you afford to be involved in a long and tedious eviction process on the other side of the world with some people who have already proven to be unreasonable?
This is a very false economy, you are making a big mistake. I am a gambling woman and believe me the odds on this going tits up are sky high. If you knew these people and trusted them the odds would still be against you. Do not do this, and if you do, certainly do not do it without the help of your solicitor.

lyrabelacqua · 02/06/2007 11:17

I agree with Carmenere.
The phrase 'out of the frying pan, into the fire' springs to mind.
You could be setting yourselves up for all kinds of problems.
I think it's extremely unlikely that they will walk away if you call their bluff.

Freckle · 02/06/2007 11:25

And do remember that, if they do walk away (which I would bet my last bottle of wine that they won't ), you can remarket at the original asking price, i.e. £28K more than they are paying you now.

Perhaps you should speak to your estate agent (and they are meant to be acting in your best interests ) and say that, unless they exchange and complete on the original dates, you will be remarketing the property at the original price. It's a gamble, but you have more chance of winning than they do.

RibenaBerry · 02/06/2007 11:55

I have been lurking for a couple of weeks, but this thread prompted me to register.

I am a lawyer (but not property) and totally agree that you should not agree to this. As someone else has said, there is no way that the buyers will find another house quickly enough for the two week gap not to be an empty threat.

But secondly, have you thought of the coward's way out? I would go back to them and say "sorry, but we've looked on the terms of our mortgage and it doesn't let us have anyone else move in. We've spoken to the bank and they won't approve it. They say that we have to have redeemed our mortgage before anyone else can move in"

I am a coward. What I would want to say is "sod off you mean people. You have beaten me down on price enough. Either pay my £2k mortgage penalty or wait a fortnight". What I would actually say is the above. That way, it's not your 'fault'.

Actually, if you look on the terms of your mortgage, it might even be true...

Judy1234 · 02/06/2007 12:02

Okay, renting to them in the mean time under a licence or whatever not a good idea. Could they not move in with friends for the 2 weeks anyway?

scatterbrain · 02/06/2007 12:04

Oh dear this sounds so familiar - except I am on the other side !

My vendors have been pushing us for an 8 week completion - but are now delaying the whole process as they have a 10K redemption penalty that they don't want to pay ! So they are delaying us another month. In the meantime we have had to cancel a planned and paid for holiday because it will coincide now with the move, and it is causing us loads of stress. We have been packed for a fortnight - and the vendor only mentioned the penalty at the 11th hour !

We have threatened to pull out, as we feel he is taking the piss, our buyers are in temp accomm and have had to extend their arrangements.

We are extremely fed up with our seller - it just seems so incompetent - if you cannot sell your house before 1st July why hassle us in March for an 8 week completion ! Git !

But - as for your situation - you could do a tenancy for the 2 weeks, but is it really worth it ? You definietly cannot let them have early access - and your solicitor definietly cannot hold your funds and pretend you still have the house to escape the penalties !

hsave you thought of splitting the diferenece on the penalties ? Pay £1K each ?

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