Seller wants to stay on after exchanging contracts

[asks62]

A bit of a strange one I must say in our journey of finding our first home. We've had a few difficult scenarios thrown at us in the last few months but this one, I must admit is a bit too crazy to digest. Looking for any advice you can offer.

Offer accepted. We're in a rush obviously to beat the Jun 30 stamp duty deadline. (It's a big sum for us if we were to delay).
Few days later the estate agent says the sellers are doing up their new property and it'll take a few more months than planned earlier. So they're still happy to close the transaction by end of June but they will stay over for 3 months beyond the contract completion date.
They're happy to pay rent for the 3 months that they stay at technically what would be our property if we go ahead.

Problems:

1. Solicitor and bank have both red signalled it saying you need to take possession on contract exchange day. So essentially I've to lie to them saying I will be moving in there as soon as the contracts are exchanged. I'm extremely uncomfortable with this.
2. Since we would be owners all liability on the house is ours. Building insurance etc could be invalid if something were to go wrong like a fire, burglary etc.
3. We love the property. It's a nice area but we're too inexperienced to visualise the challenges we might get into because this could be breach of contract with lender etc.

The sellers seem genuine but I know nothing about them.

There are not many properties on the market because everyone seems to be buying one at the moment.
My mind says we should just let it go.

Is this a common scenario? Do you think it's worth the pain?
Estate agent is trying to talk me into it and I'm confused.
Any advice is appreciated.

No no no absolutely do not agree.

Solicitor and bank have both red signalled it saying you need to take possession on contract exchange day. So essentially I've to lie to them saying I will be moving in there as soon as the contracts are exchanged.
Why would it cross your mind to ignore this? I feel quite concerned for you, tbh. You're blundering through a very expensive transaction without a light in the darkness, because you haven't the sense to listen to legal advice.
Coming on Mumsnet hoping complete randoms will encourage you to ignore the legal advice you've been given!

No you can't as you'd be one a landlord basically and that requires different insurance and a different mortgage so you'd be voiding your current policies. They need to move in and do work around themselves like everyone else for xx

Firstly, for god's sake, listen to the legal advice that you're paying your solicitor for. Secondly , it's very odd that the EA says the seller would be happy to pay rent - i take it this hasnt been discussed and they have no idea what amount you'd want them to pay? Thirdly, there's no "technically" about it being your property. It would be legally your property. Fourth, never forget that the EA's number 1 priority is their commission on the sale, not the seller and definitely not you.

We had something like this from the other side not long ago. Our buyers turned out to have lied about their mortgage type which meant that suddenly without any warning we had to exchange and complete on the same day, within 3 days of hearing about it. We had nowhere to move to, were on holiday at the time, have small kids, no childcare help (schools were closed) and basically there is no way we could do it. We did for about 30 minutes decide to play hard ball and say because it was their fault we would need to stay a little longer beyond completion. But obviously what it boiled down to was how much did we want to sell? We really wanted to sell so we made it work, left the holiday and got the whole thing done in 3 days and were out by 2pm on the final day. It's up to your buyers to make it work, say no. It's definitely fraught with potential problems.

It's common to exchange and move a week later (I remember it feeling odd paying house insurance on the house we weren't in and then our buyer insuring our old house) but 3 months sounds ages!!!

NO. If they are willing to pay rent to you they can pay rent to someone else.

Or say yes but rent is £10k per month and get it written up by a solicitor.

They are just trying it on.

Pull out now. Don't ignore advice from your solicitor and take everything the estate agent says with a very large pinch of salt.

EA is trying to persuade you as they only care that the house is sold - that's how they make money.

As someone else has said - are you certain they're asking to stay after completion? Or three months , between exchange & completion? Two very different things - the first would be absolutely not, the second would be possible if it sets the costs/stamp duty, and if you have somewhere to stay during the interim

If it's between exchange and completion, then the sale is legally agreed, but the house still theirs and responsibility also, until day if completion.

You need to get something crystal clear from the EA/sellers solicitor so you have a clear idea what they're actually asking for.

ABSOLUTELY NOT. No sane person will tell you to agree to do this. The EA is a nob and probably getting cash under the table. Stick to your guns and tell them to leave. As if moving isn't stressful enough! We moved in lockdown part 1, from another city, and had to do a SIM all in 1 morning. I can't tell you how many heart attacks I had that day! Don't do it OP.

Absolutely not. They move into rented accommodation. It could be so hard to get rid of them.

Like other people have said, exchange and completion are very different things. We have asked for a longer time period than normal this time round between exchange and completion due to the stamp duty at the moment to ensure the sale doesn't fall through last minute. You move out and take possession of new house on completion, not exchange.

No. Do not do this.

Listen to your solicitor.

on exchange , the signed docs are exchanged between solicitors- sometimes a deposit too.

on completion, the remainder/all of the money is exchanged, and the sale is complete , and the property is yours.

If any solicitor or estate agent advises letting the previous owner stay after completion, they are nuts.

Ignore the person upthread that says if the seller doesnt XYZ, they lose their deposit. ( erm, they haven't paid a deposit! Seller dont pay deposits! )

Mine wanted to stay one extra day and my solicitor went ballistic. So much risk!!

No no no.

As others have said, absolutely not. If they can afford to pay you rent, they can afford somewhere else.

If you are cash buyers you can do what you want, I doubt you are though so you will be very much controlled by your mortgage company who gave you a mortgage with certain t&cs

In France this would not be such a shock as it seems to be on MN today - it happens there from time to time, see Facebook Group - Strictly Legal France. I would not agree to allow it though.

This is not a great shock in France - where it happens from time to time.

The answer here is no, and if it carries on being pushed you’ll walk away from the house altogether.

I’m also wondering if you are confused and the EA is suggesting that you have a three month gap between exchange and completion which would be unusual but legal. We had a one month gap for various reasons.

But if you are seriously considering letting previous owners stay for three months after completion then you don’t understand this process enough to be buying a house IMO.

Sorry - my first post did not seem to ''take''!

OP, as other posters have advised, do not even contemplate letting the sellers remain in the property after completion, where a condition of the contract is vacant possession. This is particularly where your bank and solicitor have warned you against it. Furthermore, if the sellers refused to leave after your agreed 3 months you would need to legally evict them. That alone can be expensive and very stressful.

Another one saying no.

I have bought and sold several properties including one where we couldn't get our completion dates to match and so we lived in temporary accommodation in between. My sister also did the same and lived with my parents in their 2 bed house when she was a family of 4! You just find an alternative. You are not to provide it.

Your mortgage is for you to live in the property not a buy to let mortgage so you cannot rent your home out.

There are a million reasons where this could go spectacularly wrong if they stay in the property whilst you own it. Any "rent" paid to you would be classed as income and there are implications with that too, the worst one being they could refuse to leave. You would own a house which you are fraudulently letting out and would then have to go through an eviction process.

Absolutely get vacant possession. It is up to them to find alternative accommodation, the estate agent works for the seller. Their payment comes from the vendor.