Completed on house this morning but previous owner still hasn’t left!!

[BlueFireSmokey]

Got the message from the solicitor to say we had completed at around 11am this morning. Told the house was now ours and we could pick up the keys from the estate agents. Phoned estate agents and arranged to pick keys up at 3pm. We were very excited as it’s our first home!

Got to estate agents no sign of keys no one seemed to know where they were. They phoned the vendor who said she wasn’t done packing!! And would be gone in a couple of hours. Estate agents told us they shut at 5:30 so to get the keys we would need to go to the house and get them direct from the vendor.

We then left it a couple hours before going to our lovely new home. Fortunately, we have several weeks left on our tenancy so we aren’t actually moving all our furniture in today (vendor doesn’t know this). Anyway they are still there! They said they will be another twenty minutes.

We are gonna find some dinner somewhere then head back and see if they are gone. They gave us a key but they still have keys they said they will put through letter box. This isn’t how I imagined today would go!

Call your solicitor tomorrow and complain. Theirs should have waited until they were out before accepting the money.

Did you call your solicitor? Your vendor was 100% in the wrong as the house no longer belonged to them once the money changed hands. Hope you're now in!

We had the same OP, picked the keys up to it first house, got there to find them still moving out and their mil hoovering upstairs!

Surely they’re in breech of contract still being there? There’s courtesy (maybe until lunch or something) but 7.30pm and counting is taking the piss.

That sounds frustrating. Are they at least apologetic and rushing to finish packing or are they taking their time and acting as though they still own the house?

We had the same - in Scotland where it’s written in by-laws that they have to be out by 3 latest- she was still packing at 5 having been working all day and her removal men were clocking off . It was a Friday.
DH had our solicitor call hers to explain she had to leave. It was very ugly. She had to come back next day to pick up her crap,.
We had an overlap so all I was doing was cleaning up after her.

We’ve not told the solicitor but our mortgage broker said we should put in a complaint.

We gave our sellers about an extra hour. There's not a lot you can do if they're still madly running around packing when you arrive.

7.30pm is pushing things somewhat but at least you have a key and you don't have a lorry full of your belongings sitting on the roadside.

There was a thread on here a while ago by someone who was pissed off that her buyers had showed up because she was still having lunch

They're trespassing. The house doesn't belong to them, it belongs to you. I hope they're gone.

Don't leave! Getting something to eat is not important compared to making sure they are out of the house you own. Stay at the house.

They don’t seem apologetic. I guess some people just don’t get it or don’t care. I was trying to be chilled about it as I know it’s hard moving everything out on time but I’m getting quite tired now.

@Clymene

There was a thread on here a while ago by someone who was pissed off that her buyers had showed up because she was still having lunch

They're trespassing. The house doesn't belong to them, it belongs to you. I hope they're gone.

I was thinking of that. And she was annoyed they unplugged the fridge as they had loads of food still in it!

There was a thread on here a while ago by someone who was pissed off that her buyers had showed up because she was still having lunch

I remember. I was just telling my husband about it. I was perplexed and amused that she didn’t get she was wrong.

The thing is what can you do? There is no one to handle any complaint. If they've still got stuff in the house what are you going to do - ask them to leave without it? And then you've got to clear it and arrange it to get to them.

It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth and it's extremely poor form on their part, but what can you do?

Sod that. I'd have shut the door on them when they were outside loading up. It's not their place anymore.

Don't leave! Getting something to eat is not important compared to making sure they are out of the house you own. Stay at the house.

Yes, I was gonna just go home and come back tomorrow but my broker said we need to stay and get the keys and secure it else our insurance could be invalid.

We a good thirty minutes away in a different town.

We live that should say

call a locksmith to change the lock right away.
keep the receipt.

This happened to me! Exchanged at 12pm then the vendors didn't finish moving there stuff out til 8pm! I rang solicitors, estate agents and everything but there was nothing they could do. Also left a load of rubbish behind that I had to get rid of at my cost, solicitors put the bill to them which they obviously disputed and I would have had to go through a small claims court. Absolutely fuming.

Oh dear, does happen sometimes. Our vendors were in for a while after exchange, but only as they were insistent on tidying up thoroughly, and also had been here 40 years and wanted to say goodbye - luckily we were moving from a few doors down and they let us start hauling our stuff in. Then no one at agents seemed to know who had the keys (though we were in because the door was open) so it was nearly closing time before we got them!

Get new locks asap!

Have they gone now? If not tell them to leave, abd leave now. It’s your house. They don’t own it.

@purplesequins

call a locksmith to change the lock right away. keep the receipt.

This - tonight, it definitely get them moving and ensure a secure house for insurance purposes.

Wow they've had enough time to know about it!

I'd be stood watching them OP, inside the house. It belongs to you, not them.

The height of CF!

Listen to your broker and don't be a wimp.

The house is yours if you've paid for it - to them! - so let them get on with it and book into a hotel if they are slacking.