Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

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

368 replies

BlueFireSmokey · 22/09/2021 19:26

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!

OP posts:
Anordinarymum · 23/09/2021 09:28

When I moved, the new buyer wanted the keys to the house on the minute of completion. They had no house to sell as they were renting it out. They knew we were moving out and they knew we could not commence until I got the keys to my new place.
We had removal men here and a van of our own. All my family helped. I was busy cleaning and washing carpets and they kept phoning and phoning.

They knew I was up to my eyes in it and still they kept on nagging for the keys.

They got them when I was ready and not a moment before but the stress of moving was bad enough without them mithering at me.

Because they were phoning all the time I left precious things behind in the loft and never got them back.

I will never do this again. I will find another way of doing it.

Howareyouflower · 23/09/2021 09:28

I had a relative who turned up at his new house to find the family eating a roast dinner and NOT ONE THING packed! They didn't know completion meant they had to be out! They thought it meant that the solicitor had finished his work and would be contacting them to give them a moving date. They had to ring round and get a gang of friends and relatives to come and help them pack, and eventually were out in the early hours!

Howareyouflower · 23/09/2021 09:30

@Anordinarymum

When I moved, the new buyer wanted the keys to the house on the minute of completion. They had no house to sell as they were renting it out. They knew we were moving out and they knew we could not commence until I got the keys to my new place. We had removal men here and a van of our own. All my family helped. I was busy cleaning and washing carpets and they kept phoning and phoning.

They knew I was up to my eyes in it and still they kept on nagging for the keys.

They got them when I was ready and not a moment before but the stress of moving was bad enough without them mithering at me.

Because they were phoning all the time I left precious things behind in the loft and never got them back.

I will never do this again. I will find another way of doing it.

You were in the wrong.
50ShadesOfCatholic · 23/09/2021 09:32

Oh we had this, I was so pissed off. They mooched around all afternoon packing...

Beamur · 23/09/2021 09:40

My DH bought a house with his ex. Turned up to move in. Vendor still inside, not fully packed, husband had decided to go to work! They said it wasn't convenient to move that day any more and could they have a few more days...
The answer was no.
I think people move house so infrequently they don't really understand the process and frequently underestimate the time required to pack and move.

Disfordarkchocolate · 23/09/2021 09:42

Did you not realise @Anordinarymum that on completion you no longer own the house and have no right to be there?

You pack and load the van ready to be off the premises by the time you complete.

FlaviaAlbiaWantsLangClegBack · 23/09/2021 09:46

Glad you got in OP! Enjoy your new home Flowers

I know of two cases locally where the owners just refused to move out after completion. One changed their mind and offered the buyers their money back when they turned up with their stuff and the other was a repossession sale and had buried their head in the sand.

In both cases the owner of the estate agents stepped in and found somewhere for them to rent immediately but the ones who changed their mind ended up staying overnight while the new family went to a hotel. I was getting intermittent updates on that one, it sounded like hell for the poor buyers.

Theteapotsbrokenspout · 23/09/2021 09:47

@Quickchangeartiste

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.
By-laws? Really? When we moved in Scotland the new owners were waiting to move into my house from 12.30pm. My solicitor told me not to give them the keys until the money was transferred. They kept nagging at me and popping into the house, and eventually I gave them the keys at half four - my solicitor was furious, the money didn’t clear until nearly 5.30.
Lockdownbear · 23/09/2021 09:57

@Anordinarymum

When I moved, the new buyer wanted the keys to the house on the minute of completion. They had no house to sell as they were renting it out. They knew we were moving out and they knew we could not commence until I got the keys to my new place. We had removal men here and a van of our own. All my family helped. I was busy cleaning and washing carpets and they kept phoning and phoning.

They knew I was up to my eyes in it and still they kept on nagging for the keys.

They got them when I was ready and not a moment before but the stress of moving was bad enough without them mithering at me.

Because they were phoning all the time I left precious things behind in the loft and never got them back.

I will never do this again. I will find another way of doing it.

Why on earth didn't you have the loft emptied weeks before you moved?
Anordinarymum · 23/09/2021 09:57

@Disfordarkchocolate

Did you not realise *@Anordinarymum* that on completion you no longer own the house and have no right to be there?

You pack and load the van ready to be off the premises by the time you complete.

It was already arranged that we would drop the keys off when we had gone. The estate agent was gong to call them after I had dropped the keys off. They knew all of this. When we had completed the removal men started loading the van and not before. This is what we agreed. They decided they wanted the keys now in spite of this. Communication was a waste of time. They acknowledged that we would be dropping the keys off and then changed their minds. The estate agent agreed they were out of order but in the eyes of the law the house was now theirs. As I said they got the keys when we were ready but it was very stressful.
Lockdownbear · 23/09/2021 09:58

Why were you washing carpets when you were already over your time, quick hoover and get on your way?

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 23/09/2021 09:59

Do people get confused by the weird English system of exchanging contracts and then after a few more days or weeks (usually) completing? I can't remember now how we learned about the English system of house purchase 35 years ago when we first tackled it, but we were both very aware that once we'd exchanged contracts we were legally bound to go ahead with the purchase. IIRC, the deposit is paid over at that point.

I wonder if some people don't grasp this and are still half afraid that it will all through right up to completion. Or like the family mentioned above, they get muddled between exchange of contracts and completion and are waiting for the solicitor to tell them when they'll be moving out, not having grasped that that's what the completion date signifies.

Or maybe it's just that many people are thick and/or lazy and/or disorganised.

Nightmare for all concerned, anyway.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 23/09/2021 10:02

When we had completed the removal men started loading the van and not before. This is what we agreed. They decided they wanted the keys now in spite of this.

In other words, their solicitor put them straight and explained that they owned the house from the moment of completion and their insurance policy wouldn't cover them if you were still in there. Why on earth wouldn't you plan your move so that you were out of the house before the money changed hands?

BoredZelda · 23/09/2021 10:03

Our removal van broke down on the way to empty our house. It was due at 10am, turned up at 4.30 and we were still moving in to our new home at 11.30 pm. Thankfully we part exchanged so there was nobody waiting and being encouraged to invite all their friends round and eat pizza in the living room.

Sometimes things happen outwith your control. That said, if someone was coming in, I would have called to let them know, and if they turned up, apologised to them profusely and explained the situation.

BoredZelda · 23/09/2021 10:05

their insurance policy wouldn't cover them if you were still in there.

This is nonsense. The contents owned by the people moving out would be covered by them, and the building is insured no matter who happens to be inside.

Anordinarymum · 23/09/2021 10:06

@Lockdownbear

Why were you washing carpets when you were already over your time, quick hoover and get on your way?
To all those of you who are criticising me I would like you to know it was eleven years ago and I am over it now :)
DillonPanthersTexas · 23/09/2021 10:08

When I moved, the new buyer wanted the keys to the house on the minute of completion. They had no house to sell as they were renting it out. They knew we were moving out and they knew we could not commence until I got the keys to my new place.

They were not nagging you for FFS. They not unreasonably assumed that upon completion they owned the house and that you should not have been there. If you did not have keys to your new place then you should have arranged temporary storage for your possessions. You pottering about packing after completion and getting upset at the new owners because you could not be bothered get your shit together in a timely fashion is the height of entitlement.

They got them when I was ready and not a moment before

You lack of self awareness is astonishing.

FunnysInLaJardin · 23/09/2021 10:08

@crosstalk

FunnysinLaJardin

I cannot believe that for 30 years you've been a lacksadaisical conveyancer.

Solicitor.

Happily for you I left the crap UK system 23 years ago and so unless you ever buy or sell a house in Jersey (entirely unlikely), you will never have to encounter my lacksadaisical ways.

BoredZelda · 23/09/2021 10:12

Why on earth wouldn't you plan your move so that you were out of the house before the money changed hands?

Because what happens if the money doesn’t go through? You can’t then pay for your next property, so you risk having a van full of stuff with nowhere to sleep until it is sorted. In Scotland the completion happens then there is a period of time before you have to move out. If it is the same day (which is best to avoid) you will complete first thing and have to be out at a point later in the afternoon.

FunnysInLaJardin · 23/09/2021 10:17

@RawBloomers

That sounds very civilised. I think every other Country has a better House buying/selling system than England.

Why is our way so backwards?

In part because we are obsessed with not spending too much. Any system that doesn't allow same day change over means someone sleeping (and storing their belongings) somewhere other than the home they own or owning two homes at once. That costs more money (at least in the short term) and Brits are a bunch of skinflints a lot of the time.

entirely agree. Bunch of cheap skates as this thread ably demonstrates.
BoredZelda · 23/09/2021 10:18

The UK system

The English system. We do things sensibly in Scotland.

Wilkolampshade · 23/09/2021 10:19

We had this - a long time ago though. Got to agent to find agent didn't have keys. Went to house to find vendor blissfully unaware they had completed. We literally sat in their house until they fucked off. They came back next day to pick the remainder of their stuff up, (including a gun safe) but christ, what a 24 hrs.

purplesequins · 23/09/2021 10:29

I bought (and sold) in england and also bought in 'forrin' (eu)

I swear the process in england was more stressful than a tax inspection in a large company.

Anordinarymum · 23/09/2021 10:32

@DillonPanthersTexas

When I moved, the new buyer wanted the keys to the house on the minute of completion. They had no house to sell as they were renting it out. They knew we were moving out and they knew we could not commence until I got the keys to my new place.

They were not nagging you for FFS. They not unreasonably assumed that upon completion they owned the house and that you should not have been there. If you did not have keys to your new place then you should have arranged temporary storage for your possessions. You pottering about packing after completion and getting upset at the new owners because you could not be bothered get your shit together in a timely fashion is the height of entitlement.

They got them when I was ready and not a moment before

You lack of self awareness is astonishing.

As I said I am over it now.

I thank you

Willow19C · 23/09/2021 10:39

@Anordinarymum

When I moved, the new buyer wanted the keys to the house on the minute of completion. They had no house to sell as they were renting it out. They knew we were moving out and they knew we could not commence until I got the keys to my new place. We had removal men here and a van of our own. All my family helped. I was busy cleaning and washing carpets and they kept phoning and phoning.

They knew I was up to my eyes in it and still they kept on nagging for the keys.

They got them when I was ready and not a moment before but the stress of moving was bad enough without them mithering at me.

Because they were phoning all the time I left precious things behind in the loft and never got them back.

I will never do this again. I will find another way of doing it.

Movers like you are why we need financial penalties for delays, I think.