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!

When we bought a house in NZ we couldn't believe the simplicity of it. It's a straightforward contract like a purchase of a car. It's so ludicrously simple I thought something had gone wrong.
-find house
-put in offer on a contract stipulating conditions if any(subject to mortgage/builders report if you want one)

• state settlement date (usually a month or so once you go unconditional)
• vendor accepts or negotiates
• if they accept it's done and dusted and you move in on settlement date

My friends bought recently, offer accepted immediately and they moved in two weeks later!

@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.

Surely the other way of doing it is just not leaving packing til the last second?

I'm baffled that you wouldn't pack up your loft til completion day Why didn't you pack the day before?

the building is insured no matter who happens to be inside.

Insured by whom? The vendor's insurers or the buyer's?

Am I the only one who starts to pack up when I put the house up for sale…charity shop, junk. Then nearer the move pack up
All non essential clothes & stuff. The week before down to the bare minimum.

This sort of thing reminds me of a "friend" of mine (totally went down in my estimation after this).

I can't remember the full details as it was years ago now but she mentioned that they were a bit behind with getting ready to move the next day so I offered to go and help her with it. I arrived at 8.00am on moving day (her house was well over an hours drive away).

I knocked and knocked, eventually she stumbled to the door in her dressing gown - overslept due to being in the pub the night before and getting a lock in until the small hours.

She then proceeded to sit in the kitchen casually drinking coffee - did gear up a bit admittedly when the moving van arrived.

Neither her or her husband had packed anything. I packed the kitchen which took me about 4 hours, they were both just lamely wandering from room to room looking more and more confused and dazed.

The husband in particular (very very intelligent man but no common sense) was sat in the study going through years and years of paperwork and deciding what to bin and what to take - just sat there sorting through stuff without any sense of urgency whilst I was hysterically running round, stripping beds etc - the moving guys were getting more and more pissed off etc.

The buyers arrived at 2.00pm as agreed - they reluctantly agreed to go and have some lunch in the pub opposite. We did not get finished until well after 7.00pm, they left loads of stuff which they had to go back the next day for and unbelievably, had to borrow one of the buyers moving vans (they emptied it onto the driveway) to cart away loads of stuff as their van was not big enough.

I was so sorry for those buyers - particularly that there was no time to clean, as I emptied the cupboards in the kitchen they were filthy but it was a massive 5 bedroom house and I just did not have time.

All these years later and I still think about it and cringe. I don't think my friend does at all.

Last time I moved my kitchen was all packed up bar the kettle and toaster about a week before hand! In fact everything was apart from clothes and the bed I think. I managed to move out of my 4 bedroom house in about 2 hours.

Willow19C

Why is it that no matter how much you explain there is always someone like you who does not read?
I'll spell it out.

The new buyer knew we would not move until monies were exchanged. We had been told to do nothing until we got the phone call. Buyer knew all this.
They viewed our house a few times and we got on well. I had told them I was dreading the day. They told me it was not a problem as they were not moving in yet. They were putting their house up for rent and would not be moving in to mine for a week at least.

I had agreed with them that I would be cleaning the upstairs carpets. I had hired a carpet cleaner. They knew the carpets would be damp but since they were not moving in now it did not matter.
Everything was completed. We started the move. They changed their minds and wanted the keys.
I won't explain any more but for some strange reason this thread has stirred up bad memories of that awful day and all because they CHANGED THEIR MINDS.
My estate agent tried to reason with them saying this was agreed. They wanted their keys. They had to wait. End of

@Anordinarymum ahh, how dare they want the keys to the house that they've paid for and now own. Silly me!

Happened to us but I wasn't really that bothered, I wasn't moving in that day anyway so I left them to get on with it, they had most of their stuff in storage but didn't have any help with the last bits of removal and were literally doing back and forth drop offs. I figured standing there watching them and putting them under pressure wasn't going to get it done any quicker.

As I said I am over it now.

Good for you, it must have been terrible for you. Those selfish people should have been more understanding to your carefree schedule. Just because they own the property does not mean they can just rock up and expect you not to be there, any stress, inconvenience and additional moving in costs incurred is really their problem for having the audacity to think you would honour the completion date. They should have at least sent over a bottle of wine from their temporary accomodation and a hand written note apologising for nagging you and given you an extra week to sort out your possessions in the attic. Some people eh!

@trumpisagit

After we bought our house, the next day, the previous owner let themselves in to collect something they had forgotten!

DH asked them for the key, and they handed it over saying "but I won't be able to get in".

"No, no you won't!"

They were elderly and had lived there a long time, so we put it down to that, and were polite.

Still very bizarre though.

Bizarre but as soon as you mentioned their age?

We don't bounce easily and as they say moving house is one of the most stressful things there is, and in old age and being at home all the time it becomes like a second skin.

Thank you for being polite

@DillonPanthersTexas

As I said I am over it now.

Good for you, it must have been terrible for you. Those selfish people should have been more understanding to your carefree schedule. Just because they own the property does not mean they can just rock up and expect you not to be there, any stress, inconvenience and additional moving in costs incurred is really their problem for having the audacity to think you would honour the completion date. They should have at least sent over a bottle of wine from their temporary accomodation and a hand written note apologising for nagging you and given you an extra week to sort out your possessions in the attic. Some people eh!

Can you all just stop now. If you can't be bothered to read properly then do not comment. The thought of that day had almost brought on a panic attack this morning so for today I am bowing out of MN and well done you.

Anordinarymum - honestly I am not sure you are getting what people are saying. The house is not yours after completion to dilly dally around. You should have packed weeks ago, not left it all to the last day.

The fact you hadn’t even looked in the loft I think sums it up. Look at it another way. You are called and told the house you have just brought is yours. You turn up with expensive removers say 30 mins afterwards to find the PREVIOUS owner faffing around and complaining they haven’t even started on the loft.

What would you be thinking?

Can you all just stop now. If you can't be bothered to read properly then do not comment. The thought of that day had almost brought on a panic attack this morning so for today I am bowing out of MN and well done you.

I can read perfectly well, it is clear you were not packed and ready to move on completion day. Your near panic attack is entirely down to you not organising yourself. Most sensible people once a completion date is agreed start sorting their possessions out, taking stuff to the dump, clearing out the attic and sheds etc. It's beyond me that anyone would still be fannying about packing on the day of completion.

@DameAlyson

the building is insured no matter who happens to be inside.

Insured by whom? The vendor's insurers or the buyer's?

Normally on exchange the buyer assumes responsibility for the buildings insurance, the unpleasant man who bought our house insisted we kept the insurance going in our name, it cost us about £24 but it meant we weren't too bothered about how we left the house, basic cleaning and hoovering. Bargain!

To be fair to @Anordinarymum it sounds like the vendor initially told her she wouldn’t need to be out that day and then changed their mind at the last moment. That’s different.

When I bought my house the old owners were still moving out late into the evening but I didn’t really mind because I didn’t have to move until the next day. They also came by to pick some of their stuff up the next week. I think moving house takes a lot more organising than some people expect and sometimes you get a spanner in the works at the last minute.

@FunnysInLaJardin

jeez, what a massive fuss about nothing. Yes you completed today, but you don't need to move in yet and the sellers are frantically trying to move out.

Just chill the fuck out. You have years at this house. A few hours for the sellers to move out after completion is nothing.

I agree, it’s really not a big deal, let them move out in peace

When we bought a house in NZ we couldn't believe the simplicity of it. It's a straightforward contract like a purchase of a car. It's so ludicrously simple I thought something had gone wrong.

But it is the same - it's the people (and presumably more complicated conveyancing? ) that are causing the issue here:
-find house

[quote Kotatsu]When we bought a house in NZ we couldn't believe the simplicity of it. It's a straightforward contract like a purchase of a car. It's so ludicrously simple I thought something had gone wrong.

But it is the same - it's the people (and presumably more complicated conveyancing? ) that are causing the issue here:
-find house

A few moves back we were buying a house that had been part-exchanged so it was empty. When we knew that the money had changed hands we went to collect the keys from the estate agent, we had a van load of stuff on double yellow lines, pouring rain. The agent phoned the sellers representative who could authorise the release of the keys, but he was out to lunch, come back in a couple of hours! A couple of hours later we returned, his office then said he wasn't going to be back before Monday. I sat down, dripping wet, and told the estate agent I wasn't moving without the keys, eventually she got someone to authorise it but it was a tough few hours. Luckily our purchaser was on an oil rig in the North Sea!

When I was 8 we moved into a house that had been vacant for about a month before we completed. On completion day, we arrived with removal men and lorry and went to the Estate Agent to get the keys... To be told the partner responsible had gone to a long lunch and we'd have to come back.

As we'd had the phone call to say completion was done, Dad announced he was off up the road to break into his own house. The keys miraculously appeared from the back office.

@Anordinarymum The new buyer knew we would not move until monies were exchanged. We had been told to do nothing until we got the phone call

This is SO unusual. Who told you to do nothing until you got the call? The usual process is that you have packed up and emptied your house so that you can give vacant possession, as stated in the contract IN ORDER to complete.

You then get the keys ‘when you get the call’.

I understand that the buyers told you they didn’t mind if you were still in and then changed their minds, which was stressful. I wonder if it was an arrangement you came to with them, and then their solicitor said ‘no way! Vacant possession is vacant possession’.

Sorry it was so upsetting for you but I do wonder if you got the wrong end of the stick about waiting for the call.

I remember a case a bit back where the vendors didn't move out as their temporary accommodation fell through, and they suggested that the purchasers "rent a hotel for a couple of weeks whilst we sort it out". Needless to say, the vendors were the ones convinced to move out the following day and put their stuff in storage.

God this thread has thrown me into a panic. I'm divorcing my H and we will probably have to sell the house. If I'm standing outside my new property with both kids, and the vendors are still there I will spontaneously combust.
When we bought this one it was pretty straightforward although took ages as the vendors solicitor was a bit dim. But when we moved in it was spotless and there was a bottle of Prosecco waiting for us. They'd also left a couple of single beds and some curtains which we still have 9 years later!

Based on all this, next time I move I will;
Ask the solicitor to get the vendors solicitor to confirm that they fully understand and are prepared for the process
And
If they are attempting a DIY or man and van move put in a penalty clause for late vacant possession.

No way am I paying overtime it overnight storage for my professional removal co because the vendors are trying to do it on the cheap.

And
Not complete on a Friday.

We were those people, and it was largely down to our packers, who had hugely underestimated how much work there was. They sent 2 people around the day before to start packing, they were slow, took a long lunch, and had managed to pack the kitchen only by the end of the day.

The next day, we had 4 packers, 1 then started to sit out as he'd strained his back. It was ridiculous. We were running around like crazy trying to get them to complete a room so we could clean behind them, as well as packing last minute things ourselves.

By 5pm, they still weren't done, the buyers were looking severely pissed off (understandably, but equally, they weren't moving in that day either). We ended up leaving some of our things in the garden as we just ran out of space on the lorry. I feel aggrieved every time I notice my beautiful garden stuff now relocated in their front garden as decoration (live locally).

It was hugely stressful, not our intention, and we really were doing everything we can, but clearly had placed too much trust in our packers. When it came to unpacking at the new place, half of them just left for the day, leaving 2 of them to attempt to find our beds so we could at least sleep - I was expecting to have to find a hotel for the night, but they did locate them in the end, and left at about 10pm, ready to unpack it all the next day.