What happens if I can't empty house by completion day?

[competion]

What happens if there are still things in the house when the new owner arrives? Going as fast as I can but unlikely to be done by tomorrow...

Suspect you’d find a judge would disagree with just dumping the stuff that hadn’t yet been packed on the day of completion. Items just abandoned would be a different matter

Our vendors weren't out and I felt so sorry for the woman - her husband had refused to pay for movers and insisted they could do it themselves. She was so apologetic and stressed out. At least they had their remaining stuff heaped up downstairs so we could bring our stuff in upstairs - I think in the end our movers helped them.

I don't know what your sister thinks will happen, OP - she understands that the new owners will arrive with a lorryload of their stuff and nowhere else to go..?

No but I’d really like a link, if you can find it. Sounds like some decent Sunday reading.

@Startingagainandagain

Well not reading a thread or even the OP's posts does save time I suppose.

We went and sat in the house and watched the owners move out - was planned date for months completion happen in morning. They had the keys for their new build a couple days prior. When we collected the children they wanted to go to new home so we did ! Helped them focus! They left the house scruffy

We were meant to have keys by 12.
The sellers weren't out by 5.
We were marginally inconvenienced as we were doing our own move but we sucked it up.
We had an overlap with our rental anyway luckily.
What stuck in our craw was the fact that as they had left it until the last minute, they left us with a dirty house.
That was bloody annoying as having deep cleaned the tenancy, I'd hoped not to have deep clean the new house.

By the sounds of things she hasn't done any thinking at all!

If they are sensible they will inspect before completion and instruct their solicitor not to complete as vacant possession hasn’t been given.

I know very few people do this and it can be awkward and impractical, but really you should inspect before you complete.

Our buyer was waiting outside in her car for us to move out. We had a removals company and worked from early morning to get the stuff out but it took forever. It was more or less all packed in boxes but I think the removals people underestimated the amount of stuff we had in a little terrace and at one point said they might have to go back for a bigger lorry! Obviously we couldn’t start moving before the day so I don’t really think it could have been much different.

They complete tomorrow, but is there a specific time they need to be out and hand keys over?

If there is I've never seen it in a contract; one of the many stupidities of England's house buying arrangements is that this kind of thing is left up to trust, which isn't much good with people like your sister

FWIW I'd normally help, but not when you've said this is typical of her. Let her experience the full weight of what she's done for herself ...

You will probably be the hired removal

Get your finger out your arse and do it instead of posting on mumsnet?

The pair of twats who we bought this house from were still packing up when we arrived with our furniture. We told them to put it all in the garden and pack it from there. They had the cheek to (a) ask us if we wanted to buy their dining table set and (b) come back later and ask for their kitchen clock and cutlery drawer insert they’d left behind . Erm nope

Ours were having breakfast when we arrived after completion at 10am. We helpfully dumped all their stuff outside for them, got the blame for their dog running off and had to clean up their filth including mens rubber posing pouches stuffed behind a radiator. It took them two days to collect their stuff from the front garden in a car and then complained as someone had nicked some of it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ not our problem 😂 there was so much shit left in the attic and shed we had to hire skips and billed them via our solicitors.

I'd leave her to her own mess, or else you'd find yourself being the one having to do all the apologising, tomorrow. She's in a chain of people who have probably been planning for months and will have spent this weekend doing everything they can to be ready to be out before lunchtime, tomorrow and there she is, massively inconveniencing someone who will no doubt be already quite stressed because she seemingly doesn't give a shit.

How much have you got to pack? I've moved house to a few times. I had all clothes toys kitchen bits food and toiletries etc packed. I brought as much downstairs as I could. The removal men were booked for two hours. We got it all in the van moved to new address and unloaded within that two hours.

Timing for completion varies as it’s a practical issue. The money needs to be transferred, and obviously that’s often from a mortgage lender. There may be a long chain and the solicitors are normally doing a lot of completions (esp on a Friday). I’ve done completions first thing, and also at 4pm when the buyers were sat outside with their van and desperate to get in. I wasn’t a conveyancer but was covering for one on a busy Friday and it took me longer to do than it would have taken them!

There are also sometimes issues with the documents being executed correctly, and with the parties being all ready to complete (and authorising their solicitors).

When we moved in completion was early afternoon but the sellers forgot to leave both keys with the agent and we didn’t get in until 4pm.

Reminds me of people along the road from us several years ago. It had been a family home for 20 or so years, and whilst their adult kids had moved out, lots of stuff was in the house.
The man of the couple decided they didn't need removal vans, they could do it all themselves.
2pm was the time for handover of keys (according to the people who moved in), at which point the sellers were still packing beds and things into a friends van.
Removal people for new occupants were pissed off. New owners were pissed off as they had young kids, and removals were charging for being kept waiting.
Around 7pm they finally got in. Old owners still had stuff in the garage, loft and garden shed, as well as leaving furniture under tarps in another neighbours garden.

This could potentially bring the whole chain down. It's a really stupid, lazy thing to do. Sorry, OP, but I'm so angry on behalf of the people who'll be arriving tomorrow in cold, horrible weather and having to wait around for hours while she fannies about.

We were mid chain and got access at 12 midday . Our vendors weren't out either and it did make things very awkward and difficult

I don't understand people like this, and also in the stories by other posters.
I managed to get an entire two bed, flat packed by myself with a two year old, as a single breastfeeding, broken sleep mum, in time for my removal company. White goods unplugged, the lot. My mum helped me deep clean the place to perfection too and I even went out and bought the people moving in a Christmas plant as it was a week before Christmas.

It was a council swap and unfortunately the people I swapped with were also not packed when we got there, despite having put so much pressure on me to swap as soon as possible. I was the one emptying their fridge for them. They didn't get out until nearly midnight as the removal company would not wait, and I had to come back the next day.

Unfortunately in those situations, there's no contract to make them cover your expenses and you're left with the crap they leave behind. It should be made that they're liable imo.

If you know you're moving, you start packing straight away imo, and leave the bits out that you need the most- couple of pans, plates, clothes and toiletries.

be conveniently busy-shes got a cheek going to soft play

I might have the kids so that she could get on quicker.

When did they start packing Op?

When we moved it took the company 2 days I think & I think there were 3 blokes.

3 bed semi, 2 young kids so not a huge amount of stuff.

OMG - this thread! It didn't occur to me that there are people who just haven't finished moving out when you arrive at a new property

Have you booked a removals company ? Ours were brilliant and helped us no end with actual packing as we were slightly behind. If you have a good removals firm they should help you make sure the house is empty when you leave.

If this isn’t possible and If you know you’re going to have to leave some stuff behind, I would contact your buyers’ solicitor, via your own, and asking that they advise the buyers that some items will be left behind temporarily - but give a firm timescale to collect the rest. If your contract states vacant possession then you have a legal obligation to leave the house empty and if you can’t remove these items to your buyers’ timescale you may find they move the stuff themselves and send you the bill. And no, the stuff you leave behind isn’t legally the property of the buyers - they bought the house and anything else agreed in the contract, nothing else.

And if they don’t complete it could bring the whole chain down and cost them a fortune in compensation to the seller. Easier to agree a short timescale for removal of the items left behind, at least you have your house !!