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...

When we moved in the previous owners had left loads of stuff in the drive, garage, loft, shed. It was extremely frustrating as it's stressful enough moving without having to deal with someone else's crap. It was stuff they didnt want though. If it's anything you want to keep you will have to appeal to the buyer to keep it for you until you can collect it as technically it will belong to them once the moveos completed.

We negotiated £300 payment from the vendor via our solicitors as a clearance fee. We dumped most things though could have sold stuff if we'd been inclined. We did keep a couple of bits - they left a large trampoline in the garden!

But this thread is not about you.

I’m sure the op would have said if there was a reason that her sister was so unorganised. Even so, if there is a reason it is possible to change completion date and it is still not the buyers problem anyway.

Surely you have had weeks to prepare

we sunk to a new low in societal kindness. Jesus weeps

Our sellers weren’t done but we didn’t really care. They’d lived here for 30 years and we were just so happy to have the house. They were working as quickly as possible but it was a monumental task.

I think you should give warning now and do your best to get out as quickly as possible.

In theory it's as soon as the cash arrives, often taken as midday. No you shouldn't just assume you can stay on later. Indeed if you don't clear the house they can give notice of disposing of anything left behind and bill you for disposal.

You’re right @ChocolateCinderToffee, I apologise. I’m tired today and should step away from mumsnet.

There isn't a can't.

You pull your finger out your arse and get a fucking move on or you leave it on the pavement outside until you can.

You are lazy and making excuses.

I think lots of people use threads like this to vent (sometimes quite hyperbolically) because of really awful experiences they've had in real life, moving house. It's incredibly stressful at the best of times. A lot of the language is metaphor. Hope you feel better soon

We were guilty of this through no fault of our own really. I was really really embarrassed.

We hired a removal company to pack us up and move. They came round to estimate the quantity, but evidently massively underestimated the time required, and amount of boxes needed.
Completion time came and they'd only done half the house. I left DH at the old house helping the removal firm - who had to send for an extra lorry. Buyers weren't actually present, but kept phoning saying we needed to be out.
Removals also packed up the important box file placed on a window sill marked very clearly "TO STAY AT (ADDRESS OF HOUSE) FOR NEW OWNERS".
We had to root through all the boxes at the new house and drive it back to the old house.
I did not have time to clean at all.

Our new house was immaculate, and I still feel guilty to this day.
Annoyingly, old neighbour said the new owners didn't turn up for 10 days after we left, so I could have cleaned it for them after all. But they were so pushy (rightly so I suppose) we got out, we just left it as it was.

It doesn’t matter what is going in people’s lives, you’ve entered a contract and should stick to it. But the argument of you don’t know what is going in people’s lives is redundant because you don’t know what is going on in the buyer’s lives. Why should the buyers be inconvenienced because the sellers think they have it harder than others. I’ve recently moved. I’ve got a toddler, 2 dogs and no family nearby to help. So what I am meant to do with a toddler and 2 dogs and no family to call on if the vendor has decided to be a selfish twat and not keep to their side of the contract? The only thing I can do is take their stuff out of the house that I have just purchased and try to get my stuff in as fast as I can to have a safe place for my family to be.

Bloody ridiculous attitude!

Apart from the simple fact that people have weeks, if not months, to sort out stuff and pack up you haven't even read the OP's posts.
Clue
It's not her that is supposed to be moving out.

As for calling people here "scolds" - are you 90 year old bloke????🙄

Oh come on, it’s stressful and hard work, and expensive, for everyone, and incredibly selfish not to be prepared to move on time. Most people will have had at least a few weeks to clear, pack, and arrange removal, or arrange professional movers. The person who didn’t pack is hardly being compassionate to people who are trying to get into the home they literally now own, get children fed and settled, beds build and made, get fridges and washing machines installed, etc. Compassion should enable people get to where they need to be, not upset and frustrate people who don’t need or deserve it.

My Mum did this to someone (I know it's awful) - it took her far longer to pack all her things than she thought, and she was still packing some stuff up when the new owners arrived with their removal van. She got a bit huffy about it because the new owners were pissed off with her. I had to really bite my tongue, because I would have been livid in their shoes also! I would call in every favour I could to get it packed before the deadline as it really is unacceptable to still having belongings in the house after completion.

The odd thing left by accident is different, I remember the old owners of my parents house left their wedding album behind on a high-up shelf in a cupboard, and they did come back to collect it. That was obviously a totally reasonable mistake. But entire boxes of belongings / pieces of furniture isn't!

Ignore it, that guy cries more than the average toddler, at least if you believe the Internet.

Our sellers didn't turn up with the keys at 12:00 as promised on the agreed day. They hadn't finished moving out, finished late that night and still left the garage full of stuff for a few more days. Luckily (for them) we were bridging so hadn't arranged to actually move in that day although they didn't know that. It could have been a bit of a disaster.

Can you at least put everything in one room or in the garage and apologise profusely. They may want you to pay for any delays to their moving. Storage bringing the stuff back, etc.

When I completed on my house, the vendors even forgot to bring the keys...
They hadnt removed a single thing yet. This was Friday evening, I have them until Monday to have everything out, and the next day to give me a set of keys.

However... I would never EVER EVER plan on moving in on completion day, because who knows what state the house is in?!?!?

In my case, I was going to do a full remodel on the house, so had no firm timeline, apart from kicking them up the ass, as otherwise Im sure the stuff would still be there now, 3 years later!

The owners' of mine left it last minute despite for than 3 months full notice. They left the house pretty dirty, took the cutlery drawer etc to avoid packing and left some clothes in the washing machine.

I thought it was rude but said nothing.

Why haven’t you packed? This happened to us and was a complete nightmare. Totally unfair

if they have gone to soft play that would be it for me

i would be letting them crack on on their own

I got a call from the solicitors saying monies transferred so it was sold. @competion your sisters stuff would be out in the road.

I wouldn't be helping her. She would have to hang by her own thread.

When we bought this house we also bought a sofa. I found the ex owner on the sofa having a full blown panic attack. That was awkward because everything they owned was loaded up and gone 🙈

If the sellers were problematic throughout the sale then this would be the thing that pushed me over the edge and I wouldn’t be too accommodating for their tardiness. Same if it looked like they were taking the piss eg had hardly started packing yet

However if it’s genuine and I can see they are struggling and/or going as fast as they can then it would be different