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...

I would be turning my phone off and not contactable.

Don't open your door to her and if she calls to the door simply don't answer.

I simply wouldn't entertain this.
You have just moved without her help, with very young children.

Not a chance would I help having done this recently on my own, for anyone.

You're right, your sister is an idiot. Along with plenty of other people who do the same thing.

If you know you're completing on a certain date you should have been packing up non essentials for weeks and not leaving the whole thing til the weekend of the move.

When we moved into our house we pulled up outside at 1pm after we got the call from the solicitor and the twat answered the door eating toast, saying he hadn't even started emptying the loft yet.

A friend of mine decided they could move house using one van going back and forth between the two houses (7 miles apart) and a team of friends/family helpers because they were too tight to get a removal firm. When we arrived in the morning everyone was sat around eating bacon sandwiches and they hadn't even emptied the kitchen cupboards.

If you aren’t going to be ready by tomorrow then the harsh reality is you stay up all night tonight and continue packing so you are ready.

I never understand why people do this with so much in life. They know there’s a deadline or an expectation to have something done/ready in a timeframe and they’re still nowhere near ready.

The buyers have more than likely already made plans with their movers and friends/family to help with the move. You really just need to get it done, it would be so unfair to expect them to just sit and wait while you're still packing… how long do you expect them to wait for? I don’t think many people would mind an extra half hour but if you’re getting into the extra few hours/an extra day territory, you’re taking the piss.

There are people who struggle to understand that they no longer own the house once monies transfer - your sister seems to be one.

And others who think they own it from exchange rather than completion. This happened to my friend, whose buyers turned up with a vanful of stuff and insisted on leaving it in her garage!

I'm pretty sure that if she's not out she's in breach on contract and could well be fined. Fined a lot.

Maybe explain that to her might get her moving!

That sort of thing is ridiculous- you don't ever own both houses!

Id be saying glad your done and you can go to soft play so don't need my help tomorrow I will be there at x to drive if you are or meet you at y to unload.

This happened when my parents bought their bungalow, stupid cow had barely packed anything, removal men were only just taking furniture away because she'd done sweet f.a to prepare, and also forgot about her cat, my parents luckily weren't due to move in but she was supposed to hand them.the keys at 5.30pm and it was like a circus when we turned up.

I'd have had to lock them out and paid my movers to remove all their stuff. Seeking the money back after via solicitors.

I had a pond, two fish tanks, 2 cats and 8 hens to move. All their equipment to sort including paying a very expensive service for the fish tanks to be moved.

Mine was planned down to the tiniest detail, so I wouldn't have time to deal with previous owners being present.

@competion heavens!! when did you start packing??? I started packing weeks before so that i could bin stuff I wasnt taking! label boxes for the rooms they are going in!

@competion and she is away to soft play with the kids??? are they for real??? you dont go and help! she didnt help you and she has wasted hours. to be honest she should have really started clearing out and packing up when she put the house on the market!! you rest up tonight and tomorrow!

I simply don’t understand people who expect everyone else to pick up the lives after they make a mess- if you don’t think you’re gonna be ready you pull an all nighter to make sure you are! You don’t say sorry you can’t move into a house you legally own! And you absolutely don’t go to soft play.,,..

1 dog, 1 kid, pregnant

But all of that is by the by, she didn't start parking until Friday afternoon for no reason other than stupidity and 'it'll be fine' mentality.

*Sigh
*

He’s clearly been weeping a long time, because we sank to the new low last century! He’s probably wailing, gnashing His teeth and pounding on His chest as well by now!

This happened to us. The seller didn't leave anywhere near enough time to move out, despite having weeks and weeks of notice. There was so much stuff left in the house, as well as it being filthy. It's a really really thoughtless thing to do to the people buying your house.

We went straight back to our solicitor, who got on to HIS solicitor, as he was in breach of contract. He had to pay for a house clearance service for us. Which he could just have paid for himself, in advance of completion, and saved all the hassle.

He had mucked us about with moving dates around at exchange (because of being disorganised and then booking a holiday when he said he was available to move) and this latest stunt meant we lost all remaining good will towards him. He only did mail redirection for a month and failed to update many companies with his address, but we refused to go out of our way to send on his post - all letters were returned to sender and we told the estate agent any parcels could be collected from the house at a prearranged time but we weren't going to drop them off anywhere for him.

Our vendor was the one that hadn’t cleared out. I was heavily pregnant and lost my shit (not my finest hour) and 5 hours after completion told them I was coming in and her stuff would be on the drive. Our removal company said they’d charge her overtime (they didn’t in the end) and she still left stuff behind as well as switching off the water as she hadn’t thought through disconnecting her American fridge freezer. I threw away anything left behind as she also left the house filthy and I was feeling fairly unhinged by that stage.

And what about the stress and expense for the buyers?

You know you want to sell - you start clearing out everything you don't want to take with you
You have a buyer - start sorting out what you won't need for the forseable
You exchange - pack up stuff you want but don't use/need often
Get a completion date - book your movers, arrange changes of address and change of utilities. Pack up virtually everything
Last week - pack up everything but what you'll need for that week
Last day - pack up everything else
And clean as you go along so the last day it's easy to leave it spotless

This happened to me. The owner was still clearing out hours after the agreed time and the poor mum had to sit in an armchair on the driveway in December with their stuff while her husband did another van trip (I did offer for her to come back in). They had to ring the doorbell to ask if they could take their own stuff from the garden shed. Thankfully I didn’t have much stuff at the time but if I’d had a van load of furniture and removal people waiting I would’ve been very pissed off. You will have to work through the night to clear everything

You pull an all-nighter if you have to.

I was on the other side of this. Tbh not much new owner can do if your sister doesn’t leave. But you will receive a heft bill and fines for the privilege.

Time for you to develop an unexpected problem with your phone, I think. Can you find a reason to be at least 100 miles away?

Just seen it’s your sister. Was she only told about the completion date yesterday?? What does she think is going to happen when the owner of the house turns up at the agreed time, maybe with kids and pets? Of course she doesn’t have all day, people get the keys (before the estate agent closes) and want to get unpacked asap as their buyer will be in their house. I’m getting annoyed on your behalf 😂

Once they’ve completed as soon as the other people arrive they need to be out , be that in a van or piled up outside . This happened with our old neighbours and in the end the removal men of the incoming people were helping to get the furniture and stuff out so that they could move the new ones in . It got very embarrassing in the end .

I'm sorry but your sister is obviously a complete moron. She would have known about moving date for weeks and weeks. She clearly is a pain in the arse as who goes to a soft play centre when they are moving the next day and still have loads to pack.
Like others have said she should be up all night until it's done. She could incur extra charges for holding up people as removal companies will charge if things run late.

And I just thought which I forgot to add to my previous post I pity the poor person moving into her house because if they haven't even packed properly then they certainly haven't cleaned anything either.