The money has all cleared but we don’t/cant have the keys!

[Mykittensmittens]

DM is completing today and it’s getting a bit fraught. The onward sale is moving to a new build and DM is bottom of the chain.
DMs money cleared at 10.30am and she had confirmation that all was well so she is now the legal owner of that house. Contract states midday vacating.

However, the vendors purchase hasn’t gone through so they are not budging. DM has spoken to the agent who has now said because their onward purchase hasn’t been confirmed, they need to sit tight as they have nowhere to go. The situation hasn’t been updated in the last hour as they are now not picking up calls from the agent.

DM is going nuts (she’s very anxious, this is all as a result of a difficult split). Shes trying her solicitor again now but the agent is now saying DM is being ‘difficult’ and this is normal protocol. If it was 5pm it would be an issue but as it’s ‘only’ 2.30 it’s not.

is it normal?? I think that the fact that their onward purchase isn’t confirmed as paid is nothing to do with my DMs situation, and not her problem? Her part of the chain is complete and they need to vacate?

I think this is pretty typical tbh, if she’s bottom of the chain is anyone moving into hers or us it being left vacant?

Which part of the chain is holding it up? I’m not quite following, are the people she’s buying to moving to a new build or is that further up the chain?

Give it another hour, it’s just one of those things in house buying.

Our completion was at midday, and solicitors said the vendors had until 2pm until they had to vacate. You are the rightful owner (or your DM is) so in theory she can move in, get locks changed etc. I appreciate the reality is scary but the legal fact remains. Suggest you inform your solicitor that you will be getting a locksmith in and see what they say. What a nightmare, I sympathise, it’s very nerve-wracking.

spoken to the agent who has now said because their onward purchase hasn’t been confirmed, they need to sit tight as they have nowhere to go.
That's their problem to sort; it's not your DM's problem. The vendors can sit in the removal van until confirmation.

It sounds pretty normal, bottom of the chain clears first, then the money moves up the chain. When we purchased our funds cleared about 11am, but we couldn't collect the keys until 4pm as out seller was waiting for their seller to clear payment / vacate property.

We had this, completion at midday but keys not handed over until 2pm....I think it's pretty common, although certainly not right and you DM would be within her legal rights to get a locksmith as this poster suggests.

We were technically homeless for 2-3 hours after our sale completed but we were waiting for our purchase to go through. We went to the pub for lunch! Didn't even think about waiting in our old, empty flat.

Thanks! Reassuring if not ideal.

to confirm for those who asked…DM is bottom of the chain. Her house sale completed a week ago and she’s stayed with us with her stuff in storage. She’s buying a house that the seller is selling and moving to a new build. So the chain is very short. The people moving to the new build are not shifting because their money for the new build hasn’t confirmed as having gone through.

the agents have told DM 5 mins ago that the seller is hopeful to get their keys in an hour, then they will have to do one trip, empty, go back and reload and then empty again. The new build they are moving to is a 40 min drive away through a city on a Friday headed into rushhour.

The keys then need to be deposited at the agents for my Mum to collect, but apparently they close at 4.30 on a Friday.

It's normal to have to wait for the money.

The seller is taking the piss however with this take a load fill up again go back. Get onto your mum's solicitor pronto - this is not on and she is entitled to keys.

This is why completing on a Friday is never a good idea!

They need to hand over keys before the office closes and absolutely should not be mucking about with multiple journeys at that time on a Friday.

Has your mum spoken to her solicitors?

Her seller is really taking the piss here. The property now belongs to your DM.

But I suppose you just have to deal with it as best you can.

Push the solicitors to get them to arrange a second van, so they can do one journey. They can’t be doing repeat trips. They have a requirement to provide vacant possession.

She needs to make a bit of a fuss now, or she’s not going to be in tonight.

She may need to push the estate agent to stay later too. I’ve known that happen before.

No, the vendors should have an empty house.

Their removals should have fully loaded and be ready to go whenever the new house is ready

Their old property should be vacant for your DM to move in at this point

They are taking the piss. Your DM's movers would be fully entitled to go to the house and empty their stuff onto the lawn/ drive/ wherever

Wow, they are being really cheeky. They should have emptied the house and handed over the keys. They can go and wait with their vans of stuff outside the new place.

The vendor is absolutely taking the piss. They should be waiting outside their new property waiting for the keys, not sitting in a house they don't own any more. Hopefully it will all be sorted in an hour or two. If not your mum will have to get her solicitor involved.

We had this a few years ago; the vendors of our new house were moving round the corner so had just hired a van and were moving stuff themselves in small batches. The house was ours from 2, but the agent (the brother of one of the vendors) told me they couldn't possibly be expected to empty their house that day, because they had only gotten the keys of their new house that day. I was being stupid and hysterical, apparently, to insist that we should get access, and it never works that way 🙄Absolute knob, he was.

We went round at 5 and they were cleaning. We told them not to bother.

Three days later, on Christmas Eve, the husband came round asking to empty the shed. I said no (of all the days!). There was only rubbish in it anyway, aside from one box of tiles left from tiling the kitchen. We used them in the kitchen a year or so later. A year after that, they called round and asked if they could have them.

House moving is mad.

This happened to me- but we were the ones waiting to complete and we were told we had to be gone by 1. I spoke to the buyer and they kindly agreed to let me have until 2 but they didn’t have to do that. As your DM is now the owner, they have no right to the property and cannot stay there.

Your DM needs to insist they leave the keys with the estate agent as they leave for the first time. She can then get into the house and take possession. She can then either be kind and let them back in to collect the rest of their things, or friends and family can help her put it all on the drive/front garden and they can collect it from there. What they don’t get to do is hang on to the keys and come and go as they please after the transaction has been completed and DM owns the place.

They’re taking the piss- normal delay fine but ignoring calls and pretending they can stay in the house nope. I would make it clear to the agent and solicitor they need to leave. Their purchase is their issue.

Your DM should call her solicitor now, given what time it is, to get a message to the vendor via their solicitor to (frankly) fuck off!

I'd be raging (as I was when I bought a house and our money was transferred at 10.30am. It took the vendors' solicitor until 3pm to confirm receipt, which I think was a deliberate stall as they weren't packed to leave before then).

Tell the estate agent you will be dropping DM to their offices by 4pm to stay there until the keys are handed over.

I'd be getting the solicitor to call his counterpart and insist that the house is vacated right now. There's absolutely no reason why the van can't be already loaded with them sitting outside the new property ready for the keys of the newbuild to be released.

If I were you, I'd be going round to your mum's new home and making sure the previous owners aren't sitting in the front room having a cuppa ready to get loading once the keys have passed over.

It is not up to the agent though, her solicitor needs to tell theirs that she is ready to take possession of her property and will be there at a specific time expecting them to have left.

Wow - that is totally unreasonable. The house (even if they go) will not be in conditions to move into as they will not have even run round the hoover, let alone cleaned anything else properly. So I think you need to tell her that she needs to stay with you for tonight and then get everything organised tomorrow. How horrible for her and I am not impressed with the lawyers, agents or sellers. I would be screeching on the phone to my lawyer to be honest, but probably not much they can do.

Thanks.

my DM has indeed said that at 4pm she will be going to the agents and waiting there for her keys.

the agent has said ‘please don’t do that it would not be appropriate’.

taking the piss is an understatement.

Was this a contract-exchange-and-completion same-day thing or were contracts exchanged weeks ago?

If contracts were exchanged weeks ago there should be penalty clauses onliging the vendor to refund your DM some of the deposit because of their failure to complete on schedule.