Furniture clearance before exchange

[Reno2023]

Hi,

FTB buying a probate property so chain free on both side. We do not have to give notice to our landlord who has kindly agreed to only charge us only for the days we need.
We are finally getting to the point of discussing dates of exchange/completion.
I was hoping for a same say exchange/completion as the property is vacant. The seller has come back to us and requested some days in between exchange and completion to organise house clearance.
Am I unreasonable to ask them to organise the clearance before exchange, given that they would get rid of the furniture regardless even if the sale fell through?

It is unreasonable I think. If the sale fell through the house might be more difficult to sell unfurnished.

Completely unreasonable - you haven't committed financially until exchange. They could get rid of all the furniture and then you pull out.

None of your business what their plans are pre exchange. It’s up to them when they move stuff out & they might have all sorts of reasons for not wanting to or able to clear the house pre exchange.
Everything will happen in the fullness of time.

Unless cash buyer it may not be possible to complete and exchange on the same day - 5 working days needed between the two.

i think you may need to check this. Family member exchanged and completed the very next day and were not cash buyers. And this was approx 15 months ago.

I always exchange and complete on the same day if possible but in the past few years solicitors have been very risk adverse
You have to call down any mortgage in advance.

Unreasonable request on your part.

No you’re being unreasonable. Their request is perfectly reasonable.

You are unreasonable. Until exchange the deal is not final so hence why its usual to have a gap of a week or two.

Only at completion does the property become yours and you can dictate what happens. Until then the vendors are free to clear the property as they like. In this situation I would only clear the property after exchange when you are committed full to the purchase.

As a seller I hate exchange and complete on the same day. I have done it once and it was so stressful as you don't know the deal will actually go ahead. At least with a few days in-between you can get yourself organised etc..... I know the property is empty but the sellers may be working and need time off to clear the house etc..... and as you do not have any investment until after exchange it would be annoying if you pulled out.

Why don't you want a few days between exchange and completion?

I wouldn’t be making any demands
the thing is generally in probate there in no great rush to sell and move things along it not as though it’s holding a chain up

I think they have a made a very reasonable request. A week would be reasonable .

Probate means it belonged to a family member who has died, its awful having to clear and sell a family home, a few days is fine, why do you need it done the same day, its not going to make that much difference for a few days and they need to know the sale is definitely going ahead.

What advantages does same day exchange & completion provide to you?

Keeping the house furnished until the sale is guaranteed (ie exchange) is reasonable. A few days between exchange and completion is totally normal (more typical than same day exchange and completion).

From what you've said so far, they are reasonable, you are pushing things. Let them have 3 days/a week.

YABU ... it's also very stressful as PP have indicated and I think a couple of days is fine given your landlord is so flexible

we had a day between exchange and completion and I wonder if this is common now after covid. caused a headache as we had to rush to ensure funds were in place.

Worked out fine but I would expect a few days in this instance to completely clear the furniture.

I'd say pay forward the kindness your landlord is showing to you.

That’s a good way of looking at it

They just need a few days - YABU

Even taking the furniture out of the equation, I think it's unreasonable to ever expect anyone to exchange and complete on the same day. It's a non-standard thing that works in some situations and is fine if all parties want to do it, but there are so many reasons, both practical and emotional why having a period of time between a house sale becoming definite and final completion is really valuable.

Yabu. Same day exchange and completion isn’t common and is risky for the seller, who could clear the house then you pull out. Asking for a few days (rather than the usual month) is a very fair suggestion.

Another 'unreasonable' here

This is why FTB get a bad rep - they have no idea what it's like from the other side.

I just sold a probate property (was our beloved family home where I grow up, as a family we had owned it 45 years) and no way was I clearing it out until we exchanged.

Lots of reasons, including it would have been much harder to sell unfurnished if the buyers pulled out.
Also because our insurance stated we couldn't leave the house unoccupied for more than 30 nights someone had to stay there on occasion.
Actually most weeks one of the family stayed, clearing out bits, keeping the garden and the house ticking over, spending time there including seeing old neighbours and friends we unlikely to see again (we've all re-located a fair distance).

So there are other factors in play other than your own convenience, but honestly you sound as if everything is grand your end so a few day/week/fortnight between exchange and completion shouldn't make much difference. A bit of inconvenience is the dream!

Thanks everyone, very enlightening. I did not see the other argument of it but do now.