Can we move garden items in before completion and collecting keys? Empty house purchase.

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We're due to complete on our house on Wednesday next week. We're first time buyers so naive to the process! I stupidly thought that at 8am that Wednesday we could stroll into the estate agents and collect keys. Nope - we have to wait for monies to be transferred and clear!? Ugh.

The property is empty - it was a probate sale and the family selling are away on a cruise. So they 100% wont be doing any last goodbyes to the house that morning.

Could we just open the back gate and put all of our garden stuff away that morning to start with, whilst we are waiting for them to call us and tell us to collect the keys? I don't want to waste the whole day when we could be moving shit about! Ive agreed to borrow a van from a friend but I have to give it back Tuesday night!

I wasn't planning on asking permission because obviously the estate agent would say no just to cover themselves.

Wwyd?
YABU - you have to wait
YANBU - nobody is there, just get cracking

You said garden stuff so if it's garden furniture, trampoline etc and it would be in the back garden out of sight I'd probably do it.

the Buyers did exactly this when we sold our family home after our last parent died.

My sibs and I found out because one of us went for a last walk through and found a climbing frame! It caused a lot of pain.

The irony is that if asked we would have said yes.

I posted on here about it and lots of people told me IWBU to be upset someone loved stuff into a property they didn’t yet own without asking.

The person who did the finding contemplated locating a group of friends to remove the climbing frame to make a point then (sensibly) decided against it. They did however go into the house and remove the bottle of champagne we had left and replace it with cheap fizz. Petty.

So mixed responses coming your way I suspect.

No

Legally you shouldn't. Actually no-one is going to know probably. Just be aware that none of your stuff or the house will be insured. If something of yours get damaged moving in, you won't be covered by insurance, and if you damaged something moving in, you could be liable for damage to someone else's property, even if it would have become yours moments later!

Nope. What if your stuff gets damaged or stolen? Yes you have to insure the house when you exchange but that won’t cover contents. And I don’t know any country (having owned property in four) that releases keys before the money is in the bank! Plus completion can be delayed. I’d moved out of my house on completion day but the money got tied up down the chain so completion didn’t happen and of course it was a Friday. As it happened I was not moving to another house so my things were going in to storage anyway but it left all of us in limbo and there is always the possibility that it might never happen.
It’s a risk. Legally it’s a definite no.

Legally - it’s a no no without authorisation. I know it would be a pain but just wait.

Although you have a completion day, there could still be an issue with transfer of funds which can delay the process. You need to factor this in.

Legally no.
Practically, in your situation, I probably would.

Last time we moved, we shifted all our garden stuff the week before (we did own the house as had a bridging loan situation) and it made the actual moving day so much easier as we only had "house stuff" to shift on the day.

My parents moved into an empty house a couple of years ago.
My mum knew the grandma of the bloke who had died, and she put my mum in contact with her daughter / late owner's mum.
They gave my parents access to the house & garden to move stuff in - before exchange, which I wouldn't have done personally.

The chain was then hit by the solicitors cyber attack, and instead of moving in late Nov they eventually moved the following Apr.

Their buyers brought garden stuff over to their old place the weekend before completion.

Morning of completion, assuming exchange has already taken place, I'd be reasonably okay with moving garden stuff over - but I would want the okay from the sellers.

Of course, legally you shouldn't do it.

I’d confirm it’s ok with the sellers first. Imagine if the day before completion they sent house clearance people round to clear the shed etc and they took all your stuff as well!

Not without permission

I’d just ask the sellers- my sellers let me redirect my mail and bring all my pots over the week before.

We are buying an empty probate house and have a lot of garden stuff (we're buying a house with four acres of land). I will ask them if we can move the outdoor stuff over after exchange (once we've insured the place) and before completion, as we're in a chain of four and it would ease the pressure immensely. I'm hoping they agree. If they say no, we won't.

No
Your not insured and the owners insurance won’t cover you
If anything happened to the property Theyd be looking your way

It’s not yours till it’s yours

In the past I’ve rented a storage unit
but as you are first time buyers it’s not like people are going to be waiting outside yours in a removal van to get in
Pack up everything in a van and wait

You can, but the seller's solicitor has to be ready as well so it doesn't guarantee anything.

There’s no harm in trying. You could offer a licence but you’d have to pay. I did, and got the keys a month early - same situation as you. I stuck to my side of the bargain and only moved in garden bits and did cleaning. It’s all about respect. Good luck with the move!

Why wouldn’t the sellers solicitors be ready?

It’s one phone call to the Estate Agents.

Once they receive the money, authority to release keys should be done immediately.

True but they may have several completions to do that morning and sometimes funds are delayed or other problems appear. Last time I moved I didn't get the keys until 4pm.

They are first time buyers. Most conveyancers order mortgage funds the day before so it is ready to go first thing. No harm a call to your conveyancer?

I agree
Ive moved a lot and generally it’s around lunchtime
Never ever first thing in the morning
Most people would love to get in first thing of at a time specified by them but that’s not how it works.

Yes, when you’re involved in a chain and you are waiting for money to come in on a sale, it is normally lunchtime but when you are the start of a chain it is possible to complete earlier.

I wasn't planning on asking permission

that is rude and illegal. Do not do that. It's not yours!

Be thankful the property is empty, how many buyers had delays and ended up not having the keys even that days because banks and solicitors shut firms early!

Hope it goes well and early. But don't assume you will have the keys by 8am.

you think all buyers don't? You think all buyers just go "it's fine, take as long as you want, we'll just wait around all day with the removal van packed, no rush"? 😂

We let our buyers do this when we sold the in laws house .. also a probate sale.

We had no chain, our monies transferred at 10.14 am.

My parents sold to FTBs last year. It completed at 9.30am.

I don't think the current owners would mind if stuff was moved in early, however. But I'm quite laid back at such things, bearing in mind that exchange has clearly already happened.