Failed completion, hoarder unable to clear

[NTLgirl]

South-West England. Completion day for our dream forever home was Friday just gone. Sunday today. We got notice from our solicitor at 11am that the vendor was unwell and unwilling to move until Tuesday. Although, ordinarily, we'd be excepting that these things happen, we've already been STC for 7 months and the vender has pushed back dates and negotiated the date several times. This is the second time we've loaded and unloaded the moving van.
The issue I have is that the vender is a hoarder and on failed completion day the house appeared completely unpacked. The property has been on the market for over a year. If the property isn't ready to go now, will it ever be? Advice?

Have you exchanged contracts? If so, your solicitor will serve Notice to Complete. Assuming standard contract terms were in place, seller will have 10 working days to complete after service of the Notice.

You will be able to claim for all your additional expenses, so keep a note of everything.

if you have not exchanged, there is nothing you can do

They won't ever be ready.
I'd be going over there on Monday and taking possession. You might need to get your own company to clear the house and then pursue the vendor for costs.

Do not do this. Whether or not you have exchanged contracts, you cannot do this. I’m a property lawyer, see my comment above

I thought it sounded like they'd completed, and the vendor just hasn't vacated.

If you've completed then take your solicitors advice about clearing the house and recovering costs. In future never buy from a hoarder.

@WhitstablePearl thanks for your advice. Yes, we exchanged a few weeks ago. We issued notice on the same day and so far have 3k costs sent over to our solicitor tonight. If we never actually complete how easy is it to actually get those costs back though? Guessing we will have to go to court?

@ForDreamyMintHare if we'd completed and he'd left, I'll be honest and say, we'd happily clear the property ourselves. At this point, we just really want keys to the house in any condition. It's already a renovation project anyway.
My concern is we've now served notice, in two weeks time if he's still digging his heels in, legally in England we have little more options than to walk away.

Unless he has no equity, I'd hope that costs can be taken when the solicitors deal with the money from the sale. The vendor receives the amount left after all expenses including those claimed by you because you couldn't move into your new house from the completion date?

Do you know what his plan is for moving - is he buying somewhere else? That's the question I'd be asking although it's worrying that he's made no arrangements about where he's going to live and keep his stuff.

@Bjorkdidit thanks for replying. I understand significant equity for him after sale. He is top of chain and has had access to his ongoing property since March. I've been told he's 'having work done there' then 'having carpets put in' by his agents months ago.
He's downgrading, downsizing and renting due to the end of an interest only mortgage that he can't repay. It's not a sale of choice, that's my understanding.
I do have sympathy that he's a person, human, the complexity to his story, like all of us. I don't want to seem cold hearted at all but a sale is a sale. We have 2 kids and the certainty and delay is causing much stress.

See @WhitstablePearl post above, if you have exchanged then you can force completion and take the house.

I'd have sympathy but it has limits. It sounds like he has somewhere to go so he just needs to go.

Given the new information it sounds like his mortgage company will evict him eventually. It just depends on whether you are able to wait!

Anyone got any more insight into the eviction process? A lenders view on him refusing to move when the mortgage term ended in 2025?

So is he basically squatting in your house?

Once the 10 days are up, if he’s still there, applying for an Order for Specific Performance may be the best way to go. You aren’t evicting him, you are having the Court enforce the terms of the contract

We moved into an uncleared house 30 years ago as FTBs. The vendors had moved with what they wanted but left tonnes of rubbish. We had to get a rubbish clearance company in and claim the cost. Two big lorry loads!

Any update today OP? I guess completion still looking unlikely tomorrow? Are you at risk from your own buyers?

Why is he having work done if he's renting? Don't landlords normally provide flooring too?

It sounds like you've been more than reasonably patient and sympathetic, but the reality is that it's the mortgage lender who's forced the sale, because he's failed to comply with the agreement he made to repay his mortgage balance last year after having the benefit of living in the property presumably for at least 25 years, in which time he'll have seen substantial increase in value and experienced a long period of near zero interest rates, so it will have cost him very little.

You've bought his property and allowed him to move on with his life, without the worse outcome of having his property repossessed. So you have the right to take ownership of it, as agreed. Hopefully this will happen by tomorrow.

I would jut put my solicitor on it.

It's what they are there for.

No because they have not completed yet

I'm baffled

It was a failed completion because he couldn't get his shit together?

you have exchanged contracts - I thought there were legal penalties for failed completion unless there's a really good reason

One of my mum's friends was hospitalised just before completion on a sale - the completion still went ahead.

and why are you trying to be nice? I thought you could already sue for breach of contract as soon as he's failed. And I thought there were daily penalties for that.

Is my knowledge horribly out of date?

All your costs should be paid - the date of completion was in the contract and you've exchanged

I feel as if I've gone a bit mad reading your post.

What a nightmare for you OP.

Hope it gets resolved soon.

Seems a lot of these happen reading posts about solo adult kids living in their parents house and never moving out even after parents die.

I feel sorry for siblings having to deal with it.

What did your solicitor say? Why are you asking random people on MN when you have a solicitor?

Our purchase was full of crap when viewed (and stank of dogs - see other thread) During a viewing a week out from proposed completion nothing had changed and we threatened to withhold £2K to cover clearing if the vendor failed to. They refused this but it did seem to concentrate their minds. Completion was delayed a few days due to paperwork issues. If that hadn't happened I think we may have had an issue. They were very late leaving on the day but fortunately it was of no consequence.