need advice quickly...

nabby

We've exchanged contracts on the house we're buying. The people in the house have already part-exchanged it on a new build so effectively we're buying the house from the development company and not the inhabitants.

They're moving out on November 24 and we complete and are moving in on Dec 5 (the reason we're not completing same dat moving in straight away is purely because we have a holiday booked and we fly away on November 24).

We exchanged contracts a week ago and since then I've been speaking with BT to organise a phone line reactivation, calling Sky to arrange digital tv and buying a cooker which will be delivered there soon after we move in.

Anyway, cutting to the chase, we've had a pretty good relationship with the current inhabitants, popping round to ask questions about fixtures, showing my parents and brother the house, etc.

So I called up the husband on his mobile this afternoon to ask if we could pop round this weekend to measure the windows for curtains - we wanted to get some orders placed in the next few days as made-to-measure can take a little while and in the middle of winter we don't really want to be in the house with no curtains.

When I asked him if it would be ok to come round he said "No. We've been getting your mail since last Friday and it's really not on. This morning I had to pick up seven letters of yours on the way out of the house." He then went on to say it's been "a deluge of mail" from various places in big envelopes. All I could really do, given the tone of his voice was apologise and say that I hadn't expected any to come to that address yet and that I would see what I could do to stop letters being sent. Hen then mentioned something about marking our letters as "Return to Sender" - I'm not sure if he was threatening to do this or whether he has already done this with some of them.

I asked him why he hadn't called me (he has my number as well) to let me know, as the first letter came a week ago and we weren't aware of it. He said they thought it was a one-off but that since then more and more had been coming. He pretty much finished the call by saying his wife would drop them off at the estate agent and asking me if there was anything else? I said no and he just hung up.

So, should he have reacted in this way? I'm unsure as to whether he's just been caught in a bad mood (we all do get them after all) or whether he is genuinely annoyed. I'm concerned that he may not do as much of the stuff he said he would do before moving out (such as replacing £325 towel radiators, which they are taking, with standard cheaper ones).

Should I just leave it to the estate agent to sort out or go and see the inhabitants in person?

What would you have done?

What would you do now?

[Deleted User]

Well, if you have exchanged you have every right to go and measure up the place, the guy might have had a bad day but there's no excuse to go off like that KWIM. If i were you, I'd ask the EA to arrange a visit on your behalf, if your Vendor acts funny they'll know how to handle it. I never deal with Vendors directly, even if they seem nice, for this very reason. Good luck!

Doozergirl

It's inconvenient having to wait weeks after you've moved in for Sky and others to make installations, but I personally would not be making calls like this until much nearer the move date, in fact, until the week of the move date. I suspect that your vendors have gotten to the point where they feel that you are acting as if you already own the house and, to be honest, I would be a little put out too. Every time you've been round there, they've had to tidy and clean for their lives and I can imagine that they might get a little tired. You have to remember that even though you have exchanged contracts, that house is still their home until they move out.

I think you should leave any more measuring until you move in and send a note via the agents apologising. Make them feel a bit guilty though by saying how much you're looking forward to the move and that you're sorry if you've been a little over-enthusiastic.

Sorry, if I've been harsh, I didn't mean to be, just that I can see their point of view. I just had our buyer trying to use the fact that they will let me remain *in my own home* until January as a bartering tool. We've only just accepted their offer! They got short shrift.

Bossyboots

Van1971 wrote:

Well, if you have exchanged you have every right to go and measure up the place, the guy might have had a bad day but there's no excuse to go off like that KWIM. If i were you, I'd ask the EA to arrange a visit on your behalf, if your Vendor acts funny they'll know how to handle it. I never deal with Vendors directly, even if they seem nice, for this very reason. Good luck!

No you don't. You have no right to enter the property until after completion. It is only because of the graciousness of owners that you can measure up before. If they don't want you there, they do not have to have you there.

Rikki

I can understand him being upset about receiving your mail. The house in theory isn't yours until after your completion date so these letters shouldn't be addressed to you there. It my not be your fault but you need to stop it happening

jobbingmusician

I guess £20 spent on a bunch of flowers might be money well spent - show them what nice people you are??

robnye

I agree with the above postings, i think you may be pushing it a bit,
Why has your mail been going to the new address?
have you set up a redirection of mail, but started it to early?

nabby

Thanks for the feedback so far!

I guess I have been a bit "keen" in contacting companies. I like the idea of sending a note apologising to them to make them feel a bit guilty.

However, don't overlook the fact that the people living there don't "own" the house as such as they've part-exchanged it to a development company that's building their new house. We're buying from the development company rather than the people living there.

From my point of view I'd not be put out by some letters falling through the letterbox - 6 years after moving into out flat we still get letters for the owners before the ones we bought off! It doesn't annoy me. But hey ho, people are different in many ways...

And as my wife pointed out (maybe it's the Scot in her coming out!), let's hope they have organised their mail-forwarding service properly too.

Ironically, they've being going up to measure up their new house for weeks, even though they didn't exchange contracts until last week on that place. Oh the irony...

nabby

robnye wrote:

I agree with the above postings, i think you may be pushing it a bit,
Why has your mail been going to the new address?
have you set up a redirection of mail, but started it to early?

No it's been sent there by mistake. We canot get a mail redirection service as we have no id with the new address on it and I don't think the Post Office will accept a letter from our solicitor confirming our purchase (well not according to the Royal Mail website anyway).

nabby

eastchristina wrote:

I guess £20 spent on a bunch of flowers might be money well spent - show them what nice people you are??

Seems like a nice suggestion. I'll bear it mind...

lush_walrus

Bossyboots you are completely right, it is totally at the will of the vendors if they allow you around to visit, measure or anything else. As you say it is their property until the money has exchanged hands and the keys handed over.

Personally, I would recommend that buyers never get too friendly with vendors or visa versa. This is the one advantage that everyone buying and selling has is a third party ie an estate agent. If you deal direct, then things become personal and you effectively trap the vendor or buyer into having to deal with things in person to you.

I can see how the vendor has become fed up as everytime you go around you are invaiding their time and their space for no benefit to them at all.

I'm sure that you didnt intend to be a pain at all, but probably this is how they are viewing you and have now felt that they need to nip any further visits / letters arriving in the bud. When I last moved the buyers took the liberty of giving out our telephone number to their friends ready for when they moved in, without asking us if we were leaving it or waiting until the date they moved in. We were very angry after the 20th congratulations on your new house call. And told them what we thought, especially as we were taking our number with us as I was moving within the town!

Probably the best thing to do would be to let the dust settle, call and apologise to the people and say that you are new to this and feel as if you may have oversteped the mark through nievity rather than intention and assure them that you will make sure that all of your post will be redirected back to your present property. He may then come around and let you measure up, but make sure that if he does you get EVERYTHING measured and then leave them alone.