Allowing the seller to stay in the house after completion

Caroline73_2

Buyers aren't that easy to come by, especially FTB who are great as they don't have a chain behind them that may collapse. You have the upper hand and I suspect that the 'lovely old man' maybe taking advantage of your inexperience.

Caroline73_2

I also suspect that your solicitor is seeing £££££ so make sure that if you do follow this arrnagement that the seller is paying your extra legal fees.

Zelie

I suspect your mortgage company will not pay out if there is a sitting tenant. Tell him that. In fact, have your solicitor tell him that.

lonestar1

Most residential mortgage lenders specify the property must be vacant as such doing what you have been asked would constitute mortgage fraud also as your solictor also has a duty of care to the mortgage company its unlikely they would allow it to happen anyway

RomansProperties

I bought a property and the vendors wanted to stay for 2 weeks
They paid me £100 to cover this period and we did not start work on the house until they had left.
My solicitor at the time said the agreement had to be between us and I had to trust them.
The mortgage company needed to think the property was empty at completion.
It worked for us but I would tend to agree with all the other people.

dumb_blonde

This thread made me giggle a bit. It reminded me of when i was 18 and me and my boyfriend of the time bought our first house. We picked up the keys from the estate agent on completion date and went to the house. As i put the keys in the door tho i heard noises from inside, i peered through the letterbox and the asian family that we bought it from were sitting down to dinner.
Turns out they had a delay on their completion and wanted to stay there. I couldnt turf them out as they had little children and had nowhere to go, so we came to the arrangement that he would pay mortgage and utilities for the next month. However he disappeared before this time. Little did he know tho that through local people i got his new address and lets just say after a few words from the family, he paid up.
Still makes me laugh years later.
But i would say keep everything above board and inform the estate agents to see what they say x

mlz1413

If the old man has a lovely trustworthy family then he can put his furniture into storage and live with his family for a month or even go on holiday.

But if you let him stay he becomes your tenant and you become his landlord regardless of time span. Also most mortgage companies will not release funds on a house that is not empty on completion so you need everything in writing through a solicitor - ensure seller is footing the extra costs if you do decide to allow this.

Any vendor saying they will pull out is likely to be bluffing, but if they do mean it just accept it wasn't meant to be and something better and cheaper will come along before you know it.

Good Luck!

cronos

All of the above points regarding mortgage and tenancy rights are valid, but consider also what it would cost you in time and money to make sure everything was above board.

Solicitor, mortgage, insurance, tax (?).

Seems like a lot of hastle, cost and risk.

Fire_Fox

If you don't inform the mortgage, buildings and contents insurance providers of this 'arrangement' you may find yourself uninsured.

silvercar

lonestar1 wrote: »

Most residential mortgage lenders specify the property must be vacant as such doing what you have been asked would constitute mortgage fraud also as your solictor also has a duty of care to the mortgage company its unlikely they would allow it to happen anyway

Totally agree. To let the current owners stay would be mortgage fraud. Only legal way to do it would be consent to let from your new mortgage lender and issue an AST and complying with all landlord legislation.