New buyer taking on tenants with furniture query

sainey

My EA's found me new tenants whilst I was trying to sell my flat and fortunately, the new buyer is an investor who is happy to take over the tenancy also.

I have about £1,600 worth of furniture (around 1 year old) in the flat, which I have told the EA to advise the new buyer can be purchased once he takes over the flat and that i want to come to an agreement with him beforehand as to how much he is willing to pay and which i will deduct from the deposit paid by the tenant.

The EA's has failed to get back to me on this and has not paid the deposit over to me also (i am abroad by the way and my son is taking care of things for me) but are holding onto it.

Am i getting too concerned about this, or should i simply negotiate through my solicitor. The property was placed on the sales market without the furniture included. The flat however was advertised as fully furnished for rental. I see it as MY tenants will benefit from a furnished flat, but new buyer should provide (or buy mine) his own furnishings as I have said, the flat was not put on the selling market as fully furnished and furniture not included in the sale.

what do you think is the best way forward? thanks

lynzpower

this negotiation shopuld be done by solicitors

youll get a fixtures & fittings list- if you want to sell anything you do a seperate price list. Dont aim too high though, you look at ebay/car boot prices for what youve got. if you have 1600s worth of furniture, no offence but you want to be aiming to get about 700 max.

In any case all homes are sold as "vacant posession" which means they ARE suppoased to be empty as standard.

silvercar

if the tenants are currently living in it as furnished, there is no way you can remove the furniture from them mid- tennancy. Your buyer, as an investor, will know this and hence be reluctant to offer you much, if any, money. In this case the price you agree with the buyer is going to have to include furnishings.

If the buyer is getting an BTL mortgage, or indeed is a cash buyer, then the property can be sold tenanted. One of the rare occasions where it is acceptable not to offer vacant possession.

lynzpower

yep silvercar- i missed that

even more reason why OP will get a low amount for furniture

Gorgeous_George

Ask the buyer to make you an offer for the furniture. The furniture is yours and, on sale of the house, the tenancy will become the responsibility of the new owner. He/she will be responsible for agreeing the furniture to be included in the tenancy.

If the buyer doesn't offer a price that you can agree on, the furniture will need to be replaced by the new LL with the agreement of the tenant. Alternatively, you could agree to recover it at the end of the current tenancy or delay completion until the tenancy is ended.

Personally, I'd probably write it off even if the new buyer offered nothing for it (assuming you got a good price for the property).



GG

silvercar

Gorgeous_George wrote:

If the buyer doesn't offer a price that you can agree on, the furniture will need to be replaced by the new LL with the agreement of the tenant.

Why should and why would a tenant agree to have their furniture changed mid-tenancy.

Your point about recovering the furniture at the end of the tenancy is a good one, possibly the only option if a price can't be agreed.

sainey

Thanks everyone - really helpful replies, and I will take what you have all said on board.

The items include a lovely new chocolate coloured leather sofa, dishswasher and very nice modern furniture (the other white furniture is included in the sale), also a hand made bed - just very nice furniture, and together with the high quality of the decor, the flat attracts very good tenants easily, it is a highly rentable flat, and is always snapped up within a few days of advertising.

I will stand my ground, because the buyer has a bargain - he got £5000 of the asking price due to lenders only willing to lend 70-75% of the asking price, as they consider a highrise flat a risk, but the flat itself is highly sought-after, with a high level of interest and a bidding war at one point. The flat is in Bethnal Green, also a much sought after location, being in close proximity to the city of London and interested buyers themselves have all made offers for the full asking price.

The buyer is extremely anxious to complete by the end of the year, if not Christmas and so I will stand my ground on the furniture to get the best price possible as I am not in that much of a hurry! Who do you think will get their way?!

Gorgeous_George

The furniture belongs to the outgoing LL and he may need it for another property. It is the responsibilty of the incoming LL to provide for his tenant.

I accept that the tenant needs to agree to the way forward.

Options
1. Delay the sale and serve notice at the appropriate time to evict the tenant (2 months before tenancy ends).
2. Tenant agrees to have furniture replaced.
3. Outgoig LL agrees to wait until current tenancy period expires (perhaps with a bond from the incoming LL).



GG

silvercar

one thing to consider when deciding the furniture price is how easily you could make use of the furniture, if the tenant agreed to allow it to be swapped out.

Alan_M_2

I'd write it off, if it was £1600 new you'd be lucky to see 30% of that back, particularly if it's Ikea type stuff, practically valueless second hand.

The fact you have a buyer willing to take the property with tennants in situ is a massive result, Imagine how much it would cost to have to sell on vacant possession, lost rent etc....

Sell the flat forget the furniture. You've had a result!

sainey

Thanks - you're right, i have had a result - very lucky to have sold the flat actually with regard to lenders that is - i guess i am still a little attached to my furniture!

Will just accept the best price for the furniture. Thanks again you guys, always goo to see things from different perspectives!