Tenants in house I am buying

thebully

Hi

I am in the process of selling my one bed starter home just on the edge of North West London and have found a nice detacted 3 bed house on the south coast which ticks all my boxes. I will be a lot more financially better off after the move with a bigger house smaller mortgage and unsecured debt paid off. I put the offer in about 6 weeks ago and had it accepted and have accepted an offer on my house which was surveyed about 3 weeks ago. I have just had my mortgage approved by HSBC and the house was valued at the price I have offered so everything is looking good up until now.

When I first viewed the house there was a family living in the house and I got the feeling they were not really happy about having to move out, the second time I viewed the house they were friendlier but still standoffish. The estate agent assured me that the tenants would be moving out of the house and that it would be sold with Vacant possession and the house was advertised as being chain free.

I found out from the agent that the house had been on the market 6 months previous for 5k more and the agent said the other buyer had pulled out because he had found a nicer house. The house is situated in the center of town in a good location just round the corner from all the shops but kind of in a service road behind a builders center so this is why I assumed there was not so much interest in the house. Also the market in the coast is slower than london.

Anyway the other night I was walking past the house to have a look on my way into town to have a drink which I have done a few times. The lady who is renting the house saw me from the window and came out and asked if I was buying the house as an investor as she has seen me looking. Basically she says the landlord has told her that he was selling to an investor and her and her family would be able to carry on living in the house and that she has been given notice I think she said section 19 but after googling I think she means section 21. She says she doesnt want to move out and that the council have advised her not to. She said she is a sitting tennant but I am not sure if that can be right after googling as it is a new house built in 2000. Basically she told me the landlord has a few houses all over the south coast and that she came home one night to find the for sale board up which must have been at the beginning of the year if what she is saying is true then its a bit dirty to tell her that he is selling to a landlord to get her to cooporate with viewings etc then give notice.

Now I have had my heart set on the house, its a nice house and ticks all my boxes I can really see myself living there. Having a family evicted so I can live in the house makes me feel like Ebenezer Scrooge but also the house belongs to the land lord and if he is determined to sell it to someone and the tenants have to move out anyway then I don't think I should feel to guilty. Its also not very welcoming to make a fresh start in small seaside town with that hanging over me.

My plan so far is to let my solicitor know tomorrow and see what he suggests and find out exactly how far the land lord is with giving notice so I can work out time scales. Then I can decide if I want to wait for this house or find another one. I got a good price for my house so if I have to I will have to move out and live with my dad rather than risk losing the buyer.

Pixie5740

You shouldn't feel guilty about anything. You viewed a house that was for sale, put an offer in and it was accepted.

If what this lady is saying is correct then the vendor is a lying toad. This family may not be sitting tenants but the council may have told them to sit tight until a court grants an eviction notice and the bailiffs physically remove them from the property so that they become eligible for social housing. That process can take months. The good news is that the vendor appears to have already issued a section 21 notice. Hopefully it's valid and the deposit was protected.

This lady has a contract with the vendor, not you so try not to get dragged into it even though you feel bad for her which is understandable. Imagine coming home to find a "for sale" sign outside your home.

thebully

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Imagine coming home to find a "for sale" sign outside your home.

I have a sold sign out side mine now and it doesn't feel very nice even though I am the one who arranged it because I am moving so I can very well imagine, also I remember having our family home sold when my parents divorced so I can empathise.

I need to get my solicitior to find out exactly how long they have had notice for etc so I can get time scales. I would be on the phone to him today if it wasnt bank holiday, why do bank holidays always come around when there is something pressing you want to do.

Thanks

harrys_dad

Never eeve believe an Estate Agent who says "the tenants are moving out soon" (in fact never ever believe an Estate Agent). There are many similar threads to yours on here and the advice is always the same, walk away.

It could take months to "evict" a tenant, the Section 21 may be invalid for a number of reasons or the tenant may ignore the Section 21 and court action will be needed.

This situation is caused by a landlord trying to minimise the loss of income between tenants moving out and sale proceeding. Greedy.

Never Exchange until you have seen with your own eyes that the house is empty. Never believe an Estate Agent. Walk away.

giraffe69

Whatever you do, if you end up going ahead exchange only if you get vacant possession. The promise of it is no enough.

buglawton

If a mortgage (a non buy to let type) is needed to buy it, your building society/bank making the loan will refuse to grant it to you, until proof is provided that the tenant has left.

mrginge

So you just need to know
When the s.21 was served and its expiry date
When the tenants fixed term expired/expires
That any deposit has been protected correctly
That the LL will be starting legal proceedings immediately on expiry of the s.21
How long it takes to get a court date/eviction sorted in that area.

You can then make an assessment of when you are likely to get vacant possession. That is the point that you can re-view the property and start your solicitor/survey processes.

If you are prepared to wait then do so, if not, then simply leave your offer in p,ace but look for alternatives at the same time.

thebully

Hi I am getting a normal mortgage from HSBC and the surveyor put a note on the valuation mentioning the tenants and that there will need to be a legal enquiry. I think the important thing I need to know is timescale if I am determined to buy the house so I need to know exactly when notice was given etc.

I have a friend who rents out a flat in London and he had a problem because his tenant wasn't paying her rent. It went on for about 2 years before he finally got the flat back but that was because he said the solicitors made mistakes etc. This was about 4 years ago though.

I think I need to start looking at a few other houses in the area so that I can have a fall back plan.

mrginge

Dont spend any more money on this house until you have confirmed vacant possession.

thebully

hopefully I won't need to spend any money I will tell the solicitiors to hold fire on searches etc except for finding out the situation with the tenants. Luckily my mortgage valuation was free but I am not sure if the next one is if I tell the bank I want to go for a different house. The solicitors have only really started so hopefully it wont have cost too much so far.

Thanks I will ask the solicitor to answer the questions you posted above tomorrow.

Paul_the_Painter

I would also, once you have been informed the property is now vacant, go round and check!