Buying House - Tenant refusing to leave...

Lord_Baltimore

Ulfar wrote: »

I am going to restate the obvious

Mind if I join in?

Conjecture is pointless .

jamesd

MattinLondon wrote: »

After finally finding a house and everything running smoothly we had had delays from the seller. Finally found out why. They had given notice to the tenant 2 months ago (due to run out at the end of the month) but the tenant has just told them she doesn't want to leave. It sounds as though she's staying put so she can get evicted to help her get a council house (this is what we've been told by the agents).

I've had a brief read up and it seems as though this could take a while to sort out. We haven't exchanged yet, but have completed a survey which would be the only money we'd lose if we find another house. Is it likely to take several months? The mortgage offer runs out in March...

Is it worth the hassle sticking with this house. We have a very similar priced one around the corner we can see on Friday...

Look at the one around the corner. Pick the one you want, assuming a three to four month delay in completion on this one.

With no exchange of contracts you can't make the seller liable for any extra costs you might have if they failed to complete on the time agreed in the sale contract.

One way that this is sometimes resolved is the seller paying the tenant to leave before being evicted. Not you, the seller, it's their problem to deal with, in legal costs and such.

Another way it can be resolved is you agreeing to buy with the tenant still in place and the seller agreeing a discount to cover your costs in completing the eviction process. If you do this be sure that you behave strictly legally correctly towards the tenant, just work through the legal process and a few months later you'll have the place to live in. If you do this you should also ensure that the contract with the seller makes them liable for any new damage to the property. Your mortgage lender is unlikely to agree so this probably isn't really possible for you and in any case it means you taking a risk that you don't need to take.

Exchanging contracts is not all bad. It locks in the price. In a rising market that can have substantial value. It can also make it easier to get a renewed or new mortgage offer later, since a valuation could be higher, without change in the purchase price, reducing the LTV or deposit requirement. If you are in a rising market you may well want to do this to protect yourself if you don't switch to the other property.

Ultimately the tenant will be gone. It's just a matter of time.

Ulfar

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

Mind if I join in?

Conjecture is pointless .

It is not pointless if it informs the OP to some of the realities that the landlord may be facing.

It gives him more questions to put to the vendor directly or via his solicitor. It also shows why the landlord cannot be trusted.

kwmlondon

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

Well, I didn't say the LL could hurry the tenant out but the LL can instigate the process for getting the tenant out. She will go eventually, whether she likes it or not. The problems this might cause are of no concern to the OP. I certainly wouldn't pay a penny toward encouragement.

Like I said, if I felt someone was making life awkward for me, I'd return the favour by pressing for vacant possession and when it became available in a few months time, I'd pull out of the deal.

Buying property can be horrific but not if you remain emotionally detached.

Unfortunately most people live to a timescale. Mortgage offers time out, tenancies can end while you're waiting for a sale to go through, people have to book time off work to move home or sometimes change jobs etc.

You can try to remain emotionally detached but only if you are buying and selling property that you don't actually live in. When it's your home I don't honestly see how disruptions can't but have an impact on your day-to-day life. But then we're talking about emotions so it's all subjective really isn't it?

Lord_Baltimore

Ulfar wrote: »

It is not pointless if it informs the OP to some of the realities that the landlord may be facing.

It gives him more questions to put to the vendor directly or via his solicitor. It also shows why the landlord cannot be trusted.

Those "realities" exist only in your mind. What you suggest are "possibilities" not "realities" and listing possibilities just confounds the real issues IMHO.

MattinLondon

kwmlondon wrote: »

Unfortunately most people live to a timescale. Mortgage offers time out, tenancies can end while you're waiting for a sale to go through, people have to book time off work to move home or sometimes change jobs etc.

You can try to remain emotionally detached but only if you are buying and selling property that you don't actually live in. When it's your home I don't honestly see how disruptions can't but have an impact on your day-to-day life. But then we're talking about emotions so it's all subjective really isn't it?

Yes, sadly it's hard to not get emotionally involved when it's your home you're trying to set up. We haven't had a holiday in 2 years - no honeymoon, no luxuries, to save for the house. We don't have any help from parents and have had to use many a weekend and weeknight to view dozens of properties. The mortgage offer runs out in March so it's a matter of time now. There's no guarantee that we'll get accepted again (especially with the new laws).

Anyway, good to know that if our landlord wants to evict us we can just tell him where to go and stay for as long as we like!

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

MattinLondon wrote: »

Anyway, good to know that if our landlord wants to evict us we can just tell him where to go and stay for as long as we like!

How have you reached that conclusion from the answers given to you in this thread?

Lord_Baltimore

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

How have you reached that conclusion from the answers given to you in this thread?

Because the many tenant sympathisers offering "advice" in this thread are in denial about the true nature of tenant tenure.

Tenants, quite rightly, have rights but they don't have the omnipotence some have attempted to imply.

There is still time enough for the landlord to gain possession of this property Matt - if you do a little bit of research you will be able to assist in the process. Don't give up on your plans just because someone has decided to play awkward.

Pixie5740

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

OP, you have no control over when this tenancy ends. There is nothing you can do to expidite this matter.

Certainly the tenant will leave at some point, either when they find somewhere else to live and end the tenancy, or when the court grants an eviction notice, providing all the LL's paperwork is in order. Your mortgage offer expires in March so there's a reasonable chance that either of those scenarios will happen before then.

If you find that your LL tries to sell up in the near future then you could easily spin your tenancy out until March. If you read what myself and others have posted you would realise this.

Missko

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