Just a quickie :)

JackSeymour

Hi guys,

Just a quick question. We are buying a bungalow that currently has tenants in, they are moving and landlady has decided to sell. All is going well so far and searches should be back any day now, however, my girlfriend went there tonight to see the place again and got talking to the tenant who said that they will be leaving on the 2nd November but have been told that they will be expected to return on the 30th to do an inventory check out, so presumably their tenancy runs until then.

Does this mean that we cannot complete on the property until after the 30th?

Although not disastrous, it means I can't get the time off work that I'd wanted as December is a busy month in my line of work.

Are there any ways round this that won't cost me money?

Thanks,

Jack

martinthebandit

You really really should not exchange contracts until the tenants have moved out and the property is empty.

marksoton

It's probably a condition of your mortgage offer that it's vacant possession.

Your solicitor needs to confirm this before exchange.

G_M

1) check with the tenants themselves when a) they are leaving and b) when their tenancy ends

2) check the same thing with the estate agent.

3) get your solicitor to formally ask the sellers (or their solicutor) the same thing

4) do not exchange contracts till the tenancy has ended. This may or may not be when the tenants move out. It is the tenancy end date that matters. Ask to see written proof.

5) stop [STRIKE]wasting [/STRIKE]sorry spending money on your purchase till the tenancy has ended.

6) inspect the property after the tenancy has ended to check it's condition before you Exchange contracts (again - NOT when the tenants move out)

To answer your question, I suspect this means you should not exchange until at least the 30th.

JackSeymour

Hi again.

Thanks for all your responses, much appreciated.

We will be going back on Saturday so will ask these questions.

Would it be reasonable to ask the seller to end the tenancy on the 2nd? This is the date the tenant has said they are leaving the property.

I can't see any point in having the property sitting empty for 28 days when we are ready to go.

Thanks

Jack

Pixie5740

The vendor (landlord) cannot end the tenancy. That can only be done by the tenant or a court. The landlord could try and negotiate an early surrender with the tenants but given that the tenants have probably had to rent up to 30th November, endure buyers coming into their home and had to move they may not be keen to agree to it without some kind of financial incentive.

You might be ready to go but the vendor isn't in a position to give vacant possession yet.

moneyistooshorttomention

JackSeymour wrote: »

Hi again.

Thanks for all your responses, much appreciated.

We will be going back on Saturday so will ask these questions.

Would it be reasonable to ask the seller to end the tenancy on the 2nd? This is the date the tenant has said they are leaving the property.

I can't see any point in having the property sitting empty for 28 days when we are ready to go.

Thanks

Jack

I would be doing that personally - ie asking the landlord to ask the tenants to have their tenancy ending amended to 3 November and the inventory check-out done then. After that - you could proceed as per any other house and Exchange and Complete.

The landlord may be being paid rent up until 30 November and be unwilling to relinquish that 28 days worth of rent - but no harm in asking and saying that any other buyer he got would probably also not be keen on Completing in December.

JackSeymour

Hi thanks for the responses.

I think I will ask the seller to amend the tenancy in line with the move out date and see what they say.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Jack

JimmyTheWig

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

The landlord may be being paid rent up until 30 November and be unwilling to relinquish that 28 days worth of rent - but no harm in asking

I agree it is worth asking.
Yes the vendor will lose out on rent.
But if the OP can't complete in December then the vendor would be looking at getting their money for their property (paying off mortgage, etc) two months earlier by allowing the tenents to stop.

Pixie5740

It doesn't matter what the vendor says. It is what the tenants say that is important and they might ask for more than just a refund in rent.

This was the risk the OP took when offering on a property with tenants.