Deed of surrender/ surrender document - FTB tenanted property

davidmcn

FTB_Help said:

Does insurance protect buyers in cases like this? i.e not being able to go through with the sale because the property is not vacant within a set time frame?

No. Generally speaking, you can't get insurance for something which is very likely to happen!

FTB_Help

davidmcn said:

FTB_Help said:

Does insurance protect buyers in cases like this? i.e not being able to go through with the sale because the property is not vacant within a set time frame?

No. Generally speaking, you can't get insurance for something which is very likely to happen!

don't jinx it please!

greatcrested

I believe there is some kind of insurance you can buy.

It comes up from time to time here and always gets dismissed. The problem is there are so many get-out clauses, or limitations, or potential disputes with the insurers over whether the policy covers the specific circumstances for the deal not reaching Exchange that it is not worth buying.

Here you go: duckduckgo found this

https://www.surewise.com/home-buyers-insurance/

Semple

FTB_Help said:

Chilli6 said:

From reading many posts on here regarding people trying to buy tenanted properties (usually ftb's it seems), it seems vendors really shouldn't be able to market them until they have vacant possession.
Search other threads and you will see it isn't straight forward to move tenants on right now. 
You have no idea how motivated they are to leave as you're at the mercy of what the EA tells you (which will be whatever suits them.)
I'd move on and find a property that is proceedable as this one currently isn't. 

This flat is near enough perfect for us, and we've had difficulties the last few months finding somewhere in this area within our price range and with all the space (900 sq ft) and garden, its in good condition and 5 mins walk from the station and close to the high street but also in a quite road. I'm very tempted to ask them to pay the tenant to leave early, the EA also said that might be an idea but not sure if this'll !!!!!! the vendor off

I'm with the others on this. Don't worry in the slightest about upsetting the vendor, at the end of the day if they wanted to sell it, they should have issued their notice to quit many months ago. 

You need to put your foot down and insist that the flat is vacated fully before you ask your solicitor to proceed. If the vendor isn't happy about "buying out his tenants" then you'll just have to accept this could be a long winding road with you exchanging way after the stamp duty freeze. 

davidmcn

greatcrested said:

I believe there is some kind of insurance you can buy.

It comes up from time to time here and always gets dismissed. The problem is there are so many get-out clauses, or limitations, or potential disputes with the insurers over whether the policy covers the specific circumstances for the deal not reaching Exchange that it is not worth buying.

Here you go: duckduckgo found this

https://www.surewise.com/home-buyers-insurance/

Yes, I'm not convinced that would help the OP. It doesn't specifically mention tenants failing to move out, but there is a general exclusion "if at the start date you are aware of any circumstances that could cause the purchase to not complete", and in any event it would only cover the vendor withdrawing the property from sale during the six months of cover (and not just, for example, waiting an inordinate length of time for the tenants to leave).

steampowered

Personally, I would be happy to proceed with surveys and solicitors, on the basis of seeing something from the tenants (e.g. signed deed of surrender or a clear email) confirming that they will be living on a particular date.

Although that is not legally binding, it at least confirms that the tenants are intending to leave.

However I would never exchange contracts until the property is vacant.

FTB_Help

Thanks for all the advice guys, really appreciate all thoughts and opinions, im youngish and most my friends are at the same stage as me so don't have anyone i can get experience from, so really nice to have this platform of friends to weigh up my options with. Will try and keep this thread posted as i notice most people faze out and stop posting and dont update on the situation, so will try my best

AdrianC

FTB_Help said:

Thanks for all the advice guys, really appreciate all thoughts and opinions, im youngish and most my friends are at the same stage as me so don't have anyone i can get experience from, so really nice to have this platform of friends to weigh up my options with. Will try and keep this thread posted as i notice most people faze out and stop posting and dont update on the situation, so will try my best

The problem is that you're dealing with an idiot who simply doesn't understand his business. Fortunately, he's getting out of it, but...

If he did, he'd know that he cannot compel his tenants to leave, and wouldn't even try to market the property until it was vacant.
He'd know that the notice he has to give them is currently six months instead of the normal two.
He'd know that, instead of there normally being a backlog for court possession hearings, the courts haven't even been accepting new claims since March.
He'd know that, if they dig their heels in, they're likely to still be there in 2022, without a single sausage he can do about it legally.
He'd know that the most likely outcome of all of this is that you get a putative buyer gets hacked off at the realisation of the delays, walks away, and other putative buyers start to wonder why the property is stale on the market...

eddddy

Just for a bit of balance - of the LLs and tenants I've come across, I'd say that in 80% - 90% of cases, when a section 21 notice is served, LLs and tenants amicably agree a move out date, and the tenants stick to it.

And if the tenants won't agree a date, they usually explain in advance - e.g. they explain that they want the council to rehouse them, so they'll have to wait for a court order and bailiffs.

It might be worth 'sounding out' the tenants to see what they say. They should have no reason to lie to you - e.g. saying that they intend to move out, when they don't really.

Although, the tenant's situation might change, meaning they change their mind about leaving. (But any property seller's situation might change, meaning they change their mind about selling their property.)

It might help you assess the size of the risk you'd be taking.

Semple

eddddy said:

Just for a bit of balance - of the LLs and tenants I've come across, I'd say that in 80% - 90% of cases, when a section 21 notice is served, LLs and tenants amicably agree a move out date, and the tenants stick to it.

And if the tenants won't agree a date, they usually explain in advance - e.g. they explain that they want the council to rehouse them, so they'll have to wait for a court order and bailiffs.

It might be worth 'sounding out' the tenants to see what they say. They should have no reason to lie to you - e.g. saying that they intend to move out, when they don't really.

Although, the tenant's situation might change, meaning they change their mind about leaving. (But any property seller's situation might change, meaning they change their mind about selling their property.)

It might help you assess the size of the risk you'd be taking.

In normal times that could very well be the case - there's normally good availability in the rental market, majority of people are in jobs + have some sort of savings.

Currently I'd say most of those points are unlikely to apply anymore. Which means there's less availability, and with lots of job losses, people either can't afford to move or wouldn't meet any affordability checks. Meaning they have no choice but to stay put. 

But by all means, you've not got anything to lose by talking to the current tenants. I'd just be weary of what they tell you.