Tenants won't leave property we're buying..

lookstraightahead

GDB2222 said:

Tatters26 said:

I'm resigned to it not going ahead, we both are. I'm hoping that the tenants do find something themselves, the EA seems convinced they are "nice people" and are genuinely looking, as opposed to not looking and waiting for council,  but we'll have to wait and see. It's just so up in the air and you have zero power or control as the buyer, and also a lack of visibility. It's just a case of waiting for the phone to ring. 

I'm really sorry, but I've skipped several pages of this thread, so you may have already considered the following:

If it were me in your position, I would try one last throw of the dice:

1. I'd reduce my offer for the property by £5k.

2. I would tell the sellers that I will offer the tenants that  £5k in cash if they will move out in one week, so the purchase goes ahead.

3. I would suggest to the sellers that it would actually be more sensible that they offer the tenants £5k to move out, in which case you'll go ahead at the agreed price.

Obviously, adjust the £5k figure appropriately, so as to make the tenants think more than twice before rejecting it, but you don't have to set them up for life. 

Also, given the sunk costs you have had, you might offer to contribute £1-2k on top of the £5k, out of your pocket.  The worst that happens is that your seller tells you to get lost.

How will £5k help them? 

newsgroupmonkey_

lookstraightahead said:

GDB2222 said:

Tatters26 said:

I'm resigned to it not going ahead, we both are. I'm hoping that the tenants do find something themselves, the EA seems convinced they are "nice people" and are genuinely looking, as opposed to not looking and waiting for council,  but we'll have to wait and see. It's just so up in the air and you have zero power or control as the buyer, and also a lack of visibility. It's just a case of waiting for the phone to ring. 

I'm really sorry, but I've skipped several pages of this thread, so you may have already considered the following:

If it were me in your position, I would try one last throw of the dice:

1. I'd reduce my offer for the property by £5k.

2. I would tell the sellers that I will offer the tenants that  £5k in cash if they will move out in one week, so the purchase goes ahead.

3. I would suggest to the sellers that it would actually be more sensible that they offer the tenants £5k to move out, in which case you'll go ahead at the agreed price.

Obviously, adjust the £5k figure appropriately, so as to make the tenants think more than twice before rejecting it, but you don't have to set them up for life. 

Also, given the sunk costs you have had, you might offer to contribute £1-2k on top of the £5k, out of your pocket.  The worst that happens is that your seller tells you to get lost.

How will £5k help them? 

If they can't afford the deposit for a private rental, £5k would go a long way!

Murphybear

If the tenants are waiting for a council property it doesn’t matter how much money you throw at them, they will have to wait until the bailiffs knock on the door.

Exodi

Murphybear said:

If the tenants are waiting for a council property it doesn’t matter how much money you throw at them, they will have to wait until the bailiffs knock on the door.

If the tenants reasons for holding out for a council/HA property are financially motivated, then it could very well make the difference. They currently pay private rent (subsidised with Universal Credit) and (as an example), if they could expect to save £100 a month in council housing, they may decide they'd rather take the £5k, move into a private rental but carry on applying for council properties and potentially be quids in if they get one sooner than later.

If the tenants reasons for wanting a council property are security of tenancy or understanding that this may be their 'one shot' to jump the queue (e.g. by being evicted)', or if a lump sum could potentially impact their benefits claim - they may not be so eager to accept.

Practically speaking, even if you did wave a large wad of cash in front of their faces which they were keen to accept - you'd almost certainly still face delays of several weeks while they try to secure a private rental - they're unlikely to accept homelessness for any figure without a lot of zeros!

To be honest though Murphybear, everyone has a price - if you offered the tenants £100k I can't imagine they'd refuse, it's just working out the magic number.

Tatters26

GDB2222 said::

If it were me in your position, I would try one last throw of the dice:

1. I'd reduce my offer for the property by £5k.

2. I would tell the sellers that I will offer the tenants that  £5k in cash if they will move out in one week, so the purchase goes ahead.

3. I would suggest to the sellers that it would actually be more sensible that they offer the tenants £5k to move out, in which case you'll go ahead at the agreed price.

Obviously, adjust the £5k figure appropriately, so as to make the tenants think more than twice before rejecting it, but you don't have to set them up for life. 

Also, given the sunk costs you have had, you might offer to contribute £1-2k on top of the £5k, out of your pocket.  The worst that happens is that your seller tells you to get lost.

I think as a roll of the dice at the end we would suggest this, might as well ask. It may be that they cannot take it but I'd rather they turned it down than it wasn't offered. I wouldn't be sure what best way to do it, in terms of getting the money to them but that's a question I guess if they'll accept it. 

SpiderLegs

Tatters26 said:

GDB2222 said::

If it were me in your position, I would try one last throw of the dice:

1. I'd reduce my offer for the property by £5k.

2. I would tell the sellers that I will offer the tenants that  £5k in cash if they will move out in one week, so the purchase goes ahead.

3. I would suggest to the sellers that it would actually be more sensible that they offer the tenants £5k to move out, in which case you'll go ahead at the agreed price.

Obviously, adjust the £5k figure appropriately, so as to make the tenants think more than twice before rejecting it, but you don't have to set them up for life. 

Also, given the sunk costs you have had, you might offer to contribute £1-2k on top of the £5k, out of your pocket.  The worst that happens is that your seller tells you to get lost.

I think as a roll of the dice at the end we would suggest this, might as well ask. It may be that they cannot take it but I'd rather they turned it down than it wasn't offered. I wouldn't be sure what best way to do it, in terms of getting the money to them but that's a question I guess if they'll accept it. 

Sounds very much like something that would need discussing with your solicitor, given potential impacts on mortgage and SDLT.

SpiderLegs

Tatters26 said:

GDB2222 said::

If it were me in your position, I would try one last throw of the dice:

1. I'd reduce my offer for the property by £5k.

2. I would tell the sellers that I will offer the tenants that  £5k in cash if they will move out in one week, so the purchase goes ahead.

3. I would suggest to the sellers that it would actually be more sensible that they offer the tenants £5k to move out, in which case you'll go ahead at the agreed price.

Obviously, adjust the £5k figure appropriately, so as to make the tenants think more than twice before rejecting it, but you don't have to set them up for life. 

Also, given the sunk costs you have had, you might offer to contribute £1-2k on top of the £5k, out of your pocket.  The worst that happens is that your seller tells you to get lost.

I think as a roll of the dice at the end we would suggest this, might as well ask. It may be that they cannot take it but I'd rather they turned it down than it wasn't offered. I wouldn't be sure what best way to do it, in terms of getting the money to them but that's a question I guess if they'll accept it. 

Sounds very much like something that would need discussing with your solicitor, given potential impacts on mortgage and SDLT.

HampshireH

Tatters26 said:

GDB2222 said::

If it were me in your position, I would try one last throw of the dice:

1. I'd reduce my offer for the property by £5k.

2. I would tell the sellers that I will offer the tenants that  £5k in cash if they will move out in one week, so the purchase goes ahead.

3. I would suggest to the sellers that it would actually be more sensible that they offer the tenants £5k to move out, in which case you'll go ahead at the agreed price.

Obviously, adjust the £5k figure appropriately, so as to make the tenants think more than twice before rejecting it, but you don't have to set them up for life. 

Also, given the sunk costs you have had, you might offer to contribute £1-2k on top of the £5k, out of your pocket.  The worst that happens is that your seller tells you to get lost.

I think as a roll of the dice at the end we would suggest this, might as well ask. It may be that they cannot take it but I'd rather they turned it down than it wasn't offered. I wouldn't be sure what best way to do it, in terms of getting the money to them but that's a question I guess if they'll accept it. 

If offering cash I would suggest offering to pay the forward deposit (and one month's rent or whatever) directly to the estate agent and the rest after they have given vacant possession.

Or the total sum upon giving vacant possession.

I wouldn't be giving them any cash payment before they have followed through on leaving.

Regardless, £5k may sound appealing but not if there isn't anywhere on the market for then to rent that's suitable

Tatters26

So update.

Today arrived. They haven't gone and gold stars to those who got it right! The Section 21 is invalid on a couple of points, so effectively they're still there with no eviction given at all.

I realise this is an expensive lesson for us both as FTB, but should the seller's solicitor or even estate agent (who forwarded us the "eviction" notice back in June) have picked up on this? Or is this not their job? 

I just think if you're an estate agent selling a property, the seller says he's evicted his tenants and they're serving notice and sends the EA the letter as proof, I'd like to think the EA would immediately say "this isn't valid, you need to send them X and Y" and we could've not wasted time on this?

GoogleMeNow

Sorry to say, Estate Agents are sales people.  Unless they are also the letting agent, I doubt very much if they would know anything about whether a Section 21 Notice is valid or not.

I also doubt whether the seller's solicitor has seen the Section 21 Notice.  In any case, conveyancing solicitors may not be experts in the field of Landlord & Tenant Law.  Conveyancers sell and buy properties but do not deal with the legal aspects of eviction of tenants.