Buying a house which currently has tenants in it

canaldumidi

tallac said:

theartfullodger said:

Even though he is currently a live in landlord he might not have been at some point in the occupants occupation, thus making them tenants 

I'd not touch this unless vacant, and I'd checked, before exchange.

Apologies for the naïve question but if my father wanted to exchange only if the house was already vacant, is there something in the contract to state that the house is vacant or will it be just on the word of the vendor? If the landlord says it's vacant when it's not, then how would the buyer be protected?

If it's just a case of the buyer would be in breach of contract, then wouldn't this be the same breach of contract situation as when the vendor said the house is rented at exchange but would be vacant in 2 months time at the time of completion and then the house isn't vacant. Both seem like they put the buyer in breach of contract. So, just wanted to understand how one is more protection than the other for the buyer?

It is always advisable to inspect the property just before Exchange, since legally that is the condition the property should be in on Completion (not how it looked 3 months earlier when first viewed).

This is obviously especially important in this case. On inspection, it will be immediately obvious if the tenants have vacated or not!

Howver, as I suggested earlier, I would not even get anywhere near Exchange until the property is vacant. Why spend £00s on fees only tofind out later the tenants are going to be there for another 9+ months? Sure, you can refuse to Exchange if they are still there, but your life is on hold, your money is spent, your mortgage offer will expire and you'll be tearing your hair out!

oz0707

Last house I sold my partner had to sign a doc saying she would vacate on completion. I imagine something similar would be needed. Not sure if be happy about exchanging with tenants in situ but surely the conveyancer would know the score and be able to advise?

daveyjp

You make the offer conditional on vacant possession at exchange.

canaldumidi

daveyjp said:

You make the offer conditional on vacant possession at exchange.

and how does that help the OP when the tenants stay put for months and months so he can't exchange, yet has forked out for all the pre-exchange costs?

Marvel1

No chance, exchange after they have left, if landlord is confident they will leave, no worries.

daveyjp

canaldumidi said:

daveyjp said:

You make the offer conditional on vacant possession at exchange.

and how does that help the OP when the tenants stay put for months and months so he can't exchange, yet has forked out for all the pre-exchange costs?

OP has already confirmed they are lodgers not tenants,

Plenty of property sales fail to exchange after purchasers have forked out pre exchange costs, its always a risk of buying England/Wales.

canaldumidi

daveyjp said:

canaldumidi said:

daveyjp said:

You make the offer conditional on vacant possession at exchange.

and how does that help the OP when the tenants stay put for months and months so he can't exchange, yet has forked out for all the pre-exchange costs?

OP has already confirmed they are lodgers not tenants,

Thanks - missed that. Not helped by continued use of 'tenants' in the thread.

Yes, with lodgers it's a much less worrying scenario.

rexmedorum

canaldumidi said:

daveyjp said:

canaldumidi said:

daveyjp said:

You make the offer conditional on vacant possession at exchange.

and how does that help the OP when the tenants stay put for months and months so he can't exchange, yet has forked out for all the pre-exchange costs?

OP has already confirmed they are lodgers not tenants,

Thanks - missed that. Not helped by continued use of 'tenants' in the thread.

Yes, with lodgers it's a much less worrying scenario.

in that case I would not be worries as such but would question why the current owner thinks they ened 2 months notice that's unusually long for a lodger. To me this would possibly point at that they may not understand the legal differences, it could also point to them somewho actually being tenants (maybe they rented before the owner moved in etc).

I would ask if you can see a copy of the contracts with te lodgers.