Unusual Request whilst awaiting sale to complete

housebuyer143

It might be they are worried you will find something while doing the garden that would make you change your mind. 
I don't imagine they have anything to hide, but I would be apprehensive about someone spending too much time at the house in case something came up that could scupper the sale. 

Grizebeck

I will drop them an email over weekend and see what they say.
One of the reasons I am wanting to do this is we are having someone coming to stop with us for a few months as a kinda live in labourer. For various reasins the date he comes and stops is set in stone so to speak. We have a whole schedule of work that he can do and garden wasn't the first thing but it's completely over grown and would rather have him do something then lounge around the house all day waiting for probate and then completion...

Bonniepurple

Our buyer is doing that.  He asked if we would mind and we had no issue with it.  It also benefits his parents (next door).  So far as my brother and I are concerned, he’s doing us a favour.

Bigphil1474

OP, we sold my dads house in July this year, I was one of the 2 executors. The buyer asked about tidying up the garden around May time, and we told them we'd get someone in and we did. We'd already had a sale fall through at the beginning of the year, and it cost us about £30 for a gardener, so we were happy to keep the buyer happy. Personally, I'd suggest asking about getting the garden sorted, and offer to pay the cost if they don't seem too keen. I wouldn't have wanted the buyer coming in and doing any work until they actually own it.

RHemmings

Bigphil1474 said:

OP, we sold my dads house in July this year, I was one of the 2 executors. The buyer asked about tidying up the garden around May time, and we told them we'd get someone in and we did. We'd already had a sale fall through at the beginning of the year, and it cost us about £30 for a gardener, so we were happy to keep the buyer happy. Personally, I'd suggest asking about getting the garden sorted, and offer to pay the cost if they don't seem too keen. I wouldn't have wanted the buyer coming in and doing any work until they actually own it.

How did you manage to get a gardener for £30? 

I rejected one house for several reasons, but one was that the garden was fabulous and there was no way that I would be able to keep it in that state. I looked into regular gardening, but it would cost a lot more than that. 

Note: the house has sold and I have bought elsewhere. Just curious. 

Grizebeck

Bigphil1474 said:

OP, we sold my dads house in July this year, I was one of the 2 executors. The buyer asked about tidying up the garden around May time, and we told them we'd get someone in and we did. We'd already had a sale fall through at the beginning of the year, and it cost us about £30 for a gardener, so we were happy to keep the buyer happy. Personally, I'd suggest asking about getting the garden sorted, and offer to pay the cost if they don't seem too keen. I wouldn't have wanted the buyer coming in and doing any work until they actually own it.

Thanks oh we would be doing the garden ourselves, its huge and runs down to a river, so much to clear, if they say no then we just wait to get stuck in

vic_sf49

Maybe give a rough idea of what you'd like to do...

- cut grass
- weed borders
- trim shrubs
- whatever whatever

Then they're not wondering about major upheaval in the garden, or wondering what you real reason is, or would say yes if they knew the details, but are too polite/upset/angry/suspicious to ask, and so say no as a default. 

Herzlos

If you make it clean you're talking about garden maintenance - weeding and the like, then you may be fine.
If they think you're talking about landscaping then I doubt it.

Murphybear

SDLT_Geek said:

Grizebeck said:

due to the probate delays our purchase is taking sometime, ive done all the searches and everything is ready to exchange and complete pending grant of probate
 was thinking of asking the executors of the estate if they would object if i tidied/cleared the garden, highly unusual i realise. the garden is very over grown.  
f this was you selling your relatives house as an executor  and someone asked you if they could tidy the garden before owning the house what would you say...

and yes i do realise if they said yes the sale could still fall through!

You could couple your request to tidy the garden with a request to bury your dead dog in the garden, to show your commitment to going ahead.  Do you have a bag for life you could use?

Amazing how that keeps popping up on here 

nyermen

+1 for offering a gardener as a backup option, depending on what your aims are.

Mine was a probate house - it took 6 months (that time in 2019 when probate office had a melt down...).

Mean time, the garden was left to overgrow, and then the executers came to clearly do an amateur job, overcut things, and killed half of the Californian lilac by cutting too much (for those who know that plant...!).

In hindsight, wish I'd thought of offering to pay for gardening.