When is "vacant possession" not actually "vacant possession"?

tcall

As first time buyers we were supposed to be buying a property which is marketed as "Chain Free" and "Available with full vacant possession".
However just before we were about to exchange and complete, the vendors have now moved into the property while they wait for a delay in their mortgage on a new property to be finalised.
Based on the sale being chain free, we have given notice on our rented accomodation.
We have suggested they put their items in storage and move out so we can complete. They will not consider this.
They say the purchase should complete before the end of our notice period, but who knows!
We are left in the position where we have to recommit to the rented accomodation or face homelessness!
As such, we have suggested that the vendors pay another month's rent on our property, to cover the possibilty of the purchase taking longer than expected, however they seem unwilling to do this.
We have made it clear that we will have no choice but to withdraw if this is the case.

Where do we stand with the fact that the property was marketed as vacant and chain free? If we withdraw we will have lost over £1000 in fees.

Poppy9

Go back to the EA you are buying from and ask to look at other properties. They will tell the sellers. Tell the EA that if you have to commit to an extra period in rental accommodation you might as well look at other houses as prices seem to be dropping and there might be something better out there.

This should put the wind up them.

Woby_Tide

if they've printed the house details and marketed it with "Vacant possession" then I'd say you must have a case against the EA for marketing that way. It's up to the EA to then work out whether it's them or the vendor who are going to get stiffed. What has your solicitor said about this?

Doozergirl

How odd! Where did they move to the house from?! Were they selling two houses and the other completed first?

I don't think there's anything you can do unless you've already exchanged and agreed a completion date. There's no legal obligation to each other until exchange. It sounds like the agent genuinely marketed the house as such because that's how it was at the time, so I don't think you can get them for it either.

Stuff like this seems to be happening more and more. People lie about their position to get viewings and people lie about their position to sell. You must push and push for a completion date. Drive the agent potty and they will drive the vendor potty who will in turn bother their solicitor who might actually get something done.

House buying never runs smoothly, I'm sorry to say. Hopefully everything will be okay and you'll move in time. Best of luck!

tcall

Woby_Tide wrote:

if they've printed the house details and marketed it with "Vacant possession" then I'd say you must have a case against the EA for marketing that way. It's up to the EA to then work out whether it's them or the vendor who are going to get stiffed. What has your solicitor said about this?

Our solicitor has had confirmation from their solicitor that they definitely will not move out until they can complete on their new mortgage. He has left it in our hands to try to get a resolution via the Agent.
I haven't spoken to him yet about recouping fees due to miss-marketing.

The agent agrees that it should be vacant, and they were supposed to be moving furniture out, not moving themselves in!
However the agent and the vendors want us to just put faith in their vision that it will complete before the end of our notice period. This seems barmy to me, because if something goes wrong, we are homeless!

Poppy9

The problem is with English law that they don't have to give you vacant possession until you have completed. Well unless there is a sitting tennant then all houses are vacant possession.

EA normally only use this term when houses are already empty but in law it just means vacant upon completion.

tcall

Doozergirl wrote:

How odd! Where did they move to the house from?! Were they selling two houses and the other completed first?

The vendors were letting this property out, and living in rented accomodation themselves in another part of the country. Now they want to buy a home here, and have decided it is convenient to move into the vacant property while they sort out the delay in the mortgage.

tcall

Poppy9 wrote:

The problem is with English law that they don't have to give you vacant possession until you have completed. Well unless there is a sitting tennant then all houses are vacant possession.

EA normally only use this term when houses are already empty but in law it just means vacant upon completion.

Hmmm... Although presumably "chain free" should mean the vendors aren't going to suddenly decide to link you to their new purchase.

GDB2222

It looks to me as though you should tell your solicitor to return the contract. The vendors are obviously total ***s, and who would want to do business with them now they have revealed their true colours? I expect that things are more likely to proceed quickly if you take a strong stand.

Prices are dropping in most of the country, so you may get a better deal if you look around, and you may well recoup that £1,000 of lost fees. The one thing you should most definitely NOT do is take the EA's advice to trust to luck that the vendor will eventually go ahead. The EA only has his own (and possibly the vendor's) interests at heart - not yours.

The golden rule is that there is no contract until the written contract is signed, often things go wrong, and don't give notice on your rented place until the contract is signed.

Doozergirl

tcall wrote:

The vendors were letting this property out, and living in rented accomodation themselves in another part of the country. Now they want to buy a home here, and have decided it is convenient to move into the vacant property while they sort out the delay in the mortgage.

:wall: Ah! So their notice period ran out while they were waiting to buy so they thought they'd do the same to you? Nice! :wall:

tcall

Doozergirl wrote:

:wall: Ah! So their notice period ran out while they were waiting to buy so they thought they'd do the same to you? Nice! :wall:

Exactly! Grrrrrrrrr!!!!