Sold our home, buyer proving difficult on us clearing out

[rita777]

Advise needed please..

 

So we agreed to sell our home to this people who appeared all nicey nicey.. #mistake!  they promised to work mutually with us throughout the move, We could have gazumped these people but we believe in integrity .. We told them we would be renting for a short while after the sale, we explained all processes to them,  that if we were buying, it would be a different story . because the rented would be ready on the agreed completion day.. 

 

They advised that they would give us till a week after the completion date to move our things and clear out, also that they would not be moving in straightaway as they only needed access to measure up works to do and deliveries, we actually also handed the keys to them on completion. .

 

But as soon as we  completed on the sale they made a U turn ! Started complaining on why we didn't move ALL our things earlier etc etc .. this is a bit of shock to us! How easy for people to change their words! We regret selling our 12 years home to these people! Ruined our memories ..

 

Anyway .. even though we are still within the one week agreement .. they are now claiming to go legal , they won't allow clear the stuffs in the external area. They want to dispose all items by themselves and send us a bill ! To be honest, we only need maybe a couple of the items and the rest we want to dispose by ourselves .. they are now sending us off threatening calling the police, Very disheartening.. also, before now we called a waste removal van who could have removed all rubbish at once with more helping hands.. they said they don't want random people on their property, they made us cancel this .. they insisted on a skip.. the skip came and refused to pick mattresses, we then had to call the council but they (council) gave us a pick up date scheduled in 2 weeks time.. these items are out of their way as there is a huge garden and a shed. In as much as we have been trying to take things cool with them so we do not end in sour terms from selling a 12 years home with lovely memories .. we are running out of patience now.

 

These last few days have been full of insults, disrespects, never raised our voices once in that neighbourhood.. So we have been keeping our calm ..  never experienced more nasty people in our entire lives!.. .

 

We have kept to our words and never said we would abandon the rubbish.  , The house is completely emptied.. just some bips and bops in the garden ..

 

They are now claiming charging us extra days , disposal , also said that he did his back while lifting one of our items etc etc !!  What legal rights have we please ?

Edited July 31, 2022 by rita777
Errors

[unclebulgaria67]

Once the completion takes place it is not your property any more and the new owners can ask you to leave straightaway.

 

If you needed more time, you should have got an agreement drawn up that the buyer and you signed.

 

It is not correct for vendors to stay in properties after completion dates without formal written agreement. To do so can cause problems. For example, I have seen Insurance claims where damage has been caused after completion, where the buyer has had problems claiming from their Insurance company as they did not cause the damage, did not know how it happened.

 

You need to leave as quickly as possible.

[rita777]

Thank you, Sorry just to clarify more, we are NOT residing at the property, We left on the completion day .. this is about clearing a couple of items from the garden .. 

[unclebulgaria67]

You need to remove the items you want to keep as soon as possible.

 

New owners would be entitled to get rid of the items left behind.

 

 

[rita777]

@unclebulgaria67

 

Can you read my post again please? 

[unclebulgaria67]

Sorry Sunday morning.

 

Basically, unless you have any agreement you can evidence, if you leave any items behind the new owners can dispose of items left behind. 

 

Go back to original legal documents about the sale and any obligations. E.g. ensuring property is cleared of your household items

 

Not sure the new owner would sue you for costs incurred in disposing of the items that they want cleared. They could try, but you would defend on the basis of what you said in your earlier post.

 

Suggest you visit and come to an amicable solution.

 

 

[rita777]

Thank you, we have tried, and they have been very condescending threatening to call the police .. its been a nightmare .. no one would ever wish to sell their home to these people ! If only we could change the hands of time .. its getting really distressing as we have a new home to unpack and settle into to .. they are making a U turn on their initial promises of working with us .. now wanting to clear things out themselves , with all other costs as I listed above and contacting their solicitors who is their brother they claim  .. and seems to be the master behind all of this ..

 

We have been in communication with them all along to clear everything, but it seems they have an agenda to get money from us .. 

 

In as much as moving is a whole lots of stress on its own , no one wants a legal battle .. but if we have a case then we will have no choice.

Although they do not have our forwarding address ..

 

As we have not gone AWOL on them, by law , even before going to their solicitors, are they not required to send us a notice of their intention before going legal? .. they have our phone numbers 

 

My question is how can we approach this legally ?

Edited July 31, 2022 by rita777

[honeybee13]

Are you sure you want a legal battle, Rita? They're usually stressful and expensive.

 

Sadly, there's a saying 'If it's not written down, it didn't happen'. It sounds as if you had a verbal agreement and that sadly the other people have changed their minds for whatever reason. Or do you have something in writing?

 

Is there a reason why you can't remove the last couple of things?

 

HB

[rita777]

Thank you .. we booked a larger waste removal van but they made us cancel this as they said they do not want random people in their garden, we booked a skip which was more expensive, now the skip would not pick the mattresses and a couple of things .. so we have had to call the council and paid to have then picked.  But the council gave us a date scheduled in 2 weeks..

 

Although we have already paid the initial skip and the council. We have now again suggested to bring in the van to clear out by ourselves, but they are still bent on clearing all out through their solicitor brother, and billing us .. so much headache .. i know the house belongs to them now  ..  I ve read people abandoning rubbish and stuffs in their sold homes post completion , but we are not like that .. I mean don't we have a legal right to clear out our remaining rubbish in the garden by ourselves ? Do they have a right to dispose them and bill us outrageously ? 

[honeybee13]

I'm starting to think this could be a question for the solicitor who handled your conveyancing.

 

HB

[unclebulgaria67]

Not your land anymore RIta. You have no right of access,

 

If you cannot come to an amicable solution with the new owners yourself, agree with Honeybee13, speak to your Solicitors.  But they may not be very helpful unless you are paying them more money.

 

Are the items left of any value ?  Would you be bothered if the new owners just took them down to the local refuse tip ?

[theoldrouge]

All depends on what you put on your property sellers information form which forms part of your legal contract with the buyer 

If you ticked that all rubbish would be cleared on completion then they have every right to enforce that contract 

Have done so myself in similar circumstances 

I would certainly not be getting into legal action far less costly just to comply with the buyers request and put it down to experience