House rented out after we went sale agreed

Millie24845

We went sale agreed on a house 5 weeks ago. At the time the house was being rented and were told the renters were moving out. We put in an offer, was accepted, renters moved out. Week after our offer was accepted 5 college students moved in. We weren't told anything until we noticed new furniture in pictures from our engineers report. Went to see house the other day to get measurements and it is in a state! Worried by the time we get to signing contracts damage will be done to the house. Can we say anything or just hold tight and hope for the best?

Big Bag of Chips

I'd be requesting a clean up of the house before you sign final contracts with an inspection by you prior to signing. We bought a house that was full of the previous owner's stuff. He had passed away a number of years previously and his family hadn't cleared out the house. We mentioned it to the estate agent who assured us the family "obviously" would be clearing it out.

We checked the day we were meant to sign and nothing had been cleared. Not a thing. We refused to sign until it was emptied and a few days later a skip was outside the house with literally everything of the old man's dumped into it.

o1s1n

Why would someone move a load of fresh renters into a property as it was about to be sold?

Something sounds quite off about this. Be careful OP!

timmyntc

Refuse to sign contracts until you have vacant possession of the house.

Do not sign anything until you are sure the house has been vacated and the occupants legally evicted - and any cleanup & damages remedied.

There is a real risk of tenants overholding or damaging the property before leaving - do not let yourself be on the hook for this as it will cost you massively

Q&A

Are the issues superficial (i.e. , something a lick of paint and a tidy would solve) or something more extensive (read expensive)?

Seems odd to shoehorn a new rental agreement in at this stage but that's the venders choice. This may cause all manner of issue for them as I imagine both you and your solicitor will require vacant possession before completing the sale. Over holding could be an issue for them (and by extension you).

No harm raising concerns now. While you have no rights at this stage it's worth pointing out to the seller you expect the house to be in a reasonable state. You're sale agreed at a price based on the condition you viewed the house 5 weeks ago and it's perfectly reasonable to assume it will stay that way. The vender might not be aware of how bad it's gotten in such a short period of time.

Best to make it their problem now rather than your problem later on.

JVince

Walk away.

The hassle won't be worth it as the seller has shown he/she is not trustworthy.

elperello

Possibly family members getting a bit of rent free accommodation.

There may be no rental agreement.

RichardAnd

Sounds messy. I would discuss the matter with your solicitor and the estate agent as to what is going on. It may be simply a temporary arrangement that will not hold the sale.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122740143#Comment_122740143

how is he not trustworthy? The house doesn’t belong to the OP. Why can’t the seller have people in it. ?

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122740123#Comment_122740123

Make a quick few grand.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122740324#Comment_122740324

House is sale agreed. Sale should complete within 4-6 weeks.

It's NEW tenants.

They MIGHT know it's just 4-5 weeks, but unlikely, hence a untrustworthy person.

suvigirl

Its probably just family members, even 6 weeks rent free is worth it when you're a student.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122740401#Comment_122740401

You will be lucky to go sale complete before Xmas. That's the reality of conveyancing in Ireland.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122740401#Comment_122740401

The house may still be waiting for probate to go through.
they may have another 12 weeks before the sale closes. Could be worth 10k to the seller.

dennyk

The greedy seller might have just played themselves; zero chance those students will be able to secure other affordable accommodation by the time closing comes around, so they will not be leaving and the sale is going to fall through.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122741735#Comment_122741735

Incredibly risky alright, absolutely madness this far along in a sale.

Basically risking the whole sale for an extra 10k.

spaceHopper

You need to contact the Estate agent as soon as possible to find out. My guess is they are renting it cash in hand to students until you sign, the students may not know it's sold.

Be firm, you have to have vacant possession or you can't draw down a mortgage.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122740123#Comment_122740123

Landlords are tight-asses. The landlord probably couldn't sleep thinking of the rent they are missing out on waiting for the conveyance to progress. The other possibility is that it is a receiver sale and the landlord is trying to stall things.

arctictree

Probably just some student relative of the landlord moved in for a few weeks while empty. I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure you have vacant position before you hand over the funds.

Grey123

I would be very wary. How do you know it’s five students that moved in by the way?

I’d be looking for a clear update from the seller and ready to walk if it’s not convincing. I’d consider it a breakdown of trust. Notice period is 90 days. When do they give notice? And that’s if everyone moves out as requested.

C3PO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122745286#Comment_122745286

How is it a breakdown of trust? The OP doesn’t own the house and it could be months before the sale is completed.

Grey123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122745998#Comment_122745998

Taking on new tenants who require at least 90 days notice when he should be seeking to get the house vacant. I would be expecting a seller to be giving notice as soon as the house has gone sale agreed, ideally before it.

Maybe there is an innocent explanation, I could understand one student that may be family and perhaps a friend but five? Thats five people that need to leave and given the housing situation I would not be surprised if there was a challenge.

Millie24845

When we went to get measurements there were five new beds moved into the house! I think one of the students is a cousin of the landlord or something. I did find it strange that the students would take on accomodation knowing the hosue was being sold!

Millie24845

Ya we were told they are renting on a weekly basis and then were told until the end of the term at Christmas. We have also gone sale agreed on our house and wouldn't dream of moving in a few students at the risk of losing the sale but landlord obviously wanted to Tey cover two/three months rents.

pooch90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122740473#Comment_122740473

You'd be doing well to get probate granted in 12 weeks, especially if going through the Dublin office! We applied in Feb for my mam's house and still waiting. There's nothing out of the ordinary in the application either.

SupaCat95

I see this from both sides:

If its the Seller, then a vacant house attracts trouble like squatters and vandals. Nothing wrong with a presence being shown in the house. Getting rid of squatters is a nightmare. IF its just until Christmas then grand. You can garuntee they will be gone before Christmas Eve? Its grand, change the locks.

IF its the buyer, you cannot buy the house without vacant possession (on the day the house is signed for and money paid). You cannot buy a house with tenants in situ, unless there is a prior agreement.

This is really a job for cool heads of the solicitors.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122794091#Comment_122794091

There are thousands of houses sitting vacant across the country at any given time while the sale process is going on. In the real world, how much of a problem do you think squatters actually are, exactly?

suvigirl

Squatters are not an issue. If the owner has allowed them to stay there, they are not squatters. 'squatters rights ' only becomes a thing if the owner is not aware that someone is living there.

SpoonyMcSpoon

Check with the seller what the story is and if it sounds fishy then it probably is. If it is just a cousin and friends for 6 weeks then no big deal really, but say you will only take ownership upon vacant possession so they will need to be gone before everythting concludes.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122796056#Comment_122796056

I think the poster meant that by giving permission to someone to stay in the house the possibility of squatters was reduced.

This is true and as he also said there would be less chance of vandalism.

SupaCat95

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122796372#Comment_122796372

IIn my former employment in a shop we had squatters over the shop at night and weekend. There was no physical evidence because they were immaculate and they tapped the electricity of the shop. If you are homeless (not blaming people just the current state), if you are cold and wet there are no consequences of breaking in and settling down for the night in comparison to breaking and entering. Honest? In the same circumstances I would do it in a state of desperation.

LLets talk about Halloween? How many young lads went mad and put a stone through a window of a vacant house?

pale rider

well, what did you do OP ?

Millie24845

Thanks for all comments! Still sale agreed on the house but no sign of contracts. Students still living there but hopefully gone by Christmas. My biggest concern was the house would get damaged etc so we will just wait and see how it plays out!