House move request

No way! Tell them what your solicitor would say. They can do what they like after completion.

... So ... they get you to destroy the front garden - then they pull out. Then along comes their mate as prospective buyer no 2, who demands that you reduce the price because of the state of the front garden! This is such an unusual request I wonder if it's some sort of scam? (Too cynical? - or just a wild imagination?)

I'd be considering putting the house back on the market. Pity the poor neighbours if they move in.

I wouldn’t. What happens if the sale doesn’t go through . You’ll have cut these back for nothing

No! Whatever the new owners want to do when they move in is up to them. You don't have any responsibility to make changes for them. What a cheek! It's like asking you to redecorate because they don't want to spend the time and money doing it themselves. I would send a great big "NO" response via your solicitor.

What if you do as requested and they then pull out of the sale ??? You end up with an unholy mess of a front garden and any future purchaser will expect the price of your property to reflect that. Would you replace your carpets if a prospective purchaser demanded its? Of course not. Tell them to pay someone once they are the owners of the house.

Absolutely not! The downright cheek of some people beggars belief! Imagine if you did do it (why would you??) and then they pulled out of the sale? Your front garden would then be ruined for you trying to sell again. Give them short shrift.

I’m surprised the estate agent passed on this request. He is probably relying on you to say no so that he doesn’t have to. He must know it’s entirely unreasonable.

Just say no.
It's only a "request"

? That’s hilarious! What a cheek. Who do they think they are?! And as others pointed out, what if you do all that work and they pull out anyway?
If you didn’t have to sell up it would make me want to pull out. I hate it when people pave over green areas - environmentally it’s not good practice.

Some folk really try it on don't they, just say no! When we bought our first house many years ago, the lady who sold it to us came round after we'd moved in and asked if it was ok for her 2 sons to come and lift all the patio slabs from the back garden as she needed them in her new garden and if not she would sell them to us for a £1 each so that she could go and buy new ones! We said a very firm no thank you to both of her options as we considered them part of the sale.

Tell them where to go. If they are too busy they can hire a bloomin gardener to do it. Cheeky sods.

We sold last year and one potential buyer deducted £65k from the asking price because he wanted to do things to the house, not to correct problems but to change the house to what he wanted. Our estate agent explained that it was up to him to pay for any changes he wanted. We got the full asking price from another buyer.
Don't take any nonsense this, your agent can deal with this!

I would suggest that once contracts have been exchanged (and not before) they are welcome to either come and do the work themselves or pay contractors. Also, check the insurance position - who would be liable if a passer by injured eg tripping over tools on pavement or suchlike .......... legally, it’s a tricky one as to liability between exchange and completion.

And I do wonder if they're asking you to do this so that when they want permission to pave the garden they can say that there are no plants there at the moment anyway?

No you are being manipulated here. You are by no means being unreasonable. Good luck with the move.

What does your solicitor say? Mine would almost definitely say, "No!" However, I did have an agreement on a property I was buying for a long period of time between exchange and completion to allow me to got into the property to sort out the plumbing before I moved in otherwise we wouldn't have had a toilet or bath we could use. I understand that this was a very unusual agreement but the owners were very generous in spirit!

Absolutely not. Sales often fall through at the last minute.
Anyway, why should you do work that they need? Perhaps they could get the work done once contracts are exchanged, but even then I would be dubious. If they need somewhere to park their stuff, they could find a commercial space for a week or so.

That’s totally out of order. I suppose if after exchange and consulting your solicitor you could possibly agree to them employing someone to do the work, but that’s a disruption to you at a very stressful time for you too.It’s their problem and up to them to find safe storage for their vehicles until they’ve moved in and prepared the ground. If they pull out of the sale then I would guess they weren’t serious in the first place and we’re looking for an excuse not to go ahead. Good luck, don’t be bullied into doing something you don’t want to.

Absolutely not! I agree with previous posters that it is so sad to see gardens paved over. Alas, where we are (a large cul-de-sac of bungalows) many of the front gardens are paved over, including the house opposite that has large pots on it. I suppose, as most of the bungalows are small, many retired couples/singletons live there and are maybe not fit enough to do their own gardening. Some even have artificial grass! Such a shame for the birds and insects. The pots across the way look Ok but I would absolutely hate it if I were looking out at a caravan or “old” car which hardly ever moved!

I think it could be a scam to reduce your price. They saw the garden as is and they knew what vehicles they owned then.
Like other grans have said if you do it and the sale doesn’t go through you have a decimated garden.

I'm rather surprised the estate agents passed on such a request!

I'm rather surprised the estate agents passed on such a request!

Aren't estate agents obligated to pass on all requests? He can't say no in case it causes a buyer to pull out, without the seller having a say in it.

They may be obliged to pass it on, but they are working for the seller, not the buyer. What if the sale falls through after this work was carried out? Surely they should point out this possibility.

No its not up to you to do it.Its up to them to do it when they take over ownership, or pay/hire someone to do it if 'they dont have time' you will be busy packing up your own stuff anyway tell them.