House move request

What a cheek! However obliging you are this would be taking advantage of you. They can do what they like when you're gone (obviously) but until then....

No, you shouldn't do it. If they want the hedge trimmed back they should do it. It's a no-brainer. How rude they are, I feel sorry for your neighbours.

Definitely say NO.

Has NannyB2604 replied. It would be nice to know what she has decided.

What a cheek!! That’s a good one, getting you to pay for what they want to do! People never cease to amaze me!

NannyB2604

Hi everyone. We're in the process of selling our house and all seemed to be going ok until yesterday. The estate agent relayed a request from our purchasers: when they move in the want to pave the whole front garden to make standing room for their caravan and vintage Cadillac (seriously!). In connection with this, they've asked us to cut back the hedge and prune back or remove the (very well-established) shrubs in the garden as, I quote "They don't have time to do it"! Am I being unreasonable to say no? They saw what the garden was like when they put in their offer. By the way, the hedge and shrubs aren't running rampant - we keep them reasonably pruned to complement our currently lawned garden.

Under no circumstances do you do this. I am selling my house and it will be as viewed. This can open a can of worms. How do you know that the next person would prefer the hedges etc.
Where will it end, these people are liberty takers. Years ago when I bought a house, it was agreed that the sellers were leaving a lounge carpet, ( it was before you had to leave a list). They then said that they wanted to take the carpet, I replied ‘best you take your house as well’, they soon changed their mind and included the carpet. Good luck with your sale and don’t get stressed

Definitely don't do it. What if they back out of the sale? It could all end up in court and you may have to asked for other fences to be taken into consideration

We’ve just moved house after 40 years. From our very recent experience of selling & buying I would advise you to forward anything that is communicated to you by the estate agent on to your solicitor to deal with. I fell into the trap of acting on requests from our buyer via the estate agent and carried out work unnecessarily. Your solicitor will know how to respond to this, then it’s out of your hands. I think buyers make requests via the estate agent as there is no cost to them but if requested via their solicitor there might be a charge. Also, as someone else said, how upsetting to carry out the work and then the sale to fall through. Remember also the estate agent should be working on your behalf as you will be paying their fees not the buyers. Good luck, let us know how you get on

When it’s their house they can do what they like but I’d say no too

They obviously liked the property so what ever changes are to be made will be once they have purchased not before and certainly not at your expense .Bl---y cheek.

There really are some hard-faced ill-mannered oafs around.

I thought that concreting surfaces was a no no anyway---to save the planet and all that, but there are always those who go through life thinking only of themselves and their needs before anyone else's.
I'd hate to be their next door neighbours !!

Leave your garden as it is, they'll have to find another mug !

Unless you're desperate to move, I'd be warning the neighbours.

Provided they saw the garden before they put in an offer for your house, you’ve no need to do any work just so they can utilise the space in a different way. Surely the estate agent should have told them that.

When my sister had to go into a nursing home I had to sell her house. Whilst it was up for sake somebody broke in - there was little of value, and the only damage was to the front door, which I had ‘made good’ (e.g safe). The first viewers immediately offered the asking price (which reflected the condition of the property), then just before signing they asked for a reduction because the front door needed replacing, even though they had seen it on the 3 times they viewed. I flatly refused, and they signed without any more requests.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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. 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.

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!

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

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?

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.

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!