House move request

Nice try just ignore

I'm amazed that the estate agent even relayed their request. They should know that there is no way you are going to make drastic changes to the garden before the sale has gone through.

To OP
Your purchasers are nuts to expect you will comply to their request! I feel sorry for your current neighbours when they move in, but in the end it isn’t your problem.

They are cheeky so and so’s! The answer is no.

I think they cheeky and I would not do it they put offer in you accept end of

Never ever heard of anything like this, we would never ask someone to do this, surely you buy as seen and do the alterations when you actually live there, cheeky sods!

Don’t you have to have planning permission nowadays to pave new areas of driveway over a certain size, and it should be permeable to allow drainage?

You say they want to do the work when they move in so of course it’s up to them what they do once the house is theirs but there’s no way I would make any changes to the garden in case the sale falls through. Sales can fall through even after contracts have been exchanged. They will just have to make the time to do what they plan to do or pay somebody to do it.

I am reminded of a house we viewed 7 years ago before we moved into our current house. It was a 1930s house with a very small kitchen but the best feature was the gardens, they had a lot of space at the side which was beautifully laid out and the back garden was nice too with lawn, shrubs and vegetable plots. A woman owned it with her daughter and she was clearly the one who tended to the garden. Reading between the lines she didn’t want to move and she pointed out a couple of negative points of the house. The house wasn’t for us but it did sell pretty quickly and after the sale went through we drove past and noticed that the whole of the side garden had been dug up, all the plants and shrubs were gone and they were in the process of making it into a parking area. It must have broken the woman’s heart but it was up to the new owners what they did with it.

No unreasonable - the offer was made on the basis of house and garden as seen. Any work they require to be done can be done when the sale is complete and they can pay for it. I wonder what your neighbours will think of the caravan and vintage cadillac on your driveway?

I think I’d get a gardener to quote for the work, then ask your agent to pass it on, saying you’ll happily set this is motion with the gardener, upon your completion, and here is what the gardener will charge them. That should make them think twice! X

Omg what a cheek do you have any offers or has this purchase gone to far, I wouldn’t really want to sell to them.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I wonder what makes them think that their time is more important than yours?

Just reflect their reason back to them, ‘you don’t have the time’

And no, I don’t think you are being unreasonable. Did the agent not think this was an odd request?

Tempting as it is to tell them to get lost but best to politely tell then NO! Tempers get frayed in the final stages so no point in inflaming the situation.

After we moved we heard that one couple had cut down a beautiful wisteria that hung over the front wall and on another occasion an old but prolific apple tree was cut down along with all trees and established shrubs. Sad and wasteful but obviously their house, their choice.

Thanks everyone. As the sale is now almost 2 months in, and we don't want to lose the lovely house we're buying, we won't be withdrawing from the sale, but we certainly won't be doing what the buyers have requested. If they withdraw, well so be it, I think our house will easily sell (we had half a dozen other offers). As for any planning permission issues - well that's up to them, nothing to do with us. Thanks again, all - it's good to know others don't think we're being unreasonable

No, no, no don't agree to do ANY work for them! As plenty of previous posters have said, how would you feel if you did what they're asking and the sale fell through last minute?

They're taking the mickey big-time!

A house is on the market for people to view and if they like it, buy: if it's not exactly what they want they can either alter after purchase or sod off and let someone who appreciates it make an offer.

At the last minute our sellers, in 1991 asked us for an additional £1,000 - 'to help with their removal expenses!'.... My MIL very kindly offered to give us the money. I refused both the request and the offer. The sale went through as previously agreed...

avitorl

It would be a definite no from me but I would agree to them having it done after exchange of Contracts and at their own expense too.

Even after exchange of contracts, there’s a chance the deal could fall through. I wouldn’t allow them to do anything until after completion

The bare faced cheek of them! You are not being unreasonable.

Absolutely not - you are only responsible for either carrying out works or reducing the selling price to account for issues brought up in a surveyors report. If you do this work and the sale doesn’t proceed for some reason, then you’ve ruined an attractive garden which could put potential future buyers off. I would tell them politely that you don’t intend to do anything of the sort - if they really want the house, it won’t put them off. Once you have completed they can do what they want, and will have to pay for it themselves. Cheeky sods !!

The cheek of it! Perhaps they’d like you to emulsion the whole downstairs too?

What a damn cheek.
Make an excuse not to do it just incase they pull out,like saying you have a bad back etc.
Gosh the nerve of some people.

Can you take the shrubs with you or give them to those who would enjoy them

Do they want you to redecorate the house to their tastes too??? Flipping cheek!!

Goodness no way. They made an offer on the house as they seen it - what they want to do when they move in is entirely up to them