flatfourfan wrote
X-rated Bob wrote
When the properties were transferred an auspicious date had still not appeared. I just handed them the keys and they said "the date is not auspicious" and I said "maybe not, but the house is yours now."
LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just to clarify. This was not a spat over occupational rent. The properties were transferred and from that point they owed me nothing. If they didn't want to move in then that was their saak, but I no longer had the right to hold on to any keys.
Correct, the issue with us was that the agent who sold our place was a total noobie and she took it upon herself to talk move dates with the buyers of our place before anything was discussed and arranged. She also managed to sell 5 houses all linked to us moving from our place, so 5 people all were waiting for us to be out. Then the buyer of our place came to the house when I wasn't there and pretty much piled into my wife telling her that we will be out on the streets and she doesn't care......so wife was in a state and stressing.....so I went to the womans house and talked turkey and this was where I found out that the estate agent had talked dates behind our back.
But did you sign an agreement to that effect? If not then there was no requirement for you to move out. By default the buyer has no right of occupancy before transfer takes place, and the seller has no right of occupancy after that date. Mutual agreements may be entered into - and that's where the occupational rent comes in.
It is difficult when, as is often the case, there is a whole chain of buyers and sellers. Conveyancers do try to arrange things amongst themselves so that everything happens on the same date, but that requires everybody to play along.
In my case we had
1) The lawyer handling my sale
2) The lawyers representing the bank that I'd bought the first house with (this was a no-brainer as there was no money owed to the bank and all they had to was cancel the bond agreement)
3) The lawyers handling my purchase
4) The lawyers handling the interests of the bank who had bonded the property I was buying.
The problem came in with bunch number 4. There was money owing on that bond and the property could not be transferred without the the bank's approval.
(3) had everything lined up with the deeds office.
(1) was taking his lead from (3)
(4) were the problem. (3) had everything lined up, (1) played along and had my old property transferred out of my name. But then it emerged that (4) had incorrectly stated some date or other on their documents and so the deeds office kicked that transaction into touch. So I ended up having sold my property with the money in the bank, but with the transfer on the other property still up in the air. So the person I was buying from did not get the money she needed for her purchase, and I, for a while, owned nothing and was paying rent again.
(3) then negotiated a second date - and informed everybody concerned (I was copied in on the emails), but (4) decided to take a long week-end and knocked off early the day before and neglected to file the necessary papers with the deeds office. So my state of being a homeless tenant lasted a little longer. And, of course, by now the upstream (of me) transaction was in real trouble as until (4) got their act together the person I was buying from could not get the money due to her and so her purchase might collapse, she would have had no choice but to move back in to the only property she owned and I would have been in a difficult position.
Not a game for the faint hearted!
