# Forum More Stuff Debate & Technical Discussion  items left after settlement

## BMB

gday folks... a noob here and my first post... 
the fiance and i have bought out first house, and its due for settlement on the 5th of jan...
we had a brief walkthru today as family was up from interstate and all that was good...
however since its new years with the public holiday and weekend disruptions, in my opinion its looking like the current owner may not be out in time...
the current owner needs a shipping container to move overseas and is taking their car with them...
the house is still as it was during the advertisement period, with all furniture and chattels still in place and the realestate says the current owner is very hard to get hold of... 
so question is:
ive heard we can get our conveyancer to write a letter or something about the old owner pay us rent after settlement date till all items removed from house...
is this true? what other options? 
what about all other odds and sodds?
what happens if the house is exactly as it is right now on settlement date and the old owner is still uncontactable?
is everything then mine? or do i need to store it for a period of time then i own it?  
but we are living in hope that the house settlement does go sweet and we walk into a clean empty house on the 5th

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## watson

I reckon this is Lawyer Stuff...which may not be best answered on a Renovation Forum  :Shrug:

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## Danny

:What he said:  
You need to speak to your conveyancing solicitor.

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## denaria

And real estate agents work for themselves...

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## nww1969

If they don't have the stuff out by the 5th the property will not exchange, they may ask you for an extension.
You should read your contract .

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## Pulse

> If they don't have the stuff out by the 5th the property will not exchange, they may ask you for an extension.
> You should read your contract .

  you mean "settle" I think, but I agree, you don't have to settle if the place is not given to you as vacant possession, if that is what the contract specified. 
I agree, leave the agent out of it,
Have your solicitor deal with the vendor's solicitor, they have an office and should be easy to contact. 
Cheers
Pulse

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## Black Cat

Not legal advice by any means but ...
I have heard of occasions where someone went back the day after settlement to collect stuff that didn't fit on their trailer and the new owners had taken it to the tip - quite legally as it was vacant possession and the good were deemed to be deserted or whatever the term is. 
You can make arrangements for them to remain in the house after completion with a legal lease and so forth, but make sure it is in place before completion. 
Definitely get your solicitor to deal with it - do not under any circumstance try to handle this yourself!!

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## nww1969

Yeah I meant settle.
When you do the final inspection and  find belongings you can delay settlement or 
instruct your solicitor to hold back some funds .

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## stevoh741

When I bought my house the previous owner said she was coming back for couch, bike and a few other things. After 1month of free storage from me all items were promptly taken to tip.

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## intertd6

remember possession is 9/10ths of the law
regards inter

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## seriph1

There are cases where people have bought homes which are NOT the alleged seller's property in the first place  -  the cases have been discussed at length and are in Australia. Get the contact details of the vendor as fast as you can. Get a lawyer involved if you can't get satisfaction from the Real Estate Vulture. 
Was the property presented as "very motivated seller" + "Seller moving overseas urgently" etc.? Just make sure you exhaust your avenues to the fullest  -  the worst thing you can do in this instance is leave it. 
Until you're satisfied YOU should not settle. If you are happy/willing to get rid of the vendor's stuff then take that risk for sure, but don't commit to such a substantial amount of money "in the hope" all will be well .... it already isn't and that should give you some idea what may be coming your way.   Investigation into another "scam" home sale| Brendon Grylls 
Of course, I am probably way off with this and it will all go to plan

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