Advice needed over aggressive buyer

A question about : Advice needed over aggressive buyer

I am really hoping someone will be able to help me, our buyer has been very difficult throughout our move and has caused numerous problems, all of which we have overcome and we exchanged a couple of weeks ago and we are completing in 2 weeks. He has now taken to showing up on our doorstep demanding access to the house, we have been recording these harassments with the police and they have said we should call 999 if he displays intimidating behaviour to us again. We are frightened to let him in the house as he is demanding to be there for 4 hours and we have a young baby and we are frightened to leave him in our house alone, it all is so stressful and awful. My question is, do we have to allow him access to our house before completion? We have been through the entire contract and there is nothing in the contract to corroborate his claim that he has the right, but we don't know very much about conveyancing so feel really lost in all of this.

Best answers:

• talk to your solicitor?
  or the estate agent?
• How easy would it be to find another buyer?
  I can understand people wanting access to the property they are about it buy to check things out and measure up but I wouldn't expect them to do it in such an aggressive manner.
  Edit: Thanks DaftyDuck, I totally missed the part about the exchange. Oops.
• They've already exchanged, Pixie.
  You do not need to allow him access to your property for one minute until completion.
  I would write to him, stating he is not to be allowed any access until after completion. If he turns up again, and you find it threatening, call the police again.
  Let your solicitor know you are having these problems.
• No - he has no right of access to your house before completion. (And he cannot 'change his mind' about buying, now that exchange has happened.)
  You could ask your solicitor to write to his solicitor, confirming that you will not allow him access. (But your solicitor may charge you for writing the letter - as it's not a standard part of conveyancing.)
  You could also ask your EA to pass on the message that you will not grant access - but EAs tend to lose interest after exchange.
• Wow, what a fruit loop. Next time he comes round just say he can have access in two weeks, not before. Be polite, and just close the door.
  I'd also make the EA and solicitor aware as mentioned above.
• Thank you so much for these words, I cannot tell you how relieved I am to hear it. Thank you eddddy, this is exactly what I had prayed for. I still want the deal to continue, when we were going through the lawyers/estate agents he was problematic every step of the way but it wasn't upsetting like it is now. The police have taken the matter very seriously as he stood outside my house with to large henchmen last night for around 4 hours, 3 hours waiting for me to come home, he went in our back garden and used our ladder. Then after he had had a huge go at me on the doorstep telling me how I was in breach of contract, he stood there with his cronies for an hour afterwards. I was alone with the baby it was awful.
  I have the estate agent calling him this morning and I have told her that I don't want him in the house at all.
  I am just worried that there is some sub clause somewhere which means we have to let him in, I just feel sick with worry.
• I would ask your solicitor to have a quiet word with his solicitor asking his solicitor to have a quiet word with your buyer.
• Make sure that when you move you take every removable single fixture with you even the lightbulbs and loo roll holder....
• Completely unacceptable behaviour; glad the police are taking it seriously.
  The house is your property until the legally defined process of completion. No sub-clauses, ifs or buts.
• This link should help to reassure you that your buyer is not the legal owner until completion. It's by the experts!
  https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...ging_contracts
  I agree that your solicitor should speak to your buyer's solicitor and they should tell this dope the legal definitions of exchanging and completing.
• Some buyers have no idea.
  When we sold my fiance's house the buyer (who was buying it as a BTL) was a complete pain. He went off on an extended holiday to India saying his girlfriend could handle all the legalities -however as it has him doing the buying and he hadn't signed the contracts before he left he delayed exchange. When he got back he started throwing his weight around and was demanding the chain completed within 2 days of exchange as he didn't want to hang around (despite the fact HE had caused a delay of a month) or he'd pull out. We compromised with a date in the middle -and then he wasn't ready and exchange was delayed again.
  On moving day he rang at 8am saying hge was coming round for us to show him how the alarm worked...Oh and he'd collect the keys at the same time - at 9am. I'd kept out of it as it was my partner's house not mine but at this pointed said No. He wasn't entitled to the keys until completion which would be some time after noon. The buyer went nuts and was screaming abuse down the phone -until my partner lost patience and told him exactly where he could go in plain anglo saxon terms ! When I dropped the keys off at the estate agents (five minutes from the house) they told me when he said he wanted the keys early they had told him he couldn't have them and not to contact us. So he'd ignored them too !
  We completed early in the day (1pm) My own house is only three doors away and the new owner didn't set foot in the house until a week later- so what the heck was the scene about the keys all about.
  Some people are just bullies - You've exchanged - Tell him to do one and call the police if you need to.
• duchy, that is awful! My guy is a nasty piece of work, you can tell he thinks the world revolves around him and he is a smug arrogant jumped up nothing. He terrified me yesterday, its only now I am starting to get over it. Reading these replies telling me I have some rights to keep him out is making me feel so much better, I have been so shaken and teary and absolutely terrified I would have to let him in my house. He is a property developer who intends to live in my house, he wants to get all his builders in as he is renovating it. He is desperate to have these 4 hours in our house, if he hadn't have been so horrible maybe I would have co operated. Now I just don't think I can stomach him in my house, the police called us back today and said we could have a policeman present if we are forced to have him in the house.
• Wow what a nutter. All the advice here is great, nothing to add but sympathies.
  If he turns up again call the police immediately, but hopefully solicitors will make him see sense.