House!

[j4]

addedentry and I have the keys to our house! Well, some of the keys. The estate agents gave us the front door keys, & told us that all the other keys were in the house. They're not, as far as we can tell.

I say "as far as we can tell" because it's entirely possible that the keys are lost/buried under the skipload of junk that the seller and tenants have kindly left us. Books, clothes, furniture, bottles of vodka, a broken bong... basically all the cupboards are still full of crap. Ugh.

So, as twittered, we're going to be there on Sunday afternoon clearing stuff out. It's not exactly a party, but if anybody's at a loose end and feels like helping us sort things into piles ("recycling", "bin", "what the holy fvck is this" etc) then they will be very welcome & we will reward them with beer and/or cake (or equivalent local currency). Also, you'll be welcome to take any of the junk if you want! (I'm not promising some kind of treasure-trove here, but, y'know, books is books.)

If you're planning to take up this generous offer :-) please email/txt one of us for the address.

Comments

[aldabra]

I think there's a legal definition of vacant possession which includes having moved the crap out. Photograph it, in case you can claim costs back from someone.

[timeplease.livejournal.com]

The lawyers don't think it's very clear. (http://www.pinsentmasons.com/media/1415452422.pdf) But it's worth a shot.

[qatsi.livejournal.com]

Does vacant possession not just effectively mean "it's your crap now"?

[aldabra]

When my family left the country a week before the house sale completed and before they'd got around to clearing the cupboards and roof I was under the strong impression that they'd left me with a legal requirement to do it. But that was twenty years ago...

[j4.livejournal.com]

That was what I'd've thought, yeah. Like we needed more crap. :-} Still, hoping to be able to rehome/recycle most of it...

[addedentry.livejournal.com]

I do have photographs, which I'll post to LJ for amusement. It will be something like amusement since the seller did turn up this afternoon and take all the heavy stuff to the tip, as promised and to our surprise.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

I should be able to pop along for a few hours. What time do you think you'll get there?

(Owen mailed me the address.)

[j4.livejournal.com]

We'll probably be there from late morning (11ish?), but don't want to oblige anybody else to get up on a Sunday morning! :-) Will twitter updates...

[kake]

Hurrah for house!

[k425.livejournal.com]

Can't help from here, I'm afraid. Do you get to count the house as "one in", though?

[j4.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha! I have given up counting the uncluttering, I'm afraid (we have uncluttered heaps of stuff, though) but I might post photos of the more misc stuff we unearth, just for wicker-duck-related fun. :)

[k425.livejournal.com]

If you're anything like me, you'll unclutter loads more as you pack up to move - and then unclutter a bit more when you unpack at the new house. And sit there looking at things and say "Why on earth did I bother packing this?".

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

Hurrah for the house!

Alas, I have only just read this, and it's too late to trundle over from London.

[arron-shutt.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on getting your own place! Bit worried about the sort of people who lived there before given the images and items of stuff that have been turning up. It sounds like they were evicted rather than leaving of their own free will.

You're not liable for any of the bills and summons that are lying about are you? I'd hate for debt collector/baliff people to turn up on the doorstep expecting payment/confiscation of property..

[vinaigrettegirl.livejournal.com]

if you still need a hand and might be taking a day off work to do stuff i could help on Weds or thurs - e-mail me.

[crazyscot.livejournal.com]

Have you changed the locks? If not I would strongly encourage you to change them - all of them - ASAP.

[j4.livejournal.com]

We will change the locks, but FWIW, the two back doors are screwed tightly shut (the seller claims he never had keys for them, & you certainly can't open them now), and the seller changed the locks for the front door himself two weeks before exchange (the lock is obviously new). This would seem an odd thing to do if you wanted to come back in and steal stuff! (I mean, it'd be obvious who to blame if there hadn't been forced entry.)

Also, the only things currently in the house are things which we would be only too glad for someone to steal. :-} If you know any burglars (or anybody at all) who want 20 ashtrays and a broken PlayStation 1, I'd be keen to get in touch with them.

And I think any self-respecting squatters would reject the place as being just too squalid!