Am a bit fedup with this buyer, who through his so called representative, keep pestering me to handover the house keys.

Just signed the S&P and received less than 10% as initial deposit. Money not fully disbursed yet but he insist on taking the keys with reason of wanting to ask some renovation specialists to come over to see what needs to be renovated.

Although the house is empty (which he used as the reason), i am a bit reluctant to handover the keys first until we've received the money in full.

What do you guys think ? Advise please .....

no need to hand over keys until fully disburse. the property still belong to you until all terms in the s&p are satisfied and that will include him making sure all money are disbursed.

we already told him that we want to wait until the money is fully disbursed .... but he keeps asking.

i am so tired of talking to the fella ....

hehe well then you just have to be firm with the buyer. it is only fair that both party adhere to the s&p right? what if he damage the house during the period and demand you fix it? what if some dodgy things happen when the key is with him? who will be responsible for the elec/water bills etc ......

He have no right to get the key until the balance is paid,otherwise no need waste time talking to them. Get him to read the s&p period.

No money no talk. Ignorance is a blessing sometimes. So ignore his pestering. Do NOT hand over the keys.

S&P singed already... just wait for full disbursement until handover the keys.

In the meantime if you feel like it just just accompany the buyer to take measurements of the house.

Don't need to hand over your keys until fully disbursed by his bank to you.

Just ignore his calls lar, worse comes to worse he can cancel the S&P but you still get to keep the 10% deposit... hehehehe...

And if you handover keys, his loan not approved, then you will be in big trouble.

The sales transaction is not complete until the seller receives the full amount.

Thus buyer are not entitle to the keys.

BUT, if u wish to stop buyer fr pestering, u can tell him to make an appointment with all the 'specialists' he wants to engage, and u go with him. FOR ONCE ONLY.

Legally keys are only handed after entire process is complete. On goodwill basis some do give their keys after S&P, but risk with seller. One option is you can tell this guy that you will charge him rental until all monies are disbursed.

Thanks for the support guys.

Well according to the buyer's loan rep and lawyer, the buyer's loan is already approved. That is why we proceeded to signing the S&P.

The option of him engaging the specialist to see the house and we open the house for them is quite troublesome .. and moreover, his intention is getting a hold of the keys and not us opening the door for him.

Actually if i really want to handover the keys to him, i will ask the lawyer to come up with a legal paperwork that says i have already handed over the keys to him. If not mistaken, in the S&P got say that the buyer has 14 days to dispute but after that period, it is a sale as is basis.

So if early handover is okay but after 14 days, any problem with the house is his problem. Moreover he has seen the house and i only 'owe' him to fix the auto gate, hence why i need to keep the keys. Electricity and water belum cut yet.

But i prefer to have the full money in my hands first before handing over .... but the fella keep calling me. What a pest !

if you are kind and free enuff, maybe u do the troublesome part, open the door for him..>.<

I would NOT do that if I were you. Handing over of vacant possession is at the the time where ALL monies are disbursed. Not even when the 10% deposit is paid up.

If you're tired of the hassles of his calls, ask him to speak to your LAWYER.

Or as one of the other posters noted, give him the option to RENT from you before the paperwork is completed.

Stand firm or be bullied.

it is just small matter between buyer and seller compare to developer abandon project and using cheap material?

The thing is, we are using the same lawyer.

I've already asked the lawyer and she said that by law, usually seller will handover keys when money fully disbursed. For early handover, its a discretion between the seller and buyer ......... but i already said to him that we prefer to handover once the money is fully disbursed and apparently he dont understand

Oh dear, the perils of using the same solicitor.....

Stand firm. Purchaser can't sue you for not handing over the keys. It is within your LEGAL right not to do so.

By telling you that "it is a discretion" between you and Purchaser, she simply means "up to you lah. You do it and if anything happens, don't blame me".

I would stop answering any calls from Purchaser and his so-called loan representative. If you want to be nice, just draft a letter to him saying something to the equivalent,

"Dear Sir,

While I understand your eagerness to gain access to the property under a conveyancing process, I will not be protected by the standard contractual agreement if I were to hand over the keys prior to the receipt of the full purchase price. Please note that when the offer to purchase was made by your goodself, the intention to gain possession before the prescribed legal time frame was never mentioned and even if it was, it would have never been accepted.

However, I will be very happy to offer you a short term lease, pending the completion of the S&P, at a reasonable market rate.

In the event that a one-time viewing is required for assessment for renovation purpose, kindly submit in by writing your intention and I shall advise you of a suitable date seven (7) days in advance.

Thank you and I look forward to the day when the S&P comes to a completion."

And then, put your mobile under the pillow / cushion whenever you see their dreaded numbers displayed on the incoming calls.

This post has been edited by overthemoon: Aug 6 2009, 02:41 PM

ROFL ... good one, overthemoon !

just becareful.. don't simply hand over keys before you get fully disbursement.

here's a scenario for you to ponder..
1. buyer pays you less than 10%? (that sounds like earnest money, and not deposit yet)
2. talk you into handling him/her the keys
3. buyer took the keys, brings in his full-force "pua chu kang"
4. broke down some walls here.. some doors there.
5. oopss.. the MOT* can't be completed.
6. your spa will be aborted and buyer returns you your keys
7. you took back possession of a "pua chu kang" modified property.

. . . how la liddat?!?

* memorandum of transfer (titles to the property)

This post has been edited by lwb: Aug 6 2009, 05:24 PM

This is not right.

The SPA must be signed 1st, b4 the purchaser proceed to apply loan from financial institution. Cos the SPA is one of the necessary supporting documents. The loan can't be pre-approved.

Next, b4 completion, there's always risk that something pops out & delay the whole process. Usually bank only hold a loan offer for 6 mths. So if the whole process is not completed within 6 mths (starting fr the date the purchase sign the loan agreement), the bank could & may withdraw the loan offer. Then the purchaser would need to seek loan again from a different bank. Further, delaying the process.

What I'm trying to say is, there're still a lot of uncertainties even if both parties had put pen to paper.

not entirely correct though.. a pre-approved loan can be source before shopping for a property. the pre-approval has contingencies and act on the principle that if all the conditions are fulfill, a proper credit/loan can be approved without much hassle later on..

it's just a small assurance for the buyer to know how much/far a credit facility can he/get get prior to closing a deal where the buyer may risk loosing his/her earnest money/deposit should he/she failed to secure a loan later on within the given time frame.. it's a shrew procedure, not mandatory.

i personally had a few pre-approved loans back then from a few banks to assess my credit ability before i had an spa.. recently a buyer purchased a property from me and he got a pre-approved loan from maybank before sealing spa with me. the pre-approved then converts to a full loan documentation.. it just ease the transition, that's all.

This post has been edited by lwb: Aug 6 2009, 08:12 PM

Difference in our terminology.

I thoroughly understand what you meant.

In strict legal sense, I only take the term 'approval' as complete with documentation (offer letter etc).

If he insisted on getting the key earlier that 100% amount paid.
You can rent the house to him WITH the condition he cannot perform any renovation on it.

This what suggest by the seller to me to handover the key earlier.
He just try to make few more bucks.

I not in the need of the house also.

just let him have the keys. if the buyer sign s&p, and already sign bank loan,
some people want to do renovation before move in.

This post has been edited by airline: Aug 16 2009, 11:22 AM

its better not to, to be on the safe side, some worst case scenario has been given above. ask the buyer to chase the lawyer and the bank if they want the loan process to be quicker

hhhmnn.. some sot-tart probably didn't bother to read the previous post before posting blindly here.

ohh dun hand him the keys...even after signing the S&P, buyer can backout. U gib him the keys, after he duwan to leave your house, worse if he trash your house and change all the locks...u will waste more money n time trying to get him out...anyway, just ignore his calls.

hhmmnn.. sounds like you're speaking from a painful experience there?