Haven't been online much lately but here is an update on the flat situation as of today: 30th November 2007.

Our buyer (who agreed to take on the eviction process as part of the purchase price) took Julie to court. The judge awarded in our favour and she was supposed to be out by the 31st October 2007. However she appealed against this and it was necessary for me to attend court with a solicitor-I had to go because we are still the legal owners at this time because the buyer's mortgage lenders will not allow completion of the sale until she is out of the property. (This is because she claims Housing Benefit and it is against their lending criteria when a tenant claims Housing Benefit).

The court was a farce. I went armed with sheaths of paperwork for my solicitor as he had asked me to bring anything that would discredit Julie. I spent half an hour with him before the case to prepare. Julie had come up with various different reasons why she should be allowed to remain in the property until January: these included her concerns that her daughter would be unable to get to school (this from the Mother who preferred to stay in bed until midday rather than drive her daughter to school), the fact that she could only have emergency accommodation in a town far from the property (whose fault is that, idiot?), that she should get her deposit returned under the new scheme (her tenancy pre-dates the scheme. Did she not have even the basic intellect to think to check this out?) and that my husband had physically attacked her when we went to the flat with the surveyor (as if he would attack her in front of a witness anyway. She never fails to surprise me with the levels of her stupidity).

However when the time came to enter the court, the usher informed us that the 'other party has failed to turn up'. We spent five minutes with the judge who declared the case "struck out" on account of her failure to show. This was the only legal recourse open to him under the circumstances and so her eviction date of 31st October remained.

However she was clearly still in the property after this date. My husband happened to be in the village where the flat is located and so popped to the flat. Julie's former boyfriend (who she moved into the flat with originally) suddenly materialised. He had obviously seen my husband arrive and was able to walk to the flat from nearby. He asked whether husband was going to change the locks (he wasn't) because (he claimed) Julie was definitely going to be out by the end of that weekend. Husband asked whether they were back together again. He reluctantly admitted that they were.

A few days after that weekend, we let oursleves into the flat. It was still filled with her clutter but she is definitely not living in there. Furthermore she has totally trashed the property. The expensive electric fire that we fitted has been wrenched off the wall and broken along with the wooden mantelpiece and fire surround. She has even pulled the tiles off the wall. Various fixtures and fittings have been stolen including a mirror that was over the fireplace, a door, two electric radiators and fuses from the electric meter so that it is impossible to turn the electric on. She has even graffiti'ed abuse on the wall. She has left bags of rubbish everywhere, including some in the kitchen that have decaying food in them. She has left a fridge freezer that also has rotten food inside. What a filthy person she is, what an example to set to her daughter.

The police cannot take action against the theft or criminal damage. We can only claim as a civil case in a court. We won't bother. There is more than one way to skin a cat........

The council have told me that she hasn't given them a definite date of leaving the flat either, even though they have written to her twice. However they did tell me that she has put in a claim (as a single parent) for Housing Benefit for another property. Dear oh dear Julie. Not a smart move.

So at the moment we legally cannot change the locks. The bailiffs are due shortly and then we can complete with the sale. Presumably Julie thinks she is deliberately costing us by what she is doing with her delaying tactics. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you love but it is the new buyer you are costing now.

Watch this space.