If they lose and they will they have to pay your lawyer.
Quick update as it’s only fair 
Yesterday the old landlord called the tenants directly, and today we did the key handover and protocol - much less eventful than expected, which is nice.
Kinda curious as to why they never replied to my letter (as they clearly got them, today was one of the dates/times I had given as an option to do the handover)… but I didn’t ask.
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This just reinforces the fact that it is preferable to buy with vacant possession! Glad it was sorted out in the end!
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We looked at a house with granny flat that was awesome…big garden, pool, nice price. Only after bidding did we find out that the granny flat came with legacy grannies (the parents of the owner). The statement was they would stay an additional year.
We dropped that one like a hot potato.
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In France, these ‘hot potatos’ are actually very much sought! they are called ‘viagers’ , where you ‘buy the real state’, with special economical and usufruct conditions. You might get lucky…or not 
The french even made a very funny movie out of it LE VIAGER (1972) Bande Annonce VF - HD - video Dailymotion
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Yup…it’s a gamble by the buyer that the old folks will die off soon; some of those properties are heavily discounted, but you must continue to pay the maintenance costs while the “legacy” tenants are still there. Not a good deal, IMHO.
it was a good one for me but, as you say, you have to get lucky -or be able to diagnose through iris reading 
It’s more a system for investors (pension funds come to mind) than for people looking for a home.
As it is unpredictable as this case shows 
(taken from a NZZ article in German):
“Despite the advantages, the “vente en viager” also harbors risks, particularly for the buyer. The return depends largely on the lifespan of the seller and the price development of the property. The famous case of Jeanne Calment, who sold her apartment in 1965 at the age of 90 and received pension payments until her death at the age of 122, illustrates the risk: the buyer ultimately paid around twice the market price for the property.”
Mrs. Calment made a great deal, indeed.
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Well, the Viager gives a lot of flexibility on the deal, and it depends on how you negotiate the agreement. In my case, when the lady left the flat to live in an old people’s residency, I still had to make the ‘monthly payments’, but I could then move in to the apartment and start living on it. She, ultimately, died, and I still got a good deal on the total purchase price. Although, you are very right, not for the faint-hearted, and also, well, I see it like investing in the stock market no risk, no fun!
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Nope, I’d rather look for something else as I would hate myself for secretly wishing the inherited “viagers” were less…uhm, longévive. If I was in such a combination, they’d probably end up living much more than expected as I’m a friendly person and what older people usually lack is socialising and someone looking after them. 
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That sounds like the perfect win-win situation to me.
She’s got a pension and no worries, the buyer a house to live in, no need for a mortgage, no third party taking interest, paying that pension like you would rent but it’s all for your own benefit.
And you can make changes to the house as you wish I suppose as it’s yours?
Yeah, I would go for that anytime!
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I’ve learned about this scheme once, but all the offers on the Swiss market were ridiculous, like asking for ~40% of the property with the owners in their 70ties, where the expected rent would costs twice what’s the property worth.
For a financial investment this appears quite interesting. But people can’t wait that long for their family home, this is much more something for the children or grandchildren.