What to leave in sold house?

mathie

Hi
I've to specify what is going to stay in our house that we just sold.

Do you normally just say fixtures and fittings? And maybe the washing machine, cooker etc?

Or is there anything else I should know?

Thanks
M

seamus

First off, you don't *have* to leave anything, unless to remove it would damage the safety or structure of the house

Usually you agree beforehand with the seller what you're leaving there, but anywho...

In general, people leaving behind the things that either can't easily be moved, or that may not suit the new home - so curtains, fixtures & fittings, built-in cookers, carpets, washing machines, fridges and so on.

I have heard stories of people of people literally stripping everything - even removing kitchens and taking them with them - but people generally like to put their own touch on a place, so most only take with them the stuff that can go into any house.

BoozyBabe

Yea, when I bought my house, the flooring, carpets, lighting, fridge (knackered) & cooker (knackered), sitting rom suite (almost knackered) were left. Everything else was removed.
Well kitchen unit was obviously left.

They had floor to ceiling wardrobes in the main bedroom. They were free standing, but difficult to remove.
They wanted to charge me a few €100 to leave them there. I'd have left them there free, but wasn't about to pay for them as they weren't exactly my style, so I said remove them.

They went to take a set of swings in the back garden with them, but doing so was ripping huge holes out of the garden, so they left them as well.

I had to remove most of the flooring they left anyway as it was an absolute state.

nice1franko

I'd say:

Take anything you want that's not nailed or screwed in

and

Don't leave anything that's a) broke b) might break something if you remove it or c) you don't think the new owner would want or need.

A friend of mine bought a house 2 years ago and the sellers took everything (except their rubbish) with them: ripped curtain poles out of the walls, hooks off the walls (pulling chunks of plaster of the wall in the process), ALL BULBS , cabinet thing around the sink in ensuite, toilet roll holders... it was like that richard pryor film 'moving'.

When my bro moved into his house the previous owners asked did he want the fridge and washing machine cos they were getting new stuff and if he didn't want them they'd get rid of them. They left the place nice n clean and left 2 bottles of beer and mini bottle of wine in the fridge with a note saying "welcome to your new home". Cost nothing but was a nice thing to do and well appreciated. Remember too, you'll most likely want bits n pieces of post and Christmas cards forwarded to you!

loyatemu

when i last moved my general rule of thumb was if it was attached to the house I left it. I'd put up a lot of shelves etc which I suppose I could've taken with me, but I didn't want to leave the walls full of holes, and they wouldn't necessarily have fitted in the new place

removing curtain poles? that's just petty and cheap (and a pain in the ass to do) - if you're spending hundreds of thousands on a new house you can afford to factor in a couple hundred for new curtain poles as well...

the_syco

These days, most (if not all) places will remove the old stuff when bringing in the new stuff. Mate got a new fridge, cooker, etc, and the shop took the old stuff away. Likewise I got a new bed, and the shop (Reids) took the old bed away.

OP, if you're not going to use them in the new house (you're getting new ones), leave the cooker and fridge. I say this, as when you move into a house for the 1st time, you usually have fuck all, and as someone said: you'll want post forwarded.

jhegarty

I always think its fairly bad to take light bulbs...

luckat

I've bought houses twice, and both times they came without fridges and things, but with cookers.

If I were selling this, I'd leave in the hob and separate oven; I'd probably take with me the bookshelves (1.5" thick red deal, cost me a fortune), and also the beautiful old mirrors in the hall and study, which are screwed to the wall.

I'd probably take the fridge, washing machine, dryer, etc.

But I can't afford to move until the high stamp duty is taken away for trading down. If I traded down by €200,000 now, I'd pay €50,000 on stamp duty, so it's not worth it.

Victor

Leave the light bulbs.

Strictly speaking, if you have any fancy fittings, remove them before showing the house.

astrofool

When my cousin moved into his house, they said they left the oil 3/4 full (it's a farmhouse), anyway, the boiler wouldn't start, and when they went out to take a look, the oil was empty, the guage was left stuck at the 3/4 mark They also took all bulbs, curtains and carpets (anything that wasn't attached to the place).

godtabh

Victor wrote:

Leave the light bulbs.

Strictly speaking, if you have any fancy fittings, remove them before showing the house.

Isnt it all covered by the contract what you leave and take away? The likes of a kitchen could off set the price by +/- 5k couldnt it

the_syco

kearnsr wrote:

The likes of a kitchen could off set the price by +/- 5k couldnt it

I'd tell the bank to bounce the cheque if this ever happens to me. A new fridge, cooker, etc, will cost money, and as someone has said, let the person know what parts you're not getting.

If I bought the house for the fab mirror in the hall, the cool kitchen, and the awesome... hidden beer fridge, only to find them ripped out when I moved in, words would be had, to be honest.

Lex Luthor

I sold a house there recently and had to make a detailed list of what I was leaving with estimated values attached to the complete list.

If its a sizeable value, it can be used for paying less SD for the buyer

spurious

I bought my house from a loser who came into the house the morning I was going to the solicitor to get the keys, took the one decent bit of carpet there was (on the stairs) and left about 6 pissy mattresses.

copacetic

the_syco wrote:

I'd tell the bank to bounce the cheque if this ever happens to me.

what cheque? you wouldn't have the keys without them already having the money, not a cheque that could still be cancelled.

Del2005

Strictly speaking anything built into the house has to be left unless stated, ie a microwave on a shelf can be taken but if its built in it has to be left. As Victor said, remove/replace anything you want to take with you before showing the house.

But as people have said some people take everything and others don't really depends on if you need then yourself or not.

Electric

A neighbour at home sold her house. When she was moving out she took the fridge, washing machine, cooker even though it was in the contract that they be left. She removed all shelves, mirrors and built in wardrobes which were supposed to be left too.

She dumped all the stuff she didn't want in the house old clothes a manky old couch old mattresses...loads of crap.

After she moved out but before the new owners moved in she had her mother go over and dig up the plants that she wanted from the garden and take the wrought iron gates.

It was really petty sh*t! The new owners weren't impressed with having to hire two skips to clean up her crap. So they sued her for breach of contract and she had to pay a couple of thousand in damages.

My advice would be to leave the stuff that's been agreed upon and either hire a skip to get rid of what you don't want or bring it with you.

Oh and the hidden beers in the fridge sounds fantastic!

Victor

Electric wrote:

After she moved out but before the new owners moved in she had her mother go over and dig up the plants that she wanted from the garden and take the wrought iron gates.

You mean she left the grass!!

Electric

Victor wrote:

You mean she left the grass!!

I know I was surprised too! But then again they had a dog and it's highly unlikely they ever cleaned up after it.

I never laughed as much when our new neighbours told us that they got damages from her!

um7y1h83ge06nx

Electric wrote:

It was really petty sh*t! The new owners weren't impressed with having to hire two skips to clean up her crap. So they sued her for breach of contract and she had to pay a couple of thousand in damages.

Well done to them, the previous owner sounds like a bit of a bitch to say the least.

Electric

Yeah she kinda was! But it was only right that she paid for the clean up of her crap. I think the damages she had to pay were kinda hefty too. Around €8-€10k if memory serves. Part of it was for the clean up, part for the replacement of stuff that was meant to be included and the rest were for costs etc.

Sorry if this is off topic but it does show that you need to be aware of what the contract states and just be reasonable about what you take/leave behind

the_syco

copacetic wrote:

what cheque? you wouldn't have the keys without them already having the money, not a cheque that could still be cancelled.

I suppose I meant

Electric wrote:

It was really petty sh*t! The new owners weren't impressed with having to hire two skips to clean up her crap. So they sued her for breach of contract and she had to pay a couple of thousand in damages.

Very cool.

mathie

Turns out now they don't want anything
So are we obliged to take everything or is it ok to leave sofas, fridges etc?
Thanks
M

patrickolee

no, take it all with you.

Electric

Hire a skip or recycle the lot.

There's also that website that allows you to post up stuff that want to give away and people who want it can come collect it from you.

I forget what the address is but someone else might know it?

seamus

You can leave whatever you want, but they can charge you for disposing of it - if it wasn't listed in the house contents as part of the sale, then they don't have to take ownership of it.

patrickolee

Electric wrote:

Hire a skip or recycle the lot.

There's also that website that allows you to post up stuff that want to give away and people who want it can come collect it from you.

I forget what the address is but someone else might know it?

www.jumbletown.ie

or adverts.ie

have a free section. You'd be surprised how hard it is to give away stuff though. People like to buy new I think.

LegacyUser

2/3 of the houses we've bought had crap left in them.
Paying enough for the houses, bring your junk with you!