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Tidying before completion

hammy1988
hammy1988 Posts: 145 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Just spent a few hours tidying/weeding/clearing/sorting my back and front gardens ready for completion of our sale at the end of this month...I'm wondering as I sit here running a hot bath to soothe my sore back whether I really needed to do this?

Am I being courteous by sorting the garden...? And should the house and garden always be maintained fully right up to transfer, is this a necessity or respectful...or both LOL?

To be honest I wanted to rather save my embarrassment at the garden getting so overgrown 😂
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Comments

  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    I think most people expect it to look not too shabby. One going over 3-4 weeks before completion's probably the best most manage unless they're desperately keen gardeners.
  • Red-Squirrel_2
    Red-Squirrel_2 Posts: 4,341 Forumite
    There's no 'rule' as such, but its definitely a nice thing to do and most people leave their houses as clean as they can before completion. Think how you'll feel if you go to your new place and the sellers have clearly thought "sod it we're selling anyway" and haven't lifted a finger for weeks?

    Of course, the amount of effort can vary depending on how much you like the buyers! ;)
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    Most thoughtful people try to leave the property as the purchasers found it originally.

    There's usually more of a problem with the inside of the house, which often reveals all kinds of nasties when the furniture goes, and then there's no time left to sort it properly.

    You have that to come...
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    Red-Squirrel wrote: »

    Of course, the amount of effort can vary depending on how much you like the buyers! ;)

    or how much they beat you down on price, which may be much the same thing! :rotfl:
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    If you were moving in, how would you want to find it?
  • ThemeOne
    ThemeOne Posts: 1,471 Forumite
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    It was nice of you to do it, but it's certainly not a necessity. For example, you might find with the front it gets concreted over in time for parking.
  • sultanabran
    sultanabran Posts: 172 Forumite
    My buyer keeps telling me not to cut the grass as its getting ripped out anyway. But I still do it, otherwise it would be about 8 inches tall by the time he comes to move in (I can tell by the height of the grass around the For Sale post).
  • Clairabella
    Clairabella Posts: 254 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    We kept the garden neat and cleaned the house till it was immaculate, in fact, once I'd finished, I didn't want to move! If only our vendor had been as meticulous. I exhausted myself cleaning mine then had to start over when we moved in, it was filthy.
  • happytails
    happytails Posts: 1,554 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    Ill be cleaning my house and running the mower over the lawn when i go. Id expect the owners of our new house to do the same, though i'd still go over cleaning the house again before unpacking too much.
    DFW Total £21,800 to clear by Dec 2022
    MFW Total £184,950 £179,066 to clear by 2035
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 3,970 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    I'd suggest it depends on the difference between the state of the garden when they viewed it and the state of it now, accounting (within reason) for the fact that things, including weeds, grow, especially at this time of year.

    So, if the garden was a major feature, then one would expect it to be handed over as such, whereas one couldn't really expect the same of something overgrown or neglected even when the place was on the market. However, it should be clear of rubbish etc, although as a buyer, you have little realistic recourse should the seller leave the place in a complete state and full of their rubbish...
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