Cleaning before leaving

dave76

so how much did you clean your house when you last moved? Being a second time buyer I have never sold a house before - do you just give surfaces a quick wipe down and a vac of the floors or would you be more thorough? I dont plan going as far as when I left a rented flat as we scrubbed that top to bottom to make sure we got our deposit back

giddypenguin

How would you like to find your next house?

DRP

dave76 wrote: »

so how much did you clean your house when you last moved? Being a second time buyer I have never sold a house before - do you just give surfaces a quick wipe down and a vac of the floors or would you be more thorough? I dont plan going as far as when I left a rented flat as we scrubbed that top to bottom to make sure we got our deposit back

I would/will do exactly what i've bolded (and make sure the bathroom is clean).

I think that is fair enough - what else were you thinking of doing?

Ivana_Tinkle

I reckon you should leave it in the same state you had it in for viewings. We got ours as near to spotless as we possibly could, so I'd feel that I'd misled our buyers if I left it dirty. We're buying a fixer-upper that was filthy when we viewed it, so I expect to find it in the same state.

Debt_Free_Chick

Mine was cleaner on the day I left it than it had ever been in the 15 years that I'd lived there

I choose the level of mess I can tolerate on a day-to-day basis, but don't expect others to

May be a bit OTT, but I also left a vase of flowers and a "things you might want to know" note.

DRP

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

I reckon you should leave it in the same state you had it in for viewings. We got ours as near to spotless as we possibly could, so I'd feel that I'd misled our buyers if I left it dirty. We're buying a fixer-upper that was filthy when we viewed it, so I expect to find it in the same state.

which (in my case) is essentially wiping surfaces, clean the bathroom, running the hoover around and tidying up...


..obviously the tidying up bit isn't necessary when you;ve moved all your stuff out!

dave76

DRP wrote: »

I would/will do exactly what i've bolded (and make sure the bathroom is clean).

I think that is fair enough - what else were you thinking of doing?

well you can go as far as you wish cant you - clean windows, dust lamp shades, sweep up leaves etc?? Obviously you dont want to have to do loads of cleaning when you first move in but there is no real knowing what the previous owners did

DRP

dave76 wrote: »

well you can go as far as you wish cant you - clean windows, dust lamp shades, sweep up leaves etc?? Obviously you dont want to have to do loads of cleaning when you first move in but there is no real knowing what the previous owners did

I doubt i'd clean the windows...

Yes agree a general tidy up of the garden is in order.

As a new owner i would always clean a new place top to bottom anyway (no matter how clean it appears).

Therefore, I wouldn't go overboard when moving out...

hazyjo

Don't end up doing it all twice - if there's time, wait until all the furniture has been removed/packed on van, then do it. Will be tonnes of dust, etc behind beds, furniture, etc.

So easy to clean an empty house. Just whiz round the skirting boards, clean kitchen, then vacuum.

The house we bought was filthy. Took me half a day to clean the kitchen. Dirty ring marks in cupboards, crumbs, fingerprints, etc. Yuck. Cobwebs in most corners in the house too. Just horrible.

Jx

jackyann

It is MUCH easier to clean an empty house - if you clean then watch the furniture being moved, all the dust becomes visible!
I have done the following over my house moving life:
taken up a friend's offer to clean after we left (she did owe a big favour!)
knowing the new people wouldn't be in for a day or two, gone back myself to clean
told the new people that as they were anxious to move in as we were going out, I could only do a quick wipe-down
last time I hired a specialist firm - cost £300 for a large Victorian 3 bed - there were other reasons I did this and it was worth it (but could not have afforded that on previous moves!)

I always leave a box of teabags, coffee, biscuits etc; milk in the fridge where poss.
I leave take-away leaflets marked with recommendations, and a file with items of interest like local walks, details about doctors, hospitals, pharmacists etc; nearest supemarkets & petrol, and any good local shops or markets.
If the buyers are newcomers, instead of flowers, I make sure that the local parish magazine is paid up for the next few months, and pay the newsagent to deliver the local paper for a couple of weeks.

Debt_Free_Chick

jackyann wrote: »

It is MUCH easier to clean an empty house - if you clean then watch the furniture being moved, all the dust becomes visible!
I have done the following over my house moving life:
taken up a friend's offer to clean after we left (she did owe a big favour!)
knowing the new people wouldn't be in for a day or two, gone back myself to clean
told the new people that as they were anxious to move in as we were going out, I could only do a quick wipe-down
last time I hired a specialist firm - cost £300 for a large Victorian 3 bed - there were other reasons I did this and it was worth it (but could not have afforded that on previous moves!)

I always leave a box of teabags, coffee, biscuits etc; milk in the fridge where poss.
I leave take-away leaflets marked with recommendations, and a file with items of interest like local walks, details about doctors, hospitals, pharmacists etc; nearest supemarkets & petrol, and any good local shops or markets.
If the buyers are newcomers, instead of flowers, I make sure that the local parish magazine is paid up for the next few months, and pay the newsagent to deliver the local paper for a couple of weeks.

When you next sell, can I buy your house please? :j :j