Preparing house for new owners

Mrstickle

I think people have different standards. Our vendor swore blind she had spent days cleaning and scrubbing every room with her mother. She seemed genuinely pleased to be handing it over in a spotless condition, left manuals, notes, card, wine etc. In reality I had to spend three full days cleaning before we would even consider moving anything in, fortunately we had been renting and had a few days' grace. Kitchen, bathroom, everywhere was grime ridden. We had suspected it would be a bit grubby from viewings, but had no idea it would be so bad. The toilets were a disgrace, and I was appalled for her children they had to use them. However she was so nice and genuine, I think she was immune to it and probably just had different standards to mine - albeit very low standards.
In future house moves, I would never ever leave a house in a dirty condition, i know how much it literally took the shine off moving into our new home as first time buyers.
OP, I applaud your high standards, but as others have said would draw the line at spending money - clean is enough!

gregpot2000

One thing that I had left a couple of weeks ago that hasn't been mentioned, is a neighbourhood plan. The vendor left a plan of all the immediate neighbours ( 5 up and down), all their names, and even their cars, which is handy as if I see someone getting into a car on the street I'll know who it is. This has been really helpful, as I have been able to keep looking at it to get used to their names which has made it easier when I've seen them. Rather than having to remember lots of different names from brief introductions which I'd never do.

Slinky

A former work colleague of mine did a house swap with somebody, she cleaned her place to within an inch of its life, only to find the house she was moving into was filthy so had to clean that as well. It was even more galling knowing that the person who left her new home filthy was getting the benefit of her hard work at the other end. Plus my colleague was pregnant at the time to make things even more difficult.

Still, I spoke to somebody a couple of months ago who was helping out a friend move house as my contact had a van. He was doing it free. Turns out it was a house swap and the other party hadn't bothered to book anybody to help them (claimed she had been let down). So my contact ended up moving both lots of people both ways and didn't get so much as a thank you from the other party.

onlyroz

I'd do a basic clean and then leave out the manuals for all the appliances/boiler, details of stop-c0ck location, bin collection days and meter readings. I certainly wouldn't be re-turfing the lawn or doing any painting.

AnnieO1234

If it was me I'd repair any holes from taking down the shelves, and would probably paint the doors where the name plates have come down. I would not do anything with the lawn except maybe some weed and feed and grass seed.

I'd leave a bottle of wine, box of chocolates, some nearby takeaway menus, details of bin collections, where stop tap is, fuse box etc. I'd also leave a toilet roll and hand wash in the loo. X

DRP

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

If it was me I'd repair any holes from taking down the shelves, and would probably paint the doors where the name plates have come down. I would not do anything with the lawn except maybe some weed and feed and grass seed.

I'd leave a bottle of wine, box of chocolates, some nearby takeaway menus, details of bin collections, where stop tap is, fuse box etc. I'd also leave a toilet roll and hand wash in the loo. X

filling and painting seems OTT to me as you don;'t know what plans the new owner has for the doors, floors, walls.

THey may decide to change or strip the doors, or wanting to put curtain or shelves back up using the same holes that you've just filled...

GolfFoxtrot

Having moved into our first home last week all I would be bothered about as a buyer is:
* House is clean - a little bit of post move out dirt is expected. Weeks worth of bathroom grime is not
* Property is free from rubbish / unwanted belongings.

Finding that would have made me one happy buyer.

Anatidaephobia

GolfFoxtrot wrote: »

Having moved into our first home last week all I would be bothered about as a buyer is:
* House is clean - a little bit of post move out dirt is expected. Weeks worth of bathroom grime is not
* Property is free from rubbish / unwanted belongings.

Finding that would have made me one happy buyer.

I agree with this.

Our house was really dirty, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom. Walls, doors and skirting boards all have stains from spilt coffee that had clearly built up over years and never been cleaned up or noticed. Everything needed repainted and some of the carpets needed replaced yet during the house viewings, the house appeared to be clean, tidy and well kept.

When we collected the keys, the EA gushed about how lovely the seller was and how he had spent all week cleaning the house. Perhaps he had because he was getting on a bit so maybe he did try his best. He did leave all the instruction manuals for appliances, the boiler, etc. He also left light bulbs and curtains which we appreciated.

Fortunately, he didn't leave any furniture or unwanted belongings but only because we instructed our lawyer to tell the EA that we would prefer their unwanted furniture was not left behind (the seller had dropped a number of hints that he wanted to leave most of the furniture in the house because it'd save him the hassle of moving it). A few days after we got the keys, the seller turned up at the door asking if he could take meter readings because he forgot to do it the day he left, and I was subjected to a massive rant as he moaned about the hassle of removing all his furniture and then listed each item one by one and told me how much it all cost and where it was from and how often it had been used etc etc.

Claire_A87

Having completed yesterday, all I can say is we were thankful the house was nice & clean, and the bin schedule, keys, boiler instructions, cavity wall guarantee etc were left out for us.

We didn't expect the cavalry, and were relieved to find the place in decent condition with no unexpected nasties. There are holes where the curtain rails, picture hooks, shelves etc were, and a scratch on the dining room laminate where they'd moved the table - it's all to be expected. I'm happy with four clean walls around me and a (surveyor verified!) stable roof over my head to call my own

Just busy scrubbing our rented place to within an inch of its life now - no way I'm not getting that deposit back!

So my advice OP - leave it presentable, but don't go overboard. If your buyer is anything like us, they'll just be relieved to find it in a pleasant condition with all the useful info clearly out.

dinosaur7

Oh, what a lovely seller you are! I want to buy your house...

Maybe you are considering going further than you need to, but I imagine it will be a lovely surprise for the people who move in. It's so nice to move into a place feeling that you have the good wishes of the previous owner. I also tend to believe that there's an element of good karma about it, and you should be very lucky and happy in your new home, having been so thoughtful towards your buyers.

I hope your move goes wonderfully well:).