Who/when to discuss fixtures & fittings?

junglejame911

We are FTBs so just wondering from anyone more experience when to enquire about fixtures/fittings? We are sale agreed and mortgage in place. Solicitors still drawing up contracts.

The house we are (hopefully) buying was essentially empty when we looked round and is chain free. There were a few white goods and one bed still in the property and as we have few belongings of our own, we are hoping the vendor might leave these.

Is it best to put these queries to the EA at this stage?

eddddy

Yes - just ask the EA to ask the vendor if they're leaving that stuff behind.

You can then inform your solicitor, who can specify it in the contract - if you want.

The vendor might ask for money for them - but it sounds like they wouldn't be worth much. (It would probably cost the vendor more to have them removed than they are worth.)

Arguably, you might have been in a stronger position if you had said your original offer included those items.

junglejame911

Cheers, yes it had crossed my mind to include it with our offer but we had our initial bid of 10% under the asking price accepted so it was all a bit unexpected.

ambioni

I would have suggested asking about fixtures & fittings much earlier, such as during the initial viewing, and then making sure your written offer contains conditions specifying that the seller leaves certain things behind. The VAST majority of sellers do not go around stripping out light fittings, carpets, blinds and built-in white goods, but it is better to clarify this as soon as possible. You can also use it as a bargaining tool, e.g. seller wants to take all carpets and light fittings so you ask him to drop the price of the house by a grand or two

Hoploz

If its empty then you stand a good chance of them leaving the items you would want. Just call the EA, and ask them whether they have mentioned anything to them about what's happening to the contents. I went round the house with my seller and her fixtures and fittings form saying what I'd like them to leave once, when it was an executor's sale. They just left whatever I said we'd find useful.

p00hsticks

I thought these days the vendor was obliged to fill in a fixtures and fittings sheet indicating exactly what they intend to take and what they intend to leave and to pass it to the purchasers through their respective solicitors - certainly this is what happened in our recent purchase

AlexMac

Yeah- once your solicitor has got the basic info from the vendor's lawyer, and started searches etc, one of the standard enquiry forms they'll send to the seller via their lawyer will be a checklist asking them what they intend to leave; even down to detail like curtain rails... Beds are not even on that list, so it might not ocurr to them; fitted stuff like intgrated dish-washers tend to be regarded as part of the fixtures which are left free, but a seller trading up is likely to be better off than you first-timer, so with luck, they may think it easier to buy new free-standing washers, fridges etc, than move 'em, so try it on.

So it might be worth letting the vendor's estate agent know you're interested.

rosie383

Some people are not very thorough at filling in the list so ask the EA. Don't offer to pay anything at this stage. If they say they want you to pay a certain amount, then ask for another viewing (empty property so should be easy) and look properly at the age and condition of the appliances before you agree to any figure. Factor in how much it would cost to buy, transport and install second hand ones yourself. You can look at completed listings on ebay.

gadgetmind

I haven't bought many houses, but have always used the "two headed customer" approach when negotiating. I tell the EA to inform the vendor that I'm prepared to pay something for carpets, curtains and some items of furniture, but that my wife is really funny about second hand stuff and I'm going to have to talk her into it. We've normally got an absolute bargain.

We're doing the same with a property that daughter is buying and we're at the stage of all carpets, curtain rails, and light fittings being free. The vendors are currently not showing any signs of being organised to clear the house (it's an absolute tip!) despite it being unoccupied (probate) and we're expecting them to ask something for beds etc. If it's more than a token amount then they can lug them away and we'll hit Ikea!

rosie383

Most people leave carpets, curtain rails and light fittings as standard nowadays. Things have changed from perhaps 10-20 years ago when we were expected to pay for those. Considering you are going to rip them all out anyway in all likelihood in a house that is a tip, then you are not getting anything so far!