FTB- Moving in expectations

Sicily1991

I'm a FTB who is about to offer on a two bed mid-terraced property. I've viewed the property twice now and the current tenant has a huge dog who is allowed to do its business in the small garden and roams all the rooms etc. which leave a smell around the house in general.

My questions are: a) what condition can I expect the house to be in if and when I should move into it? I.e. do I have to specify I want the place to be professionally cleaned and the garden cleared before I move in or is this just as standard? And should I state this as a term of my offer? in addition to it being subject to survey?The carpets etc have lots of wear and tear and I will be looking to change them and repaint but not straight away as I won't have too much cash left over after buying necessary furniture.

Secondly, I believe most of the furniture belongs to the tenant but I am unsure about the kitchen appliances, and I would be eager to keep the fridge/washing machine and dishwasher. Should I include this in my terms for my offer once I find out who they belong to? What is usually included in a home sale? Sorry I'm inexperienced in this and my parents live abroad and build their own property years ago so not much help in this domain.

Any advice on what to include in my offer/negotiations much appreciated.

societys_child

You're buying the house as it is..

I.e. do I have to specify I want the place to be professionally cleaned

This is not normal.

I believe most of the furniture belongs to the tenant

Tenant, do you mean owner? If owner, then it's likely they own all the furniture etc.

You could talk to them about the white goods, maybe they'll accept an offer, or maybe they're planning on taking them.

elsien

Count yourself lucky if it's cleaned at all, let alone professionally. Ditto the garden. Turn up with rubber gloves, lots of cleaning stuff/bin bags on the grounds of hope for the best and expect the worst.
Normally the landlord would check that everything was in order before returning the deposit but if they're selling on they probably don't care.

You do know not to agree the exchange until the tenant has vacated the property?
There will be a property form from the vendor detailing what is included in the sale and the price for anything else is up for negotiation.

ETA - I wasn't planning to repaint at first either however walls that looked fine when viewed looked very different when the property was empty - different shades where pictures had been hung. for example, so I ended up slapping some paint on pretty much straight away just to freshen it up. You can also hire a carpet cleaner to do it yourself which is cheaper and easier to do before your furniture goes in.

KatieDee

I don't think requesting a professional clean prior to moving in is that realistic, although they may consider it if you offer to cover the cost. I think cleaning when you first move in and preparing the house for all your unpacking is a really fun part of moving!

I think most vendors tend to leave the property in a decent state, although that's dependent on your standards. I'm sure there will be some people with total horror stories! I've never bought a tenanted house though.

A lot of the things you are suggesting could be discussed at a later stage, so you don't look too demanding as a buyer. The vendor will complete a fixture and fittings form which will specify what they plan to leave, and this is when we asked about what our vendor could leave. I suppose it depends how much those extra aspects mean to you and whether you'd walk away if they refused.

With my purchase, I'm going to expect the worst and anything else is a bonus. Fortunately our vendor is extremely house proud and has already had her husband repaint the fence in the garden and clean the carpets, so I'm hoping she gives it a thorough once over before moving day!

Sicily1991

Normally the landlord would check that everything was in order before returning the deposit but if they're selling on they probably don't care. The property is tenanted at the moment and they are on a rolling contract and have been notified that they'll need to vacate. They're on a rolling contract at the moment and don't seem too happy to have to move, but I believe they have found somewhere to go.

You do know not to agree the exchange until the tenant has vacated the property?[/QUOTE]Yes, I'm aware not to agree to an exchange until it's been vacated and the keys handed back.

Would the LL not care about the state the property is left in then? I mean, the tenants could potentially trash the place and then I'd be left with a property to fix up completely? I will ask to view the property once the tenants have moved out if it got to that, and ensure it was left empty and not trashed I suppose but that would be a while down the line once I've spent £ on survey, solicitor fees etc.

cattie

No you can't specify you'd like the place professionally cleaned as previous poster mentions.

You can ask that any dog poo be removed from the garden, but you are at their mercy as they can't be forced to do so. You can specify that you'd like all furniture removed from the property & also ask if a purchase of the appliances you'd be happy to remain in the house would be possible.

There is no standard format when moving in. Some vendors are like me & leave the house pristine & leave things such as light fittings, curtains, blinds etc. But then there are others who will take all these things along with carpets, curtains & rails/poles, lightbulbs, even toilet roll holder etc & leave the place filthy. All you can do is hope & pray you hit the jackpot with the former!

As they have dogs you need to be aware that any doggy smells will be ingrained into the carpets & other soft furnishings. So if the floorboards are in good condition, you may prefer to take the carpets up if they are left & live with those until you can afford to replace, or buy some cheap rugs to cover until you're ready.

M_Python

Are you sure that the person living there is a tenant rather than the owner?

If they are a tenant, your first priority should be to ensure that they have vacated the property before you exchange as your solicitor and mortgage lender will insist on vacant possession on completion. Otherwise, if they refuse to move out, you would become their landlord and have to follow the correct procedure to evict them, which I'm sure you're not familiar with.

You can ask for whatever you like but the examples you give of it being professionally cleaned and the garden being cleared is not something the owner has to agree to and no, that is not standard. Having said that, you might be lucky and the owner does that anyway without you insisting on it as part of the negotiations.

Likewise, the same applies to the kitchen appliances. You might be lucky and the owner doesn't need to take them out in which case you can keep them. Indeed, if they are integrated, they would form part of the fixtures and fittings anyway. If they are freestanding, it would be down to negotiation and, if the owner did leave them for you, they may well want some money for them as extras.

elsien

Sicily1991 wrote: »

Yes, I'm aware not to agree to an exchange until it's been vacated and the keys handed back.

Would the LL not care about the state the property is left in then? I mean, the tenants could potentially trash the place and then I'd be left with a property to fix up completely? I will ask to view the property once the tenants have moved out if it got to that, and ensure it was left empty and not trashed I suppose but that would be a while down the line once I've spent £ on survey, solicitor fees etc.

The landlord will care about the things that might affect the purchase price, so will do their best to ensure it's not trashed. That doesn't really include cleaning and garden maintenance so much though.
As a buyer, until you've exchanged then anything could happen. Ideally it all goes as planned and everyone is happy. But either you or the vendor could pull out at any stage so the risk of losing your survey fees etc is one of the risks you have to take as part of the home buying process whoever you are buying from. Has the vendor said whether the tenant has been given notice yet and what their supposed moving out date is intended to be?

Sicily1991

societys_child wrote: »

You're buying the house as it is..
This is not normal.


Tenant, do you mean owner? If owner, then it's likely they own all the furniture etc. The property is tenanted at the moment, the vendor lives elsewhere and the tenant seems quite bitter about having to move out- she has been very difficult in allowing potential buyers to view the property etc. and I am not concerned she might trash iit before moving out. The dog does its business in the garden and there is dog poop all over it! If the house is going to be left in this state then my offer will definitely be lower than what I was planning and I'll inform the EA about this.

You could talk to them about the white goods, maybe they'll accept an offer, or maybe they're planning on taking them.

As I am currently unsure about who the white goods belong to (tenant or LL) I'll find out first and negotiate on this later.

Sicily1991

As a buyer, until you've exchanged then anything could happen. Ideally it all goes as planned and everyone is happy. But either you or the vendor could pull out at any stage so the risk of losing your survey fees etc is one of the risks you have to take as part of the home buying process whoever you are buying from. Has the vendor said whether the tenant has been given notice yet and what their supposed moving out date is intended to be? Thanks for your reply. When does the exchange of contracts usually take place? As I understand it, it's usually towards the move in date and thus quite far down the line. As you say, it will certainly be a condition from my mortgage lender that the property is vacated before they agree to lend me so I wouldn't be in a position to exchange if there are any problems of that nature. I've been informed by the EA that the tenant is on a rolling contract and will be asked to vacate once the property is SSTC (I assume?). Although I am not certain of when the vendor would ask them to vacate, would this usually be once offer is accepted and searches begin/ mortgage accepted etc?

societys_child

Sicily1991 wrote: »

The property is tenanted at the moment

I now know that . . it wasn't clear from your first post.