How to leave the house I sold

gab3x

davidmcn said:

gab3x said:

unsure what the custom is and more importantly what we need to do legally

What you need to do legally is comply with the contract. You have read the contract, haven't you?

Have you seen a contract for the sale of property in UK? It is not exactly detailed and certainly doesn't go into minutiae of whether a nail holding a picture should be taken out or not.

gab3x

theoretica said:

I think the state you leave the property needs to be consistent with the state when it was viewed - if it was was clean and freshly decorated for the viewings then the buyer can expect it to be similar on moving in.  If it was a filthy mess when viewed the buyer can't really expect better on completion.

It was fabulous when viewed and will be same level of fabulous when they move in but empty. I am more interested in small details like nails for pictures and holes from a shelf we are removing and taking with us

gab3x

Lots of great comments everyone. This Forum has been a tremendous source of help and comfort during this process.

Let me just clarify - there is no question of how clean should it be, it should be move into clean and this includes details like shower glass being free of calcium deposit etc. My questions where more specifically around couple of minor points which most of you have unanimously answered (ie fill the hole and paint over it).

When we bought our house we are now selling it was empty already and we ripped everything out so it was never a question. This is the first property we bought in UK. In Europe it varies - some in Holland for example take even the hardwood flooring with them (actual true example from a friend). 

beduth

We did everything, filled holes touched up paintwork etc. We then cleaned the house to within an inch of its life 😂. Usual card a wine was then left.
The buyers turned up with both sets of in-laws and cleaning gear, and found nothing to do. We live in a small town and I think our buyers told most of the town. They were over the moon, we felt chuffed and it cost us nothing but a bit of elbow grease. 

davidmcn

gab3x said:

davidmcn said:

gab3x said:

unsure what the custom is and more importantly what we need to do legally

What you need to do legally is comply with the contract. You have read the contract, haven't you?

Have you seen a contract for the sale of property in UK? It is not exactly detailed and certainly doesn't go into minutiae of whether a nail holding a picture should be taken out or not.

Er, yes.

If you're down to the minutiae then the answer (whether legal or practical) is that it really doesn't matter.

walwyn1978

MrsPorridge said:

Leave it in the state that you hope to find your new home in.

This. But as has already been mentioned, don’t expect the same at your new home. Hope, yes. Expect, no. Our vendor left all kinds of mess/broken things/dirt and had damaged and not made good where  various curtain rails/mirrors/shelves had been. It appeared for a fair few he’d literally ripped them out the wall. 

I hope that doesn’t happen to you and yes, as you’ve read on here, most people are nice. Do unto others etc. 

Good luck with the move. 

gab3x

A_Lert said:

Anything fixed to the walls is best left unless the contracts clearly state it will be removed.

This is a set of bench with shoe storage that goes together with a shelf with hook for hanging clothes. They go together and cost £400 so I am not leaving them.

Davesnave

How to leave the house I sold

When I saw the title it made me laugh, remembering how I left our last house very hurriedly, via the back gate. I'd just spotted the furniture van and it was time to stop digging up plants etc!

Sorry, I'll go quietly now, like I did then.

PS I loved the bit above where you asked a solicitor if he'd ever seen a contract of sale. Nice one.

scottishblondie

As has been said, definitely get the socket repaired.  As for everything else, I took down things but left the fixings in the walls, in case the new people wanted to hang pictures etc. in the same places.  I left all the matching paint, and where I didn't have any left a note of what it was.  I think a lot of people like to repaint to their own tastes, so I didn't really see the point in making it "good as new".  The house we moved to was left in a similar state, which I didn't have a problem with.

oniongirl

I'm not sure how we'll make good some holes in the walls. Furniture isn't getting unscrewed from the wall until the day before completion, and we didn't do the decorating so don't have any leftover paint to touch up with. In any case it's been 5 years since it was painted, so it probably wouldn't look the same anyway.

I'm not going to lose sleep over it. It's going to be left cleaner than it's ever been whilst I've been living in it. Can't wait to see what we find under the sofa.