What level of “making good” for the new owners when you move out?

Reddington85

We've got the folder from when we bought this new so we've left all the cooker instructions, kitchen choices etc all in a file for them. We've also left the name of the window cleaner, bin day, bin cleaner, tax details, meter box and loft keys and some good local restaurants and takeaways and nice local walks.

We've cleaned the cooker the best we can, put new bulbs in (we have Hive so are taking our bulbs) and we'll do a run around the bathrooms on moving day and hoover where we can but it's a hugely busy time for both of us at work and I'm stressed enough taking 2 days off work nevermind the move!

beardiedog

nataliem262 said:

I sold my house and it had had a tenant in it so it was empty when sold so we fully repainted every room, sanded and revarnished the wooden floors, repainted the kitchen units, powerwashed every single piece of paving, chimney, roofs and walls outside, cut all grass and washed everywhere inside fully in the week of sale. It was like a brand new house basically inside and out.
I got a letter from their solicitor a few weeks later moaning about the window locks on 2 windows and 1 internal door handle not being fully operational, and needing to install new sensors on the house alarm because there weren't enough and a call-out fee to reset the alarm code. I was less than impressed but agreed to pay call-out just to get it closed.  Imagine how I feel now that - even though this was paid - they are now taking me to the small claims court for the above "issues".  Absolute *!?****???s.

Can they do this? I thought once contracts are exchanged any problems became the purchaser's responsibility.

SteveLaming

vegtimeslag -   Attend the court but I think you will win. but you won't if you do not . They are being completely unfair. Petty.
When i moved last time we our clean the house from top to bottom. Wiping everything down ie walls, cleaned the windows and clean the carpets with an industrial cleaner.
On going to our new address we had to clean the carpets,found left bedroom  furniture, cobwebs were headboards had been, a bathroom mat which looked like a dog had been sick on it, a dirty oven which my wife cleaned for three hours, a blocked sink with cooking fat which needed re-plumbing .A dirty (so called white carpet) which we threw out of the bedroom window. A alarm system the size of a fridge on the study wall which was faulty. A boiler which needed replacing asap and a over grown garden with grass that had not been mowed since we had decided to buy the Money Pit 9 Months before. Maybe we should have taken them to small claims court.

LittleMissLu1u

I have just purchased a new property. I left my own home sparkling, with a note for the new owners and a bottle of fizz. 

The house I moved into unfortunately was left in a disgrace. Grease all over the oven, food stuck to the tiles, years of dust on the skirting boards... but at least they'd been kind enough to leave us a pack of beers in the fridge. 

Or so I thought... until the previous owner turned up the next day to collect his post and asked for the beers he'd left behind! 

JayW90

Many years ago as a first time mover I didn’t realise that keeping the vacuum cleaner out of the van would be a good idea.  The rooms needed a good clean once the furniture had been removed, but I had nothing to do it with and thought that was probably normal. However, I was impressed with the state of our new house, and then horrified to be accused of leaving the first house filthy when I called round with spare keys the next day.  That was a lesson learned the hard way!

oldhaggis

When we moved into our first home the sellers asked if we wanted keep their cleaner on. We were totally broke and could barely afford to furnish the place, so we politely declined.  As it turned out, the cleanliness of the place left a lot to be desired.

The vendors had asked if they could dig up a small bush after completion as it had been a wedding present. We agreed and left the side gate unlocked. While they were in our garden they stated that they would "pop back another time" and take some unused bricks which had been left. They did not ask if they could take them but just stated that they would take them. OH dutifully locked the side gate shut using a brand new padlock and we never saw them again.

They also left us a loft full of badly warped, very narrow floor boards. Apparently they had been planning to board the loft with them and never got around to it. It took us a very long time to carry them all out and put them in a skip.

Lesson learnt the hard way. Always state in the contract that you want the loft totally cleared prior to completion.

I have always left the houses I have sold in a clean and tidy condition, with relevant instruction manuals and spare keys. I have never left, nor been left a bottle of wine. 

ss2020jd

Thanks for all the new replies. Some more great ideas and insights there plus a few more shockers! 

I’m going to start the list this week of the helpful info. 

Everything is nearly out as moved into storage as renting so it’s already been given an extra deep clean, including oven, drawers and cupboards etc. Even re-siliconed the shower drain as was looking a bit tatty, and will do extra touch up on day before. 
My contract said all rubbish etc will be removed and lofts clear. 

I’m leaving all the lights and bulbs and a couple of spare bulbs for the kitchen lights.  

I can see how if (as in most cases) people are moving out the same day they won’t have time to do extra touch-ups and it’s good to know this is not generally expected. 

Hopefully they will be happy with everything and the little extras! Reading some of the other things people have faced I know I would be!  

 

gamesetandmatch

Just my opinion - it’s a case of respect for self and others and personal reputation. At the last move from top to bottom the house was left clean and ready to move into. We left paper work, guarantees, source of purchase pertaining to fixtures and fittings to give some history continuity.

ss2020jd

gamesetandmatch said:

Just my opinion - it’s a case of respect for self and others and personal reputation. At the last move from top to bottom the house was left clean and ready to move into. We left paper work, guarantees, source of purchase pertaining to fixtures and fittings to give some history continuity.

Yes agreed. I’ve got most of that too.

I’m a bit obsessed with Victorian properties and their history so I’ve also printed out the old handwritten census records for the house that I once researched. It’s fascinating (to me, at least) to see who lived in the house back in the late 1800s and 1900s. 

Tkl1970

We brought a second house two years ago. The house when we viewed and offered on it was presented really well. Clean, tidy, smelt nice, garden well kept, basically we thought great not much to do. When we got the keys and pulled up I thought oh the garden and drive are a bit over grown? When we went inside the smell was awful. There was holes in walls where pictures and tv had been. It was obvious the house hadn’t been cleaned. The oven can only be described a yuk! The fridge had food in it. The back garden was the surprise though. Gone was the manicured lawn we had seen previously. Now it was a 6ft high wilderness! There were about 200 cigarette butt ends on the gravelled patio and also around 50 dog turds left for us?? Seriously I was mortified!! So never assume someone will treat you as you would like. 

On the other hand we pride ourselves in how we leave our old house. One I think it’s good manners to leave the house clean, ready for someone to move straight in and not have to spend time cleaning or filling in holes on walls etc. Two it’s our standard, we live normally in a nice clean tidy house, we’ve worked hard for it so look after it, why change that just because someone else has brought it?