Garden state at the point of completion

kazzystar1973

We are selling my fathers house who sadly passed away last year. It is a “do-er” upper to say the least and we are a couple of weeks off completion now. We don’t live close to the house and took a trip up to do a couple of bits and pieces and the wrap round garden is now an utter jungle with 6 foot weeds / grass !! What is the opinion about if that is acceptable- the buyers are getting it £10,000 less than we wanted as they said they could do a quick sale but do you think we need to pay someone to strim it all down ?  

Dustyevsky

If one buys a doer-upper, a garden in that sort of state surely comes with territory.

It is up to the purchasers to inspect prior to exchange, so how long ago was that?

MultiFuelBurner

Personally we would present the house as it was viewed.

If the garden was less of a jungle then we would do something about it.

You don't have to buy law.

jonnydeppiwish!

Pay someone to strim it down - for the sake of £100 or so, it makes it easier for you if the property has to be remarketed

walwyn1978

If they’re buying a property in need of work that they know has been empty for some time they’ll be anticipating an overgrown garden. 

In the unlikely event that they’re not, there’s nothing legally they can do anyway. You don’t live near the property so it’s not like they’ll be giving you daggers in the Tesco queue, and if they choose to bad mouth you to the neighbours so what? 

Nothing to see here. Don’t worry about it. Good luck with the sale. 

mrbuster

For the sake of £100 I would do the right thing as said above

propertyrental

Have you Exchanged?

The legal position is that at Completion the property should be in the same condition as it was at Exchange.

But in practice as others have said, a buyer of a 'doer-upper' willbe expecting to have to do work, to both house and garden.

Your own sense of 'what's right' is up to you.

tealady

If I was selling for £10 grand less then I would expect the buyers to be able to afford a gardener!

Dustyevsky

tealady said:

If I was selling for £10 grand less then I would expect the buyers to be able to afford a gardener!

£10k less than what, though? The OP hasn't returned to clarify anything. They said they were due to complete soon, so the most salient point is when exchange took place. That's when the buyer should double-check the condition of the property, as it's the point of commitment.

Also, this is a probate property and we have no idea how long the buyer has been waiting for the paperwork to be in place. I know of a property where it has just taken a year. The market is in a very different place from where it was in June 2022.

lookstraightahead

I would be really disappointed if I was buying and the garden wasn't in the same state. 

A doer upper means the house needs renovating, it doesn't mean it needs to be left in a mess.

MultiFuelBurner

tealady said:

If I was selling for £10 grand less then I would expect the buyers to be able to afford a gardener!

So does that extend to affording a plumber, electrician and carpenter.

Just wondering what sort of state you believe is suitable to leave a property in because the "agreed" sale price is £10k less. 

This is quite an eye opener as to how people might react and I am really interested. 

Because someone doesn't pay asking price some people deem it ok to leave a mess/not upkeep the property until sale?

Very interesting 🤔