quince
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Post by quince on Mar 27, 2014 11:13:38 GMT -5
So we need to vacate. How vacated is vacated? I get having everything out of the house except for appliances- I'm trying to reach the buyer and see if he wants anything (TV, book cases, etc.)
What about the storage shed? Bare to the walls, or leave mower, grass seed, etc?
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tloonya
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What status?
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Post by tloonya on Mar 27, 2014 11:15:33 GMT -5
Congrats!
...boy, I am so bored I am talking to strangers
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2014 11:19:16 GMT -5
So we need to vacate. How vacated is vacated? I get having everything out of the house except for appliances- I'm trying to reach the buyer and see if he wants anything (TV, book cases, etc.) What about the storage shed? Bare to the walls, or leave mower, grass seed, etc? vacated is everything except what you agreed to leave per the contract. If there are other things you want to leave, check with the buyer. I got stuck cleaning out a garage and backyard shed of my current house because the sellers left a bunch of crap (that I had no use for).
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 27, 2014 11:30:54 GMT -5
You can leave that stuff if you really want to, but otherwise, if it wasn't in the offer (or attached to the house, I.e. fixtures), then you can take them--even appliances.
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Bob Ross
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Post by Bob Ross on Mar 27, 2014 12:04:11 GMT -5
Just leave whatever. It'll cost them more to sue you then to clean it out themselves (see: singlemominmd).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2014 12:20:25 GMT -5
I always wondered about my barn cats if I moved.
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greeniis10
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Post by greeniis10 on Mar 27, 2014 12:38:42 GMT -5
Did you say you're considering leaving your lawn mower? Not going to need it in the future? Sorry if you've already talked about this and I missed it, but I would just talk to the buyer and see what they'd be interested in if you don't want to take everything with you.
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quince
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Post by quince on Mar 27, 2014 12:49:26 GMT -5
Leaving or donating/trashing the mower and all the outdoor supplies-apartment living predicted for the next few years. I have a note in to our Realtor to help us get in touch with the buyer, but as the house is sold, I don't expect quite as much responsiveness.
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mollyanna58
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Post by mollyanna58 on Mar 27, 2014 12:49:41 GMT -5
I think generally the phrase is "broom clean". Figure out what you don't want, ask the buyer if they do want it. You don't want to be stuck at the last minute if the buyer objects to your stuff at the final walk through.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Mar 27, 2014 14:52:57 GMT -5
House before this one: Previous owners left a few misc. things and some crap in the garage. I had to throw it away. Was slightly annoying but not the end of the world.
Current house they cleaned it to pristine condition and only left behind extra paint (that matched the current colors) and a big dehumidifier that was agreed on in advance.
personally I would only leave behind that which they have specifically requested or will likely use. Grass seed- sure, lawn mower not so much.
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mollyanna58
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Post by mollyanna58 on Mar 27, 2014 14:56:44 GMT -5
I always wondered about my barn cats if I moved. When my sister bought her last house, the prior owner said the outdoor cat was part of the deal.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Mar 27, 2014 16:06:34 GMT -5
I think generally the phrase is "broom clean". Figure out what you don't want, ask the buyer if they do want it. You don't want to be stuck at the last minute if the buyer objects to your stuff at the final walk through. Generally this. But re-read your sales contract. Some specify "professionally cleaned". Garage is generally just "broom clean".
From your description I'd probably leave the items.
Your story does make me laugh though as it reminds me of the seller when we bought this house. She was tighter than a tick. Sold us her 20+ year old ugly refrigerator and tried to sell us some of her other crap. I reached the breaking point when she tried to sell us her woodpile for $25. I told the real estate agent that I wouldn't charge the seller for clean up if she left it!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2014 16:08:46 GMT -5
Don't leave stuff they didn't ask for. The seller of this house left me an old upright piano in the basement. All of the keys didn't even play. My guess is that her movers informed her that it would be extra to move it, and she decided it wasn't worth it.
I'll be honest: I was very angry. I thought I was going to have to pay to have it hauled away. I was willing to sue her in small claims court to cover the costs. I was that mad. I contacted the realtor to explain the problem and see if she could tell me how to get in touch with her. The realtor found someone who "wanted" it and came and got it.
Don't do that to your buyer. Also, don't do something stupid like start removing stuff. My seller had a chandelier in the dining room. It had these little shades on the bulbs. These were gone when I moved in. LOL. She also switched the light fixture over the kitchen island (I have the listing picture of the original fixture). Fortunately, I hated both light fixtures so I let that go.
Leave what they bought . . . but nothing more.
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kcladyjane
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Post by kcladyjane on Mar 27, 2014 16:16:28 GMT -5
I would take the extras with you and sell them on craigslist. We bought a foreclosure a few years back and the previous owners left 2 kids beds in the garage and a swingset in the yard. We gave the swingset away to a neighbor and sold both of the kids beds on Craigslist. Made us a few extra bucks. All I had to do was hose them down. It was a dirty house.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Mar 27, 2014 16:36:23 GMT -5
Smart buyers do an inspection before closing. I wish I had because I got stuck removing her old crap.
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beenherebefore
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Post by beenherebefore on Mar 27, 2014 17:19:41 GMT -5
When we bought our house, the old owner had cleaned it out and left us a set of 8 crystal wineglasses in the kitchen cabinet! So very nice of them.....
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Mar 27, 2014 18:48:51 GMT -5
I always wondered about my barn cats if I moved. My grandparents bought a farm that came with cats, barn and house. The house cat was a big yellow old cat the sellers said was too old to move, used to that house. They kept the farm about 7 years then moved into town, moved the house cat to the town, not too old to move. Barns should come with cats, and some mice to entertain the cats, tell the buyers they are a bonus. Make sure they agree to give them water and don't hate them.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Mar 27, 2014 18:56:12 GMT -5
When we bought our house, the old owner had cleaned it out and left us a set of 8 crystal wineglasses in the kitchen cabinet! So very nice of them..... Nice, my last house I sold I went in after closing and left a tin of cookies, extra garage door opener and the combination to the lock on the front door as well as a clean house because it was empty before I put it up for sale. A token gift leaves the buyer in a better mood so might decide not to sue when they find something wrong. ISO got a lucky bamboo plant left on his island in the kitchen. The seller of this house had my carpets shampooed on the day they finished moving out. They also allowed me to have my new dining room furniture delivered before I got the keys after closing.
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beenherebefore
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Post by beenherebefore on Mar 27, 2014 19:08:40 GMT -5
Lovely! So civilized and nice! If I ever move out of here, I will do the same. :-)
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quince
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Post by quince on Mar 27, 2014 21:14:56 GMT -5
When we bought the house we got a snow shovel, yard tools, and thankfully some tile that matched what was in the house, which made repairs easier. And 3 stools that match a counter that is a fixture in the house. Wasn't sure if that was typical or not.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Mar 27, 2014 21:27:44 GMT -5
Leaving items that are "attached" to the property (like a swingset) is pretty typical. I'd definitely ask if they wanted the lawn mower, or any other items. I used to live next door to a dog owner that kept his dog year-round in a kennel outside, that was attached to the garage. When the house was sold, & the new owner came to take possession, the garage was literally full of "crap". There was a LOT of dog poop left in the garage that had to be cleaned out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2014 5:23:21 GMT -5
You remove everything except fixtures or appliances that are in the contract.
Start listing things you don't want on craigslist.
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JustLurkin
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Post by JustLurkin on Mar 28, 2014 5:32:06 GMT -5
You can leave that stuff if you really want to, but otherwise, if it wasn't in the offer (or attached to the house, I.e. fixtures), then you can take them--even appliances. I think taking appliances is west coast, east coast you generally leave them.
Your realtor should have explained this during the listing--things like changing out light fixtures you wanted to keep.
On one of the house hunting shows I remember someone ohhhing and ahhhhing over floating shelves in the home...now I know to take mine down if I ever list my home.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 28, 2014 7:56:27 GMT -5
You can leave that stuff if you really want to, but otherwise, if it wasn't in the offer (or attached to the house, I.e. fixtures), then you can take them--even appliances. I think taking appliances is west coast, east coast you generally leave them.
Your realtor should have explained this during the listing--things like changing out light fixtures you wanted to keep.
On one of the house hunting shows I remember someone ohhhing and ahhhhing over floating shelves in the home...now I know to take mine down if I ever list my home.
I have no idea if it's an East/West thing. I'm in the middle, and it seemed to be somewhere in the middle on the appliances when I was house shopping. I was looking at a lot of distressed properties, though. Unless the appliances were newer, I didn't want them anyway.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Mar 28, 2014 12:39:29 GMT -5
Sold five houses after a childhood of moving every 3 - 5 years. My standard of vacant is to leave what a person would be buying if they bought a new house. Basically the light bulbs and some touch up paint. And tile and flooring material remnants, if they are available. But, nothing else, unless you specifically agree to leave it for the buyer. No lawn mower, no waste motor oil, no fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, no 20 year old personal computers or TV sets. No pile of garbage in the middle of the garage floor. And, certainly, no dirty diapers in the trash compactor (they get a bit ripe after a couple of mmonths in a closed up house) or left over prescriptions in the kitchen cabinets.
The house should be as close to move in ready for the buyer as reasonably possible. The buyer doesn't want to clean up after you before they can move in. If you leave a mess for them to clean up, you're much more likely to have them giving you a hard time about little things you didn't know about, like the $6 quarterly trash pickup charge that was billed 60 days after your moved out. Do for your buyer what you'd like your seller to do for you.
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