House sale - do you leave your curtain poles?

[hopeidontforgetthisusername]

We have sold our house and I am going through the paperwork this evening regarding the inventory. Do people usually leave the curtain poles or do they take them? I want to be reasonable to our buyer and whatever is 'the norm' if there is such a thing?

For context we are going to a new build so will have to either buy new curtain poles or take ours but taking them seems a bit mean?

[reallyreallyreallytired]

Depends on your window length. I think it’s a bit mean to take them tbh.

[GrockleBocs]

Will yours even fit the new house?

[Gizlotsmum]

We left ours, the people we purchased from took theirs

[MirandaWest]

If you’re the seller of the house we’ve just bought then you remove them from the upstairs bedrooms, leave them and curtains downstairs and throw in a couple of mouldy blinds in the bathrooms.

We’re havjng most of rhe rooms painted and are getting new curtain poles but does seem a bit petty.

[MirandaWest]

He did leave us light bulbs though

[ScreamingValenta]

I left mine.

[whiskyowl]

I think if you do have massively expensive poles and you take them, you should probably replace them with something cheaper but still decent that lets people get curtains up during their first few days in.

[Equimum]

We did, but we left the curtains, so it seemed obvious.

[nobutreally]

I think the norm is to leave them unless you've stipulated, but like others, I've had all sorts of weirdness as a buyer no nothing would surprise me.

[Buglife]

When we moved in to this house the curtain poles were here, so I’ll leave them when I go. Most windows would be different sizes anyway. If you bought and installed all of ties then I suppose you could take them.

[retirednow]

We left them, the blinds, the curtains were cheap ones anyway so we left them, lightbulbs and a welcome bottle of wine, they were newlyweds and this was their first home, the people we bought off had done that for us too which i will always remember .

[MacaroniPenguin]

One of our sellers wanted cash to leave them. We thought this was very mean so we said no thanks and it was a PITA having to put up new ones before we could get any privacy. We've always left them and so have all the others we've bought from.

[Lovely456]

We left all our blinds there as purchasers wanted them. We didnt have any curtain poles.

[alotalotalot]

I think we've been paid a token sum for fixtures and fittings including some other bits the buyers wanted.

[ny20005]

I would leave them as to me they are fixtures & fittings

When we bought our first house, they took the light bulbs from every room & house was so dirty, we had to spend a couple of hours cleaning & throwing out their junk


In our forever home, they left us a card, flowers & a bottle of wine, along with all the local takeaway menus. Never forgotten & I'd do the same if we were ever moving

[LIZS]

I would leave and start again. Realistically they may not fit and you could damage the wall removing.

[hopeidontforgetthisusername]

Thank you everyone for your very swift responses. So that answers that and the poles will be staying. But do you take the curtains or leave them?
In all of the front of the house we have wooden blinds as well as curtains so what about those?

[LIZS]

Unless you plan to reuse , leave. You could ask for a payment.

[HotelEuphoria]

I would only take what you were very attached to or could be reused easily in your new home. So my favourite full length curtains would come with me as they are big enough to adjust but I would leave the pole and all my blinds which are made to measure neutral roman blinds.

[ScreamingValenta]

I left the curtains that were custom-made for the unusual bay windows, but took the generic ones to re-use.

[sdaisy26]

It's up to you.

We took the stuff we would reuse (& this did include curtains, they're expensive). Left the things that were custom fitted to the windows or we knew we didn't need (voiles in living room - which I was sure they'd take straight down but are still up!), curtain poles which were only cheap ones, roller blinds etc that were fitted in to the space.

As long as you are clear on the form about what you are leaving & what you're taking it really doesn't matter.

[sirlee66]

I'd take them. I bought them, I put them up and they're lovely and would work with any normal window so I would definitely reuse them in my new house.

[Bluntness100]

What's a normal window

We leave them, I have never bought a house where they have not been left.

I saw someone describe it on another thread as if you turn your house upside down and shake it, what lands is yours to take.

[CointreauVersial]

It's totally up to you, and depends largely what you are moving to, and how attached you are to your curtains and poles. There isn't really a "norm", although on balance I'd say most people leave them.

We left all of our poles because they weren't that special, and probably wouldn't have fitted the new house.

We took all of our curtains bar one pair, because our buyer said they weren't really interested in them, but to be honest, most pairs were too small for the larger windows in the new house, and ended up on eBay (where you get PEANUTS for second-hand curtains).

As long as everything is carefully specified, you will be OK.

[BusyCrisps]

It would never occur to me to take curtain poles (or indeed curtains) unless for a very specific window with the same in new house. Feel lucky, however, that we've bought two houses both with them left!