Angry at house seller?

Good god that’s not normal surely !? Removing radiators !!!
In the last 8 years we have sold homes and moved x 2 .
First time , I left not only light fixtures but also all ceiling light shades , all blinds and curtains ( an older property) + there was a large screen wall mounted TV plus full integrated sound system .
It would’ve caused damage to remove any of this so this was also included in sale .
The next house we sold we left all blinds and light fittings but did take some of the pendant light shades because they are easy to remove .
And I took one set of curtains but left all the curtain rail and the fixtures of course ( the new owners didn’t want the curtains )

It very much relies on the type and size of radiator

eg if it was a 45cm wide x 2metres high column radiator, these give out more heat than a small 45cm wide x 1 metres high radiator that is narrow enough to fit in the space

Either these sellers don’t understand the selling process and costs involved in selling their home including having another EPC certificate done (which they will have to pay for before it actually can go ahead with the sale and if it slips down a band or 2 then there is the resulting purchase price down grade to reflect the poorer energy certification or

they think themselves so clever that they can get one over the buyer.

I really wouldn’t want to be reliant on these people if they are further down the chain you are in

What a stupid and waste of money thing to do

If they were shown in the brochure and it didn’t say they were taking them, then I don’t think they can

I did repost saying I took back the "asking price" comment, just massively below would cause the situation in the Ops post. Don't go bringing God in to it!!

@perfectpotato Have you chased this up with the estate agents or solicitors? What’s the outcome?

The valuation is just a guideline though. It has no legal status. Even if the roof came off the seller wouldn't be "bound" to lower the price if they happen to have a buyer daft enough not to walk away.

Many fixtures that are considered part of the building are technically removable - boiler, loft insulation, doors, built in furniture like a kitchen etc. Doesn’t mean they’re not fixtures.

They’re assumed to be part of the sale by default unless excluded on the form.

Whereas fittings are assumed not to be part of the sale unless included on the form. Eg curtains, freestanding furniture, garden furniture etc.

I personally think this is where the EA should have to take more responsibility for the details in their brochures. We’ve bought homes where various features have been used in the EA brochures as selling points, only to find that as the sale progresses to the TA10 form, the seller is taking them, and backing out of the sale at that point just adds to the overall fees. We’ve never really had a satisfactory response to this as the EAs have always used caveat emptor as the get out.

Apparently not. They are removable so dont form part of the permanent structure of the building and have no effect on the value of it. There’s are thr only proviso is that they have to be replaced with standard ones with controls to achieve the same EPC rating,

They’re part of the structure of the central heating system though.

The point that I was making is that you can negotiate to remove a fixture if you like there’s no rule that says you can’t if your buyer agrees, which you did. It must be clearly stated on the TA10 form though. Ideally the agent should tell you too.

We renegotiated, but the solicitor advised that the seller wasn't bound to lower the price as he was replacing them. He advised that fixtures are part of the structure of the building and are relevant to the price of the house. These are the things which surveyors consider when valuing. Fittings, which is what radiators are, don’t impact the intrinsic value of the house and although surveyors will report on their condition and age, they dont form part of the valuation.

They are not fixtures as they're not part of the structure of the building as a conservatory is. They’re fittings. From personal experience our solicitor advised that when our seller removed the radiators, he had indicated he would, as long as he replaced them with standard ones comprising similar controls, made good any damage and provided the appropriate paperwork he was within his rights to do so. It was up to us to renegotiate if we weren’t happy.

They are fixtures as in fixed to the building and part of the central heating system.

You could negotiate to take a conservatory with you if you wanted, that doesn’t mean it’s not a fixture.

So the seller accepted an offer without saying upfront the rads weren't included and removed £000s of rads and you still paid the original price?

Radiators aren’t considered fixtures. They’re removable fittings and some models can cost thousands. I’ve had purchases where the seller has removed them and replaced with standard models.

It’s the boiler that’s significant in the EPC rating for the heating element of the rating. As long as the radiator controls are similar to the ones removed it’s not going to make a significant difference as long as theyre properly installed and tested.

You wouldn’t have to because the EPC is no longer valid it would have to be done again with the radiators they are selling with the house and the rating could well change .

Exactly, it’s fucking weird! Who takes radiators?!!

Haha no I didn't, I probably should of said that 15k was knocked off half way through the sale not in the initial offer process which is why it left such a bad taste as everything was already underway. I'm a believer that in selling you need to find the seller for the house and that doesn't always happen straight away. All I'm saying it that this Op stinks of retaliation as yes taking radiators is madness but as I said I could be wrong only Potato can say.

Nobody ever gets ripped off at the offer stage. Buyer offers what they consider property is worth based on location, market, and state of property as listed/ photographed/ viewed, and seller decides to accept it or not.

The only ripping off comes later if vendors start removing fixtures and fittings not stated as for removal on the listing, or buyers unreasonably (out of line with any survey results) start reducing their offer at a later stage threatening a chain.

If you want to take your precious radiators remove them and store them before marketing the property.

Your mother was clearly asking an unrealistic price. Did you value it for her as you don't seem to know how house valuations work. A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

A house is only worth what someone will pay for it. An offer below asking isn’t taking advantage or ripping the vendor off. You have no God given right to whatever asking price you decide to put on your house. I feel extremely sorry for whoever buys your gaff.

It's such a situation dependant question, I'm saying this after seeing what my mum has gone through after trying to sell hers for a year, finally someone has made an offer 15k lower than asking and it's just left a bad taste as she has no option but to accept realistically. Her home has nothing of real value to remove but I said to my partner we are fortunate to not be in that situation and if that ever happens to us, I'd bloody well rip out our cast-iron radiators and expensive lights etc. The house in this Op sounds like a house that's had more than the average spent on it so that seller may be thinking the same. On the other hand I may be wrong but we don't know the full story and it doesn't t look like the OP is coming back to tell us. In a perfect world this conversation would never be had, the Scottish system is so much better as everyone always says.

If I needed to sell a house I'd put blood, sweat and tears in to (which I'd say was a given by the fixtures and fittings listed) and then a buyer came along and took advantage and ripped me off I'd want remove to the value they remove so 10% could be everything I could and the light bulbs! Haha. When we first bought we offered the asking price first offer and we were treated kindly for doing so, it made all the difference and made for a friendly transaction but you hear far more horror stories these days then good experiences sadly.

Ok, I got what you meant.
Again I would walk away though because it gives difficult seller vibes.
And I am not even talking about light fittings and such. Out of curiosity if I offered you 10% under what would you then exclude?

You know the more I think about it, forget the asking price, I know that's rarely given but I'd still say in this case the seller is pissed about having been knocked down far more than they would like but also their hand is being forced for whatever reason to sell, so this is the retaliation. Much like the taking of light bulbs and the like others have posted about. Not all sales end up in a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine sadly.