AIBU to leave small decorating and repair issues when moving?

I don’t know about the legal side, but I definitely would not have let this go. The buyers were obligated to report such a major issue.

Did you not discuss this with your solicitor, @BiteSizedLife ?

Legally you have at least a week to report things like this once you buy a house and the seller has to pay to repair or replace it!

I moved in with a snow storm on the way to find the boiler didnt work! (And needed replacing entirely)

It's just how it goes.

Don't sweat it.

Honestly, I think if you're not prepared for a surprise as small and fixable as walls that need painting then you are going to struggle to buy a house. I've never seen a house without issues, and I've certainly never lived in one. Generally I think the only time where you could really feel betrayed is if they turn out to be structural.

I would expect there to be some decorating to be done when I moved. I am bit surprised about waiting around a bed though, that seems a bit much and would look pretty awful from day one.

Well sold as seen I guess.

Painting round a bed is pretty lazy.

Although I think I would have preferred that to the shit DIY paint job I had in my house, where the previous occupier left thick caked swirls of paint that had to be removed all over in order for me to get a decent finish.

Next time I buy a place I will be a lot more careful to inspect the state of the walls and the decor.

Ask yourself how you would feel inheriting someone else’s maintenance issues after spending a lot of money to buy a house where these issues are not obvious. Imagine them moving in and seeing the half painted wall. I couldn’t do it to someone.

It wouldn't be funny at all.

We are moving in two weeks and are moving everything into storage between now and then. We will have time to touch things up before we go, so will be doing that when we’ve emptied it out a bit. Our buyers have told us they are not planning on decorating, though, and asked us to leave a list of the paint we’ve used so they could do repairs themselves as needed. They’ve been really good buyers, though, so we will do what we can. If we weren’t moving everything into storage first, we probably would’ve just left them the spare tins of paint and told them where they were for.

I would be interested to know whether the people who think this is all absolutely outrageous and that it should all have been declared before sale have ever bought a house. Maybe I've been unlucky, but in my experience this is all totally par for the course.

Cosmetic things aren’t a big deal. Just leave the house super clean. I’d change the door and window locks. You can get a tin of colour matched paint if you wanted to fix the wall. There’s nothing you can do about the carpet unless you get new carpet laid.

We had the paint thing when we moved in. The house had been on the market for a while and they’d obviously decided to go with more neutral colours to try and sell but couldn’t be bothered to move furniture. It was mildly irritating.
The leaky shower and dodgy back door were more annoying. The window lock would be similarly annoying, I’d prefer to know about it before hand.

I cannot wait to see a thread by your buyer @Newhouse20938 😂

It'd be a big deal if there was a fire and you're trapped in that room by it.

You should've listed it. If you're not going to fix it, you at least need to tell them about it.

The lock thing, do you have a hardware shop you can access? We had two window keys for a 3 bed house when we moved in. Took photos and the guy saw what we needed and we bought the 10 or so we actually needed. Window locks are not unique. (Ours needed to be ordered as they weren't one he was used to selling.)

So we’ve gone from a few decorating bits to broken window locks not declared and cables sticking out of walls that need the plaster removing to fix?! Wow.
surely when you had the cables but into the wall to mount the tv you had a channel built so you can pull wires through so things can be changed? I’m starting to think this thread isn’t true and you’re just trying to get reactions by drip feeding stupid things.

Did the buyers not raise the issue of the window lock when you listed it in the questionnaire?

If you listed it, you’re good.

If you forgot to list it, you really need to get it fixed.

When I sold the family home, some rooms were faded and dated, and tiles were working loose in the bathroom I told the prospective buyers that I saw no point in doing things up to my taste when I was leaving, and the asking price reflected the fact that work was needed. The husband was a DIY enthusiast and was intending to do just that, and appreciated the small price cut.
The house I bought also needed plastering work; the vendor contacted me, offering to get the work done before I moved in if I was prepared to stick to my offer price. I agreed, even though in the short term the rooms looked less attractive. Much easier to do between occupants!
In both cases, it worked because we were all upfront with one another, and knew what we were getting.
Better that than a quick fix before sales to hide a multitude of sins.

She doesn't need to sort it herself, she should tell the buyer though.
No need to sort the front door lock either, don't most people change locks when they buy anyway? You never know who previous owners have given a key to.

I can't believe people expect to buy a house and not expect any issues like this. Every house I've bought has had walls full of holes where screws and nails have been, some have had walls where people have painted round furniture, always something broken or not working properly. Usually they're rather dirty too.

But it's to be expected. Who moves in and expects walls to be decorated just as you want and things to be perfect?

I'd just leave everything, don't bother doing any repainting. I would tell the buyer about the lock though.