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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to ask you to tell you're nightmare moving in stories

84 replies

twilightstruggle · 26/07/2014 16:28

We're just in the process of moving out of our first home. Lovely new couple and their little baby moving in.

Basically, when we leave the house, what do we have to do by law, what's good etiquette and what's a nice considerate surprise (we're thinking of leaving them a bottle of champers to celebrate). They seemed really nice and we don't want to annoy them, but we're a bit ditzy and inadvertently inconsiderate sometimes and don't want to read about ourselves on aibu next week!

To make it less dull I thought I'd ask for nightmare moving in stories to help us know what not to do! I appreciate its still kinda dull

OP posts:

LaQueenLovesSummer · 26/07/2014 19:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HandMini · 26/07/2014 19:32

Leaving a house clean is nice, but I have to say in the several moves I have done, I have NEVER expected it to be sufficiently clean and always turn up either with own cleaning kit, knowing we'll need 24 hours before moving in or get an agency to come and do a blitz. I thought that was normal....

Preciousbane · 26/07/2014 19:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Spottybra · 26/07/2014 19:37

Make sure the house is clean.
Double ring your utilities and give them Meter readings. We had to pay 2 companies for electricity the first month.

sarahandFuck · 26/07/2014 19:37

Don't un-plumb your washing machine without capping off the pipes.

Or leave it until the day you actually move to start to pack.

We moved into a dark, freezing cold house at 5pm in a snow to find water all over the kitchen. We had to turn the water off until the following day.

We also discovered that they had kindly left us two rugs, which turned out to be infested with cat fleas and hiding big yellow cat piss stains on the carpet.

Don't do that.

WitchWay · 26/07/2014 19:45

When I bought a place years ago, ,there was no loo-paper at all & all the light-bulbs had been removed

When DH & I bought somewhere together we were left a nice card, a bottle of champagne & some credit for the electricity & gas meters

dannydyerismydad · 26/07/2014 19:56

Brecon, I fear your family member and I may have both bought from the same numpty.

I barely have any family

You can adopt me though. I think we'd have plenty in common!

cookiemonster100 · 26/07/2014 20:19

When we moved to our current place we had to remove all the carpets as they were thick with dog hair & wee. We had to scrub the place clean & remove the dog poo from the garden. All before the removal people arrived.
Then we spent the next 2 months proving to bailiffs that the old owners had moved on & no they can't come in & reposes any of our items. That's not how to do it.

ClaimedByMe · 26/07/2014 20:21

Please leave it clean, the ex owners of this house were so dirty we all got ill a few days after moving in :(

We were left a card and flowers in a vase :)

The horror part of the move not including the filth was my mum looking after the dc dd3 & ds18 months, we were half way through the move when she phoned me in hysterics as ds had fell and needed to go to a&e, we had to spend hours there while he got observed for a head injury, he was fine but it was the last thing we needed!

YBR · 26/07/2014 20:25

Leave the place clean and empty is essential.
leave light bulbs, loo paper, maybe some soap - that's good behaviour.
Leave all the manuals for work you've had done and stuff staying - you don't want them any more
some local information such as when bin day is, nearest shops etc is helpful
Leave a contact number and forwarding address (partly for your convenience);

You might also
Take your meter readings before you go leaving a copy for the new occupants;
When we moved out of an area with resident parking we left the spare visitor permits;
Recommendations for local tradesmen and doctor, dentist.

Perhaps check if they want water, power, gas, heating left on - probably do if you're all moving the same day but if the house is to be empty, perhaps not.

Wine: we've been much embarrassed by this kind of lovely thoughtful gesture. DH doesn't drink and I was pregnant and not drinking at the time . . . Never assume!

TheBogQueen · 26/07/2014 20:31

Don't rent a van fur 2 hours pack up your flat and then sit outside your new abode in the rain glaring at your vendors who have booked a removal company fir an entire day, have just worked a nightshift, have three small children and who are unlikely to be sympathetic to your demands to be allowed into what is still their property do that you don't have to pay your movers any more cash.

Then I'd advise you to not send a letter via your solicitor demanding an extra £70 fur 'delays' to your move and for items left in the flat...like spare floor tiles should one crack, paint pots should you need to touch up paintwork etc etc

You will be ignored.
(Yes I'm looking at you vile purchaser... )

hollycomputer · 26/07/2014 20:35

Our vendors were utter shits. They harassed us relentlessly during the buying process. I lost my temper with the EA (who was also a bitch) when she phoned for the nth time to say that 'client is a little worried you won't be ready to move' and told her to stop calling me and that HER clients were causing the delay. We were fucking ready to move, THEY had delayed everything because they were emigrating so didn't want to complete for four months which wasn't disclosed to us until after they'd accepted our offer and forced us to state in writing we were ready to move.

They tried to charge us for every single fixture and fitting which we refused apart from blinds and light fittings. They gave everything else away rather than leave it for us. They also left a huge number of DIY disasters.

They were four hours late with the keys because apparently they were cleaning but when we moved in there was no evidence they'd cleaned. The EA called me to say they'd left a 'welcome present' which when we got there appeared to be the stuff they couldn't be arsed to take to the tip and some left over food and alcohol.

Utter cunts. I've seen her on Twitter commenting that she'd like to pop round and visit when she's back in the country. If she does, she will be told to fuck off and the new door which actually fits will be slammed in her face. It was six years ago and it still makes me angry.

ShotgunNotDoingThePans · 26/07/2014 20:39

Don't leave the loft full to groaning of the junk you've colkected over the years 'for car booting.'
Likewise the shed.
Please clean up the mess from the food for your parrot/dogs/cats/kittens. I know it feeds the rats as well but we'll be getting rid of those so . . .

This thread is actually making me nervous as we're hopefully moving in a few weeks - and I just know we'll have a lot to contend with as the place is ancient and stinks of dog.

ItWasMyOwnSilence · 26/07/2014 20:44

The lady we brought our house off last year did not clean. At all. The whole house stank of dog. The cupboard under the stairs still smells of dog a year later. The day after moving in we were in Carpet Right replacing every carpet in the house.

She also did not move everything out until 8pm. We got the keys at 10am and we could not start moving in as she had stuff in every room.

There was dried food left in the cupboards, spaghetti etc and toiletries left in the bathroom. I got them and dumped them in one of her boxes.

ItWasMyOwnSilence · 26/07/2014 20:46

Oh and she took all the lightbulbs and the door number

unlucky83 · 26/07/2014 21:52

Do make sure the money can be moved in time!!! Double and Triple check!!! I can't remember the exact times -just the panic...
Last house we bought I phoned Nationwide twice to find out the best way of moving the money ... was warned there was an internet transfer limit but if we went into the branch they could transfer it to the solicitor's account immediately. Great.
Transfer was due Tuesday 9am, but branch opened at 9.30am. Solicitor said move the money to their account on the Monday afternoon - not on Friday otherwise they should pay interest etc and it was a faff etc.

So on the Monday at 1.25 pm DP and I went into the branch - huge queue. Got to the front at 1.50 to be told that the cut off for a same day transfer was 2pm! . There was a mountain of forms etc to fill in, information to send to a main office or something ...ID to check etc etc ...remember standing there looking at the clock and it ticking by... and the guy on the desk and the manager running around - it went through at 2.02 pm - the manager (vaguely knew us) had phoned to tell them it was coming and get them to let it go through etc...
I think I aged 10yrs in those 10 mins...

Buttercup27 · 26/07/2014 21:56

Turn the heating off ! When we moved into our house (it was brand new) it was the hottest day of the year. But the house company thought it was a good idea to turn the heating on full blast with all of the windows shut to show us how the radiators worked!!! The heating was on for over an hour before we got the keys. We sweated buckets trying to move in even when we were eventually allowed to turn off the heating and open the windows !

They did give us a gorgeous massive box of hotel chocolat as a house warming though !

Vicky5910 · 26/07/2014 22:27

Following as I'm moving in a few weeks too!
We moved into a new build 5 years ago, we had missed matched doors and bad paint and a broken fridge door.
They then took a year to put it right, and the men they sent were old, slow, dirty, smoking idiots. One made me, at 7 months pregnant, crawl on the floor to look under the fridge to read a serial number as he 'can't see properly and won't replace it without the serial number' !!!!

mindthegap79 · 26/07/2014 22:50

Don't take the batteries out of the smoke alarms, for the love of God.

whois · 26/07/2014 22:58

Leave it clean.
Leave all the keys.
Leave all the built in white goods instructions.
Leave all guarantees eg for windows or roof work if you have any.
Say where the stopcock is.
If you know a decent local builder, plummer, electrician etc it would be good to leave their numbers.

Teddybeau1988 · 26/07/2014 23:08

My friend once found a rental flat she loved and snapped it up. On move in day she arrived to find another person plus their belongings in the door step, no sign of the landlord who was due there to meet her. Several others also showed up to move into their new home. All had been conned out of their deposits:-(

When we moved the landlord left really basic instructions of how to make the hot water hot and turn the hearing on and off(he must have thought I'm abit of a simpleton)

Squigglypig · 26/07/2014 23:18

Clean it or at least don't tip an ashtray all over the floor in the living room. Don't take curtains from all windows when you've said you'll leave them.

if you have a burglar alarm, leave the code - not a great way to meet the neighbours!

To be fair we knew we were buying a shitpit but we didn't realise just how filthy it was.

itsmeitscathy · 26/07/2014 23:29

Please please redirect your mail, tell the power company if the metre doesn't work and let the buyers know in advance if there is a massive (3ft x 3ft) hole in the carpet under the bed so they can budget for new flooring...

Teddybeau1988 · 26/07/2014 23:34

Top tip - use the loos before you buy!

My dad bought a house, moved in and that nights had to shell out ££ on a plumber to unblock a blockage. Several hand towels had been flushed causing a blockage.

itsmeitscathy · 26/07/2014 23:35

Also, if there are blinds - don't take the actual blinds and leave the railings, it's just not cool.

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