To be disappointed the curtains aren't included

[blackjacker]

We're buying a house and have just got the fixtures and fittings form which says that all the curtain poles and curtains are excluded from the sale, is this common? I think it's pretty bad form to take the curtains (even though they're horrible) because it's pretty unlikely they're going to be the right measurements for the vendor's new windows! We're going to have to tack blankets up over the windows when we move in because I don't want to pay for 'interim' curtains while we decorate ...

I didn't realise it was so normal

I could totally understand if (like pp have mentioned) they were custom made and lovingly chosen but the house has been tenanted for 6 years and they're pretty shabby as well as being yellow and green tartan - we just want some privacy when we first move in. We can't redecorate quickly because there's a lot of remedial work that needs doing so I was hoping we could keep the current curtains up during the work then choose new ones later on.

Ah well, good points about making sure the walls are made good, I hadn't thought of that!

Our vendor left all the curtains behind, I really wish they hadn't!

Unfortunately the fact that they are curtains, they fit the windows and they are fitted means we don't need to rush to get new ones.....I really want new ones!!!

As others have said, think it's very normal to take curtains, not so normal to take poles.

When I last moved, I did take one curtain pole with me that was a nice expensive one with finials on that were ones I really liked and no longer available. However I did tell the purchaser right from the start that this was happening - and I also put up a normal curtain rail so that there was something there for him (it was a flat he was buying to be able to reduce his commute and live near work, didn't sound like he was going to do much on the decorating/diy/improvements front so he didn't mind that I'd left a simple pole in its place).

The house we bought - they took all the curtains apart from two, both small, one that fitted over the window on the back of the door, one that was just a couple of lace panels over a small window on the upstairs landing that had been left behind for them when they moved in - it was a show house originally and they'd been left over from then, although the other curtains were long gone. Don't particularly like either of them but they're still here, several years down the line. as are the £2 ikea throws thrown over the springloaded net curtain rails that I put up as temporary curtains in our bedroom as there were no rails left in it, just as a temporary measure, and haven't found anything I particularly like. and yes, dh does think I'm too fussy for my own good!

You can try to buy theirs, or go on second hand sites to buy a temporary set, they cost next to nothing. In both cases, you end up with second hand curtains anyway.

That's why the fixtures and fittings form exist, to clarify everything. Some vendors are more generous than others, depending on their own circumstances.

charity shops have loads of curtains.

I am taking curtains and poles! Poles because they are expensive oak ones and I have got more of the same in storage from a previous house, now discontinued.

Curtains (actually one curtain and three roman blinds) because I made them to fit. The blind tracks were £80 each and I am moving into a rented house where I can re-use them even if I have to alter them.

I am not taking all the made to measure wooden shutters/blinds (which is the rest of the house).

Most charity shops have curtains. I would just buy some for the windows you need them for from a charity shop to be going on with.

I'm taking all curtains and blinds, they were made to fit the windows and can be altered to fit in my new house, in total they cost in the region of £2000 for the material and the making of them, not cheap. Am leaving the curtain poles though as that is a bit tight!

My poles were £200 each cath. I am not leaving them - well only three are employed in this house, two with a mock blind and one with a door curtain!

I have got seven of different lengths in storage in my barn.

Both houses I have bought I was left the curtains and poles.

In both cases they were hideous (think fake brass and flowery patterns) and in the first case one of the sellers had slashed the curtains to bits but left them hanging (the couple had split up - he also smashed the bathroom sink).

I just stick newspaper or cheap ikea curtains up as a stopgap but I'm not into home decoration and can't imagine spending thousands on curtains or storing multiple sets in case I have windows to fit them in the future.

They'll probably be left up if the house has been tenanted. The owners are unlikely to be arsed to make good. Make sure that your solicitor makes it clear that this is expected if the curtain poles are set into the plaster.

Black bin bags work a treat - our windows were sash so we just tucked them in on the top and closed the windows quickly

People say they are not included so they can sell them to you for an additional cost.

^This. You'll get an enquiry soon I am sure to see if you are interested in buying^ loads of old tat soon. If you want to be sure of them being there, then offer £20, £50 for the lot if they've been cleaned .

I had a previous buyer who grandstanded on the day of exchange until we would agree to sell him our 3 yr old washing machine. We were planning a full kitchen refit so were quite happy to take it with us and replace in due course if we decided on an integrated one. He had a stroke "Didn't want the hassle of finding a plumber to fit a new washing machine" apparently. That made me giggle, I'm no plumber but even I can stick the outlet pipe in the drain pipe and connect up the water. A five yr old could do it provided everything is in place and it was a new kitchen.
Eventually I had to shrug my shoulders and he paid £350 for a 3 yr old £500 machine..... just because he was ball-achingly lazy. The London types cliches are total true some times !!

I took curtain poles last time I moved. They were expensive John Lewis ones, over £500 in total with the brackets, and can be cut to fit. We re-used them in the new house.
I sometimes leave curtains though and always leave blinds.

Let them know that if they remove curtain poles you want them to make good the wall afterwards by filling the holes. They might think it easier to leave them in place.

I recommend these as a cheap stopgap solution.
Look much better than duvet sellotaped to window which is the standard soltion

www.blindsinabox.co.uk/order-online

They are pleated paper blinds , which stick to the window frame.
Cut to size with scissors or a craft knife
There are several in each box

The previous owner of our house asked if we'd like to buy the living room curtains as part of the sale. We politely declined as they were fucking horrible extremely floral, flouncy and had a pelmet.

The day after we got the keys we went to our new house to find the foul curtains had gone (hurrah) but so had the curtain pole. And the very nice kitchen light (replaced with a shitty strip light, the kind that hums and flickers all the time). Oh, and they'd un-screwed and taken the toilet roll holder and a bathroom shelf leaving us with huge nasty drill holes in tile. Some sellers are just urgh.

5k to remove curtains slicedfinger?

I lived in a period flat which had 2 matching Laura Ashley fabric blinds made to measure for the large Georgian windows. They were a fab bone coloured linen Lily design and cost a fortune with brass poles and expensive trims. (not everyone's taste I know, but they were beautiful to me). The fabric was discontinued and they would have fitted my next house. But no, I HAD to leave them or the 'sale was off'.

My H drove past 3 days after exchange and they were in a skip covered in rain, totally useless

m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/20242282/

We moved a few months ago and put these up in each room whilst we gradually buy curtains, poles etc. They just stick up and can cut to size with scissors in a couple of minutes! People keep asking where we have got them from and saying how nice they look!

I can't imagine why anyone would expect curtains to be left if you buy a house. Sure you need some, but you also need somewhere to sleep and sit, would you expect them to leave you a bed and a sofa as well?

You can buy curtains in a charity shop for less than a fiver. Hell you can buy them in Ikea for not much more.

Some friends got told they would have to pay £500 if they wanted the fitted carpets. They said they didn't want them then, but funny enough they were still there they day they moved in. Curtains (and poles if expensive) I can understand, but the fitted carpet??
Having moved into a couple of new houses in the past with no poles etc fitted I can recommend getting an adjustable spring-type net curtain rod and a cheap lightweight curtain for the first few days.

I am guessing it's quite unlikely they will actually bother to take the fucking things if they are as disgusting as you say

I wish ours had taken their crappy plastic curtain poles, that were so badly fitted it was unpredictable whether they would actually support a curtain.

I like a clean slate so it's ready to go (decorate etc) - also I have a moderate small collection of old curtains which I keep to use when we move, in case they finally fit a window. You couldn't part me from them for love or money.

I took all mine except a wooden slatted blind that had been in the bathroom for years and I couldn't be bothered to clean it and get all the dust off.

Charity shops are good places to look for 'interim' curtains - then you can give them back when you get the 'real' ones and they can make more money for the charity. Win - win...

Oh and good point. Call their bluff.

Our sellers decided they wanted to scrounge £200 for a shitty metal shed that had caved in doors and plants growing through the roof and floor.

We said no thanks.

It was still there when we moved in - they couldn't be arsed to dismantle it.

AlisonWunderland Those blinds in a box are amazing! I'd actually rather have them than the curtains!

I took our curtains and curtain rods because I needed them in the new house. But I made sure that they were out of the house before it was open to tours so people would not think they were included. I left all the lighting fixtures because those would be included with the house.

I feel the owner should make clear from the beginning exactly what is included and what is not. When we bought our new house, our contract said it included all that, window treatments etc., yet the owners came in several times even the very day we closed on the house and took stuff. The cornices were fitted to go with unusually sized windows so I don't think they could have even used them anywhere else.

After we closed on the new house I came to the (new house) back door with one of the keys and walked in and one of the brothers was actually there removing things from the kitchen. I didn't so much mind that he was taking stuff but this was after the house had changed hands! I had to tell him right then to give me all the keys to the house. He reluctantly went out to his car and came back with a bunch of keys. So yes, I agree with you op, if there is a reasonable expectation that the window treatments will be there, then yanb.

I second the post about the cut to size blinds, they are good for when you have to put something up quick, with no frustration, just stick them up there, and they are very inexpensive but look pretty great.