Buyer keeps asking us to go back and collect items

[Saccol]

We completed in my late father in laws bungalow 2 weeks ago. We were contacted as the buyer did not want items we had left ( believing them to be useful ). We duly collected these items as they were not fixed. They then contacted us again 3-4 days later asking us to get rid of more things again spare tiles etc which we again collected and disposed of. They have now asked us to go back again to remove a fixed coal bunker, the fixed shelves and workbench in the garage and a tool storage in the shed. The property is 100 mile round trip for us and whilst we have agreed the other items were not fixtures and fittings we are now becoming exasperated by them wanting us to go yet again and collect. The estate agent agreed they were now taking things too far and that we should block their number and that their solicitor would advise them that this was not something that we should have to do. It’s now two weeks after the sale and by no means is the property vast so they should really have listed all the items when they moved in. Do we have to remove these items as this is becoming very stressful

I fully understand your frustrations and once we realised we collected the unwanted items and apologised. We did this twice even though all the items collected were obvious and were in fact in the same place. The items they are now asking to be collected are fixed items and this is where we have a problem. They are expecting us to return again and remove a concrete coal bunker fixed shelves and fixed workbench which are in the same garage that the other items came from. If we remove these items what next. As I said your situation was difficult and inconvenient however these small items took up no room, did not affect the ability to move in and were quickly resolved without solicitors and with an apology.

Those buyers are really being very cheeky.

That is a lovely garage work bench and absolutely for them to deal with.

Block them. They should be clearing it out themselves or paying someone to do so - it absolutely should not your problem or responsibility

They will probably regret not keeping the spare tiles - especially roof tiles - one day ...

Last time I sold a house I left spare kitchen and bathroom tiles in the garage as well as tins of paint as I'd redecorated and thought it would be useful if they needed to touch up anything as things can get dinged when moving furniture in. I left them a letter detailing what I'd left and saying I hoped it would be useful as well as explaining the recycling and collection days, where they could top up the electric card and the number to ring if they needed the meter changed with the estimated time it would take as I'd checked before we moved out. I left them a £5 credit for the electric so they had power moving in. I got a thank you card via the estate agent saying they appreciated how thoughtful I'd been. I'd also left them an unopened carton of milk in the fridge as well as tea bags, coffee and sugar with a packet of biscuits as I thought they might be useful.

I'm so glad they didn't phone and ask me to collect things left with good intentions.

True it does appear a bit like madness however it was our estate agent not solicitor had that been the case then I would not have posted. Just wanted to see if this had happened to someone else

Shame the shed is brick and not wooden or you could have taken that as the shelves & bench are fixed to it!

Our last sellers left all the cupboards in the garage (useful garden storage), some rolls of wallpaper (they came in very useful when the cat scratched part of the hung wallpaper!) and some laminate flooring, which again I used to floor under the stairs.

Me too, I would love a handy storage/ work space like that!

I bought a house and the seller left.. well, almost everything! We arrived with our van at 2pm to find them beginning to pack, divorcing parents screaming at each other and kids crying. At 7pm they finally left with their clothes etc, but leaving at least half of their furniture left. I nagged and cajoled over the next 48 hours to get the stuff gone, was too exhausted to even argue by the time I realised that the oven and dishwasher (which we had bought off them) were totally broken.

Next place I bought was a probate sale and the guy had died there, pulling a load of fittings off the wall and leaving a load of medical equipment including oxygen tubes plugged into the wall. We were assured the place would be cleaned before moving day. It wasn't!

Yep. Especially roof tiles.
Our seller left some for us and 15 years later when we needed them I could have kissed her.

I'm a solicitor and whilst "fixtures and fittings" can sometimes be a grey area, the usual rule we use is if it requires tools to remove it, it should stay unless stated otherwise i.e. fixed shelving, kitchen units. If it doesn't then it should be removed unless stated otherwise (curtains, pictures/mirrors placed on hooks freestanding white goods, other contents). THAT is the purpose of the form. You absolutely do not have to list every single fixture or it would include "roof, walls, doors, windows, bathtub, toilet" - ridiculous!)

So the fixed bench and shelving in garage plus concreted coal bunker you absolutely do not have any obligation to remove. The tiles etc are loose items and should technically have been removed but I see the logic. When we bought our first house the owners left us some spare tiles, laminate and paint and we did actually use some if it for touch ups until we gradually redecorated. If we hadn't wanted it, it could have easily been added to our next tip run.

Leaving a houseful of crap furniture and possessions is another matter. But it does not sound like that is what you've done. (Though in our current house the sellers left behind a big double wardrobe they hadn't mentioned - I think they realised on move day that they couldn't get it out without dismantling. Not bothered. 5 years later I'm still using it!)

To be honest they sound like fussy gits who've decided to do a complete strip down and refurb and are leaning on you to reduce the costs of that!

Agree providing it is £5000 for the trip and your time, or another large amount.

Or just ignore as suggested.

Yet another example of why there should be a register of unreasonable behaviour when it comes to house sales and purchase, so that anyone dealing with these people in future knows about the kind of person they will be dealing with.

The rule is that if you were to turn the house upside down, what falls down goes with you.

That said, it’s not unusual to leave bits which might be useful to the buyer. We left a lot of Victorian terracotta garden pots and some rope edge tiles behind which were there when we bought the house thirty years previously. They weren’t attached to the house but in our eyes went with it.

It’s better to agree in advance what you will leave but we‘ve left and found all sorts of stuff. What you don’t want you just get rid of. Doesn’t have to be a drama.

Our previous house was bought by first time buyers, we downsized so had stuff we didn't want. We emailed to ask if they wanted A, B & C. They were grateful of everything, we had a shed with fixed shelving and benches and it never occurred to ask if they wanted those. They are 'fixed' items and we did not itemise them in the fixtures and fittings form. They were there when we moved in and we appreciated them as they were useful. We also left tiles and paint - with a list of what colours were used where, just in case they wanted to touch up. Of course they would choose their own colour scheme in due course
I think you have been more than accommodating and moving a concrete coal bunker is taking advantage of your kind nature
As many others have said say no and block them.

This. I’d have been annoyed if you left stuff because you thought it could be useful. Items left should only be those on the fixtures and fixtures form. Which it sounds like the latest stuff is.

Of course YABU, anything unfixed should have been listed on the fixtures form. Which is part of the contract. Why did you even think it was ok to leave anything

You're right, they never get used; it just feels reassuring to have them! I'd like them left for me, but that's probably just OCD talking.

I agree, they are now taking the proverbial. You've done your bit, it's down to them now and hardly a major issue. They knew what they were buying.

It wouldn't have bothered me. If I didn't want them I'd have binned/recycled them.

So, I suppose it just depends on who buys your house and the best thing is to ask your buyer if they want what you are leaving.

As for the coal bunker - that's just cheeky fuckery at its finest.

Thank you so much. We did a thorough deep clean and made sure it was pristine. I do wonder if they are trying it on to see how much they could get away with.

I sold a house just last year, I gave away some furniture, like the bed frame and one of the chest of drawers (I had two) but I left two wardrobes and a sofa downstairs as well as the fridge and the washing machine and dryer down in the cellar. The buyer was fine with this as it gave her the choice of wanting to keep some storage for the bedroom. I also left all the shelves and cupboards in the cellar as well as the kitchen and bathroom. The buyers are just taking the pee now and should not be contacting you any further for removing items.

So spare tiles and cupboards for storage in the garage this would have annoyed you. We collected them swiftly with an apology. I don’t see the issue with trying to be considerate, when they didn’t want them we dealt with it.

No, they've not been "generous and kind" by leaving random stuff in the house. It should be empty. Same applies to anything "movable" and not fixed, so same for the coal bunker (if it's one of those movable ones rather than brick etc), the workbench, etc.

Anything not specified on the F&F inventory needs to be removed upon sale.

Just ignore them OP.

Also if the sale was by executors of your FIL estate the property will have been sold with “limited” title and sold as seen. I.e with everything in it at the time of exchange.

Actually we were trying to be just that, when we realised it wasn’t helpful we collected with an apology. It was not random stuff as you state but items that would have been useful like spare kitchen and hall way tiles.