Selling a house - how clean should we leave it?

[Rizzlekicks]

We have finally exchanged on our house and have a completion date. We move out on completion and hand in the keys that day. The buyer will be renting out the house. How clean are we expected to leave it? Should we get in professional cleaners or is that up to the buyer, considering we will have such a small window from when the removal company comes in and when we are out? We did ask for an extra day but the buyer is keen to move tenants in the day after completion.

Clean, but no need for professional cleaners.

Keep your cleaning materials back from the packing and just clean as the removers empty rooms.

Quick vacuum and wipe over the surfaces, wipe out the cupboard shelves, give the bathroom a once over.

It is their responsibility to prepare it for renters.

We cleaned our last place from top to bottom, they even comtacted us to say how lovely and clean it was. Because of a long chain we didn't get into our new home until 6pm. It was filthy, dog vomit on the floor, dog hair blowing around like tumbleweed on the hard floors and matted on to the carpets. The windows were painted shut, we couldn't open any of them and we moved in a heat wave - the whole house stank, they obviously hadn't bothered to clean since the sold sign went up. Filthy bastards. I sobbed when I saw it! So I would say clean it.

We always get a cleaner in.

We always seem to get one which hasn't been cleaned - personally I couldn't leave it that way but I'd draw the line at paying for a cleaner.

Clean it. Karma - what goes around comes around.

We left ours spotless, AND paid for a professional to come in for an hour to make sure that the place was hoovered and the floors mopped when the last of the furniture left.

We got - an utterly filthy house, a broken boiler in December, a garden and loft full of tat that hadn't been disposed of, three water leaks and a flea infestation. Somewhere in London there is a family with two cats living under a permanent hex that I've called down on them.

As somebody said up thread - the goodwill comes in handy. I've had lots of important post forwarded on which was not redirected for some reason. anything I've received goes into the bin apart from congestion charging fines which I've passed on the change of address to

I loved last year and the previous owner left it absolutely disgustingly filthy. I was appalled and think that she must be a dirty bitch. I would never ever leave a house like that.

*moved

Clean it, it says a lot about you.

Plus the good karma (like the bottle of champagne and new home card mentioned above) will ensure that post that the Royal Mail mis-delivers, or forgotten treasures in the loft, will find their way back to you.

We had a cellar full of junk (we went mad and made them come back and clear it out) and a freezer full of loose random breadcrumbed products.

Please do at least a cursory clean of cupboards, surfaces etc. We completed yesterday and opened our new front door to a house that didn't look like it ha been cleaned for weeks. Unflushed toilets, sticky surfaces, dust everywhere. At least we're not moving in straight away but it has taken the shine of it. (That and discovering all the bodge job they'd done around the place). Tbh though they were knobs throughout the entire process so I was expecting it to some degree. Not great though.

Every house we've ever sold has been immaculate, although I cleaned it myself rather than paying someone to do it. Every house we have ever moved into has been a pit and I've wanted to cry.

On that basis I would say that leaving a clean house will be lovely for your buyers, but don't necessarily expect the same courtesy in your new home.

Utterly clean.

When we bought our UK house, the vendor left a bottle of wine to welcome us, and asked which furniture and fittings we'd like left behind, and which removed.

Karma. Since then we've rented in Australia and, bond notwithstanding, have always left the house(s) tip top.