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FFS! Vendors want to take cooker with them - is this normal?

153 replies

WestMeerkat · 16/07/2016 09:38

We have just received the fixtures and fittings form and discovered the vendors are excluding the fancy double-width range cooker in the kitchen from what is included in the sale.

Is it normal practice for people to take their cookers with them when they move? I know technically it's free standing and not like a built-in oven and hob, but since it's connected to the gas supply which can only be disconnected by a qualified tradesman, it feels like it should be classed as a permanent fixture. It's not like a fridge that you can just unplug yourself and walk off with!

I am a bit shocked to be honest. The range cooker is the centrepiece of the kitchen, and the units and surfaces on either side have been built perfectly up to the edge of the range, and there is large double-width extractor hood above it. To be honest I wouldn't have chosen anything so fancy myself, but it's not like we can replace it with any old cheap cooker, it has to be something that perfectly fits the large hole that will be left behind, otherwise it will just look odd, and ruin the really rather nice kitchen.

I feel a bit robbed as we offered on this house partly on the strength of the lovely kitchen, and now it feels like its heart is being ripped out.

Is there anything we can do? If not, we are now going to have to budget to buy a fancy double width range - which I know aren't cheap! Also we are going to have to deal with the stress of trying to get a brand new range installed and fitted to the gas supply on moving day, before we can actually cook any food for ourselves! Really not what I need. Angry

OP posts:
AveEldon · 16/07/2016 09:40

Are they offering it for sale for additional £?

situatedknowledge · 16/07/2016 09:40

Have you asked if they would consider leaving it? Perhaps they just want some money for it?

Donthate · 16/07/2016 09:40

I would have expected it to stay or at least to have been told it wasn't part of the deal. I'm sure someone will come along with experience of this.

Stuffofawesome · 16/07/2016 09:41

You could offer some money for it if you really want it.

WestMeerkat · 16/07/2016 09:42

Well there is an area on the form for the vendors to list a price if they wanted to sell it to us, and it's been left blank - so I assume they don't want to sell it?

I will defiantly ask though!

OP posts:
Mycatsabastard · 16/07/2016 09:43

Unless it's built in, no I wouldn't have expected it to stay. It's free standing and not a fixture or fitting. You should have discussed this before.

However, you could offer some money for it or take the dimensions of the space and see if you can get a replacement.

user7755 · 16/07/2016 09:44

Was it on the property description when it was advertised?

Sounds daft but we had a lovely plate rack which we intended to take with us but the buyers wanted it and because it was on the property details we were encouraged to leave.

SewSlapdash · 16/07/2016 09:46

Cookers come in stranded widths so you won't have too much trouble finding something to fit, even if it's not as fancy.

OurBlanche · 16/07/2016 09:46

That's what the fixtures form is for, to tell you what is and is not part of the deal.

And yes, many people do take the cooker with them, or sell it. So ask them... they may decide it is worth selling it and buying a new one... or they may not.

Pestilence13610 · 16/07/2016 09:46

Large range cookers come in standard sizing. You just measure carefully and get a new one.
I got one earlier this year and it cost less than a grand. loads of money, but not in comparison to a house price.
Maybe they love it and it has been discontinued.
Maybe it is something really fancy like a CAT and they don't want to leave it.
So long as they tell you clearly, they are allowed to take it.

ggirl · 16/07/2016 09:47

can you say ..well i don't want the house now the cooker won't be there?

Doje · 16/07/2016 09:50

I wouldn't have expected it to stay. We've been looking recently, and at every property with a 'posh' free standing cooker like that I've asked if they're taking it with them. The majority have hinted that there could be a price agreed for it. But I suppose it depends a bit on what's happening at the house they are buying too. Do they need a cooker to fill in a gap at their new house? Will it fit / match the decor?

zgaze · 16/07/2016 09:52

Our range & matching hood would cost us £5.5k to replace like for like (we didn't pay this for it though, were v lucky) so I definitely won't be leaving it when we sell! They come in standard widths so just measure and replace. Our local Facebook group always seems to have them for sale as people upgrade their kitchens so you might be lucky and get a second hand one.

WestMeerkat · 16/07/2016 09:52

But how standard is "standard sizing"? The edges of the worktops have literally been perfectly built up to the edges of the range, and if a new range is even a couple of mm smaller it will leave unsightly gaps for food to fall down. It just seems bonkers to remove a cooker that has been perfectly fitted into the space it occupies, and ruin a lovely kitchen. And there are tiles on the wall behind the cooker, which I bet wouldn't be flush with any new cooker we bought.

OP posts:
DowntonDiva · 16/07/2016 09:54

Sorry I would have assumed they were taking it. Unless specified in the listing as staying it's pretty normal for people to take theirs round here.

ShowOfHands · 16/07/2016 09:54

I'd always assume they'd take it tbh.

Balletgirlmum · 16/07/2016 09:54

I would expect to take the cooker with me unless I was moving to a new build with one already installed.

But then again my dad & brother are Gas Safe engineers so disconnecting it would be a very simple job.

eurochick · 16/07/2016 09:55

Ive never known a cooker to be taken or taken one myself.

WestMeerkat · 16/07/2016 09:59

Thanks for all your replies. I guess I am a simple soul who just sees a cooker as something to cook food on, and I am boggling at spending 5K on one! It just never occurred to me that someone would ever want to take a cooker with them, mostly as I didn't know you could spend such an eye-watering amount money on them!

OP posts:
MilkTwoSugarsThanks · 16/07/2016 09:59

If it's highlighted in the estate agent's particulars you might be able to say that you were expecting it to be left (eg kitchen with beautiful large range cooker with hood over, or something like that) even for a price. Personally, if it's going to be that crap to replace, I'd threaten to pull out.

HalsallRedux · 16/07/2016 09:59

It won't be a couple of mm smaller - they are all standard sizes eg 90cm, 110cm etc etc (Ours is 90 so I'm a bit hazy on anything larger, but they're defined sizes across all makes).

Our vendors intended to take their range cooker, which was built in. Then they wanted us to pay for it, but asked ££££ when we felt it was only worth ££. We politely declined and said go ahead, take it. They left it anyway Grin

gaggiagirl · 16/07/2016 10:00

Try the smeg outlet for very well priced range cookers. Do you know what brand theirs is? Could you ask for the brand and model number then see how much a new one would set you back.

SparkleSoiree · 16/07/2016 10:01

Standard sizing is to the millimetre. So a standard width for a normal cooker is 600mm. The double width standard size is 1200mm although you can get 900mm width cookers too.

ReallyIam · 16/07/2016 10:01

The standard sizes are very very standard - have a look at John Lewis website or something similar and you'll see that all the range cookers are grouped according to size. The work surfaces are designed to be snug next to the cooker otherwise you'd get all manner of crap down the sides.

NotCitrus · 16/07/2016 10:02

Adjust your offer by the cost of a new one. They may well want it but then find it wouldn't fit in their new home so end up wanting to leave it.