Buying / selling house - what state is it left in?

[pregle]

FTB and got the keys to our house yesterday. I was perhaps naive but thought we'd walk in, place would be spotless and completely empty. Nope! It was in the same state as our last viewing (when I checked with the estate agent about it being cleaned and empty), most things are gone to be fair but cupboards still have items in them, the dishwasher (which was part of the sale) was full, kitchen bins left behind (empty thankfully) lots of garden pots left on the decking, some curtains left, lots of pictures still on the walls...and the place is filthy.

Ok so assuming the vendors may have left a bottle of bubbly as a welcome gift was very unrealistic! - but were we being naive in assuming the place would be completely empty and at a basic level, clean?

Doesn't help I'm very heavily pregnant and got upset when I saw the place! Over it now and we'll get a skip and likely professional cleaners in, but just wanted to check other peoples experiences - either from selling or buying...

We arrived with family toclean the big old farmhouse we’d bought and it was beyond spotless. So we sat down and ordered a takeaway instead. They did leave us a bottle of bubbley. And even better, put £300 in the oil tank for us. Best venders ever.

Our vendors left us a filthy house - mouse droppings in the kitchen dresser drawers (built in) and everything they could possibly remove gone. All the basins bar one had cracks in them.

I bought a house and found a mouldy grill pan in the oven, and two dozen pint glasses left in a cupboard. The pint glasses came in handy but cleaning the disgusting grill pan didn't go down as one of the highlights of my life.

I don’t think there’s any law stating they need to be clean, but they should be completely empty.

It’s just luck really. Some vendors leave their property spotless and others leave it filthy.

I’d always leave mine spotless because I wouldn’t want the new occupiers to bad mouth me to the neighbours who are all friends

If they've left furniture or items in cupboards then they'll be in breach of contract. Contact your estate agent. We mistakenly left a roll of old carpet in the loft of our house when we moved. (The rest of it was empty and spotless) and the estate agent was straight on the phone to us. We had to arrange collection out of our own pocket ASAP!

We moved last month OP and having left an absolutely gleaming house behind we arrived to a house that was not quite completely filthy but not very clean either. Bathrooms disgusting, carpets and woodwork really dirty, kitchen and all the fitted appliances filthy. Ovens were 🤮. Apparently the vendors cancelled their cleaner and window cleaner the minute we exchanged (I know this because I contacted both of them to clean for me!).

I had to prioritise and brought a cleaner in who spent eight hours cleaning the kitchen. Sadly she didn't work out and I am left with cleaning it myself. I am still at it a month on.

I would have had a firm in but we were downsizing and you couldn't actually get in to clean (as we had underestimated the downsizing bit 😂).

I have always cleaned my houses on removal day before ive left, i bleached the inside of the kitchen cupboards at my last house as knew new owner was heavily pregnant. Sadly my new place although empty was not clean and i had to scrub it before i unpacked....very annoying. My sister at 8 months pregnant with twins had to get industrial cleaners in to clean her new house as previous occupants had left it in a right mess, she did send the bill to the estate agent as property was supposed to be in a moveinable state and it certainly wasnt. Sadly op leaving a house clean for the new occupants dosent always come top of the list for some people, but then everyone has a different idea on what clean actually is!

Must add, I know it is disappointing , especially after all the excitement from buying your own place at last.

If it is any consolation my second house was even worse. About 25 years ago, a long skinny Edwardian town house.

When I opened the front door I could see a bucket to catch the rain coming in on a flat roof over the bay window in the room at the back.

Fourth house was a place in the country where the woman had a cake making business and it was filthy, lots of ingredients in a cupboard in a barn which rats were feasting on.

So actually, out of five purchases only one has been tip top on arrival (sad really!).

You will sort it out. I hope you enjoy it (not sorting it out, your new home).

Thanks all! I thought perhaps I was being unrealistic, and to be fair there's no mouse droppings (that we've found!) Although I haven't checked the oven - something to look forward to later!!!!

Will get on to the agent about them removing their stuff anyway - even if it doesn't happen I feel like we should say something!!!!

Thanks for all the experiences so far...

I can remember this when we were FTB, having always lived in rented before. When you move into a rented, it does tend to be spotless and pristine because the previous tenant will have left it so in order to get their deposit back, the landlord will have taken the opportunity between tenants to do little touch up and maintainance jobs (or even big ones). However, when you buy the vendors don’t have that incentive. Our last house, it wasn’t horrendous but yes, a bit on the dirty side, garden a state, crap left in the loft, even some stuff under the bed (bed part of sale as match fitted wardrobes).

It does vary i’m afraid OP. I’ve had good and not so good. My expectation is to go in armed with cleaning materials and wearing my marigolds. Firstly congratulations on getting on the property ladder. That’s a great achievement. Let your solicitor know about your additional costs for a skip etc. You will not be able to get any money for cleaning but might for the removal of non fixtures and fittings. This time will pass and through this process, this house will become your home. Hope all goes well with the arrival of little one. 💐

We agreed that our vendor could leave white goods as FTB we didn't have any.
We assumed she was trying to be helpful in leaving lots of extras. One bedroom left furnished -wardrobe full of clothes. Blood stained mattress 🤢.
Kitchen filthy!!!!
Garage she left us a chest freezer (the only white good we didn't ask for........) and it was full to brim of food.
Bedroom 2 had a hidden vibrator surprise hidden in this nook above built in wardrobe. 😱
Curtains on all windows.
We were promised (as part of sale) she'd leave her garden furniture but instead gave it to neighbours.
And as she was a heavy smoker the house obviously stank. So spent first few days cleaning in Dec with windows wide open to air house, and chucking her rubbish. I had no idea it was a breach of contract for her to leave so much junk.
I would have definitely complained and asked for it to be sorted had I known. It took us ages to be able to dispose of everything she had left behind...

Oh my god turtleton!!!!! Ok I'm going to stop complaining about the stuff that was left!

And I think that's the thing as a tenant we've always had to leave the place spotless and arrived at a spotless place - but you're all so right, this is the first place that is actually ours so that trumps everything!!!!!

We're not moving in until end of June after baby no 2 arrives and by then it'll be clean and painted with new carpets (assuming we survive on beans on toast for the month to actually pay for that stuff) so it's just a minor inconvenience at the end of the day...

I moved last month, property was being demolished and site cleared to build a small development, I made sure the house was clean before I went because that's how I roll, didn't want the developers saying what a dirty cow that accountant was.

The first house was lived in by an old lady who was being moved out by her son. They rushed her out and her toiletries were still in the bathroom. It was so sad. I swear I could see the pound signs in his eyes. He was vile. It was filthy, but it was a do-er upper so we didn't mind so much.

This house, the vendor made a big deal about how the house would be spotless, cleanest house I'd ever seen etc etc. I wish she hadn't said anything as it was filthy and I was so disappointed. They had 3 dogs and it took me weeks to get rid of all the dog hair. I still have a bag of stuff they left behind a year ago, that they said they'd come back for!

I honestly think some people intend to clean, but woefully underestimate how long packing takes, so just run out of time. I'm sure that's what happened with our last vendors.

We were FTB and when we got the keys came in armed with lots of bleach, expecting the place to need a good scrub because we assumed they'd have been too busy moving to do more than a cursory hoover.

As it was the vendors had a professional clean done as they left (and it was spotless) and left us a bottle of bubbly and a welcome card. We were so very lucky

I'm sorry you had that experience, @pregle. I'd happily send you flowers and a bottle of wine! It's such a small gesture from the homeowner and it can go a long way when you first move in.

We did our best when we moved out. My husband cleaned and I patched walls. We left a card and a voucher for a local store as our FTB didn't seem like the wine drinking type.

When we got to the new house, it was clean and they had left us a card, flowers, and a bottle of wine. It's a great memory for me, setting up the flowers and card in the kitchen window, having the bottle of wine with pizza as we camped out on the floor in the dining room. I really appreciated it after the stress of moving.

So sorry OP.All the best with the move and new baby.

Our house was left quite clean.
The owners had been in touch many times before moving date and had asked which bedroom would be our sons....they left him a present in his new bedroom and came to visit us 6 months later.We still get a Christmas card from them all these years later.

This crops up repeatedly. According to the Law Society paperwork, a vendor is suppose to remove everything apart from the items it has been agreed they will leave and they sign that from to say the place will be left clean - I can't remember the exact wording. Worth have a chat with the EA and seeing if the vendors have forgotten or missed things. Perhaps the removal people didn't know there was stuff in the dishwasher? It's a right royal pain and it's happened to us: one place was filthy, but we correctly guessed it would be so had cleaners booked, and another had a load of furniture in it we weren't expecting.

It’s infuriating OP, you have my sympathies. I moved at 7 months pregnant and the fucker left a half-eaten pizza but no keys. It was the April bank holiday weekend. That was a fun few days. I got my revenge when he called up to say he’d forgotten to do the meter readings.

I am pretty sure there has been a contractual clause the last few times we have bought and sold about all good removed and house to be left perfectly clean/contract cleaned.

I have sold two houses in the last five years and this has been a stipulation but I'd expect to do it. Have also bought two - both spotless whem we took possession. These are the same standards I expect for our buy to lets too and if I have to send in contract cleaners the cost is deducted from the deposit.

We got our first house the couple were going through a divorce and basically didnt do much apart from took what they wanting leaving loads of crap! Including broken wardrobes, dirty underwear and rubbish and a loft full of things they didnt want anymore. It was disgusting too think i opened a internal door and black mould ended up on my hand. We complained as they breached contract and they just kept blaming each other for stuff and neither came and got it. We went via our solictor amd they offered £500 settlement which paid for a skip (there was alot more than a skipload though!) but still meant we had do all the clearing out, but we couldnt be bothered with stress of going through legal action so took the settlement.

It galls me that people behave like this. Whenever we have moved I have left the houses spotless. Apart from my first house and a flat I rented with a friend, everywhere else has needed a thorough clean of at least some rooms.

Move before last I left the house spotless, a bottle of bubbly and some chocolates and a book with lots of phone numbers for local services like drs.

The house we moved into was filthy and lots of their stuff was just left for us to sort.

Different people I guess but I do know the neighbours were very happy about the change.

I always leave bubbly and the place spotless. The mop and vacuum are the last things to leave the house. Sadly, this has never happened to me when moving into a place! Actually, the place before this one wasn't too bad except there was a massive iron burn in the middle of the carpet which had been artfully hidden by the vendor but it was largely clean