Fixtures and fittings - would you be a bit peeved about this?

[Mykittensmittens]

I know they are within their rights, etc etc but just had the fittings forms back for our ongoing purchase. We loved the house particularly due to its high level of finish - but I was a bit shocked to find they are taking...

Every single light fixture
Not just the cooker but the splash backs
Every blind and curtain rail
The shed, the greenhouse
The compost bin
Towel rails
Toilet roll holders
Bathroom cabinets

All the bathroom fittings that are being removed are fitted on fully tiled walls so that’s not great.

In fact pretty much everything is ‘excluded’ that can be.

I have emailed the solicitor now but there is no mention of wanting to negotiate. Is that it then?

I presumed they might want to negotiate on leaving a few things but clearly not!

It’s not put me in the best of moods tonight.

Funnily enough the wood and coal does make sense to me, however, if I was the seller I would be charging you for it rather than shifting it. There could be 3 or 4 hundred pounds worth in the bunker and log store. I live in an area with oil heating and you certainly don't give away a tank of oil when you sell, you definitely charge the buyer for it.
The shed and greenhouse - just mad. Light fittings and curtains, okay, but everything else seems very petty.

I wouldn’t worry about the cooker to be honest if it is five years old. The towel rail etc is annoying if it leaves holes I would be more worried about that. Curtain poles is annoying but do you like them?

We moved into a house where they took the shades, light bulbs and the toilet roll as well as the holder!

I would be tempted to drop the offer by £1000- £2000. She is trying it on.

@Mykittensmittens

If the market was washed with other properties even vaguely like it I would!!! I think they’re just pissed off we haggled.

The house has two oddly shaped bays - the curtains literally wouldn’t fit anywhere else. The pole is a bay pole. I know the property they are buying and it has windows in no way the same. Plus the house they are moving to has a fitted cooker so why take the cooker with you or not be open to a negotiation?

It just feels so horribly grabby and mean.

Why is it grabby to take their property with them? Whether they use, sell it bin it is their prerogative. They bought it all. As far as I know you are not buying the loo roll holder, you're buying the building! If you've negotiated to such an extent, you're quids on and can buy these odds and sods yourself with your "winnings".

This is an eye opener. Every house I've bought we have arrived on moving day to find all curtains up, all lights still with bulbs and shades, rails left and even a cooker and fridge in each and even loo rolls in each toilet. These were listed in the fixtures and fittings at no extra cost. Likewise we left all the same as we moved out.

The long checklist is in the standard fixtures and fittings form. I wonder did they mean to tick everything - the work involved in removing and making good every last fitting and curtain pole and packing up sheds etc is no small thing.

Blimey, I’m the opposite, I’m trying to give my stuff away to our buyers 😂 so far I’ve given them all blinds (as made to measure 🤷🏼‍♀️, moving to a house with much wider windows), all curtain poles, two sets of curtains, the trampoline & our window cleaner ha. Our kitchen is entirely integrated including our 6 month old washing machine.

Our vendor is taking the bathroom cabinet from the tiled wall 🙄 I wasn’t overly impressed but there you go.. we’ll buy a new one to cover it I suppose!

I cannot believe the seller is going to dismantle a shed?! It didn’t even cross my mind to take ours, I just figured it was part of the house! It was left for us when we moved here.. What a palaver!

I'd be telling my solicitor that it's fine that they take stuff, just make everything good after, Including replaster wall where the splash back has been removed, chisel out tiles with homes in and replace with new tiles. To make sure all light fittings are flush if they've taken the original lights (assuming they're not just big standard shades here. Honestly, the fuxking pettiness of some sellers is beyond me, totally unnecessary bollocks!

This might be a stupid point, but have you double-checked that they've ticked the right boxes? On the fittings and fixtures form I received, the sellers had ticked that they didn't have items which I knew they did have. They'd also ticked that they were taking a number of items which I'd expected them to leave, including one of the nicest features of the house. I checked with the EA/solicitor, and it turned out that they'd just ticked the wrong boxes!

This probably won't be the case for you, but worth checking just in case.

You might find its a try on and when you say you don't want things like curtains etc they leave them anyway.

Our sellers took every single light fitting leaving a plastic wire and bare bulb everywhere. It took blooming ages (and £££) to eventually replace them all.

We are taking 2 when we move which were expensive and which will look amazing in our new house and I feel quite bad about that!

I really think that with things that are made for the space (splashbacks, curtains) and things that are a massive pain to move (shed greenhouse) they are just hoping to get some cash out of you or negotiate on survey issues maybe. Say no and they'll probably leave them.

This thread has me worried! We are leaving pretty much everything on the f&f list for our buyers but haven’t seen the f&f list for our purchase yet

I am quietly hoping that when they try to sell a 10 year old potting shed and aluminium greenhouse in January they’ll realise it’s not going to happen and leave it there.

I am leaving all my light fittings. Even shades. Every window has custom made Romans, or made to measure wooden blinds and I’m leaving them, no question. Why would I take blinds that don’t fit anywhere else? And the hassle of taking them down, advertising them, packing them up, all in the midst of moving?? No thanks.

I’m also struggling to get past the splash back thing I really am!!

But as I say, if they wanted to haggle a deal surely the box which says ‘price’ would be ticked?

We have included, excluded, none, price and comments box. So if they wanted a sale off the price of the house surely that’s their chance to ask?

I’m tempted to ask to go in to measure the windows with now good reason....at least then I may be able to foster a conversation directly. I’m honestly happy to pay for their second hand cooker and splashback, as long as they aren’t taking the piss!! And less hassle for us and them all round?

I think they’re just pissed off we haggled

Yes, you offered £20k below asking knowing they’d already found their purchase and were desperate. Now they’re taking everything they’re allowed to. Neither is particularly nice, both are legal.

(Having said that: I do wonder if a few of the things they’re taking count as fixtures and should really be included.)

Make an offer - ok they haven’t ticked the box but you’ve nothing to lose by offering.

Maybe they haven't paid for a cooker and splash back in their new build so have left space for the one they already own.

Same with the bathroom items.

Maybe they've saved themselves some money that way.

I'm going against the grain here. Some of my light fittings cost hundreds of pounds each, ditto curtain poles £150 a piece. Why would I not take them and have all that lay out (thousands of ponds) for future houses? That's a lot of money down the drain and I'm not just giving that to a stranger.

Way back when I remember it being standard for people to try and sell the fitted carpets separately. I bet most buyers refused, and I bet most sellers didn't bother taking them.
In your case I'd ask for some money off, but also I'd be amazed if they actually took all the stuff.

I dismantled a greenhouse a few years ago. By the time I’d managed to loosen all the nuts and bolts, the frame was bent and twisted and wouldn’t have been of any use again. And it took me about two days.

So you are buying an empty shell?

Ask for a reduction in price accordingly if you love the house

But it sounds like a lot of work...can you be bothered??

The splashback is the weird one here. I reckon they'll end up leaving shed and greenhouse! I always take my curtains though. Even if they don't fit in new place I get them altered. One of the large french patio door curtains from my old lounge is now two blinds in my new drawing room etc. I have never taken lights previously but would probably if I had to move from here, many of the lights cost me hundreds each, I saved up and bought one a month for nearly a year - I wouldn't be giving all those away for free!!

Its a lot of work just to remove all that

Thanks folks. Just to repeat it wasn’t a cheeky offer - it really was overpriced. That’s why it hadn’t sold for months.

The lights are lovely but I can only imagine it’ll
Cost £££ for an electrician to come and remove them all, plus the cooker so they’ll need a gas installer for that, plus I’ll have to pay a gas installer to come and fit a new one! What a bloody faff when I’d be happy to buy the one they have there.

We’ve emailed our solicitor. Our agent says it has to go through the solicitor not the agent to make a separate offer but I’m not sure that’s right either frankly.

There is nothing odd about taking light fittings. There are at least 4 that I would take from my house because I spent ages choosing them and they aren't available any more. I wouldn't ever expect fancy light fittings to remain TBH. I also don't think there's anything wrong with taking a cooker that's not built in - I don't see it as any different to taking the fridge really.

The splashback is weird - I see that as being a fixed part of the kitchen. It is likely to have been very expensive though so I can kind of see why they'd want take it to put in their new kitchen.

I don't think removing fancy light fittings is going to be anywhere near as expensive as buying new ones!

I wonder if this is why the previous sale fell through??

Sounds like normal things to take, IMO. We took our curtains and poles, they cost thousands of pounds. We wouldn’t have left them.