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.

It does seem pretty but perhaps they only bought some of those items in recent years and are attached to them. People invest a lot of time and money in household purchases and there are a few things from this house that I've said I would take with us to a new house, as I don't want the hassle of looking for them and buying them again. I would expect to make good any damage caused by removing them. The splashback sounds like a strange one.

I can only guess that they absolutely love it and don't want to pay again to get the same thing for their new house.

We also took our light fittings. Had an electrician come and make the wires safe. Also took the toilet roll holders, as they were very expensive and we specifically chose them.

I think it sounds totally normal. You’re within yourself rights to lower your offer, because of the cooker etc. But if you love the house, you can replace all those things. It’s not a big deal

Also, it's possible they are being petty but if they've not asked to negotiate on these items, it's more likely they just want their things with them when they move. Some people aren't good with change and it may be one half of the couple is having trouble accepting the move and this is a way to cope. Some folk are very stuck in their ways, especially the older they get.

I am struggling to understand what they are going to do with all this stuff - since going to a new build. They want to put it all in storage? They want to renovate their new build house to insert all this stuff into it? I can't get past that.

Anyway, drop your offer price by at least £7k is my starting position, because of all the inconvenience & work you'll need to do to get the house back to what you thought you were buying.

@Derbee

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

And did they fit in the new house ?

People are strange. We were a bit shocked on the F&F to find that the sellers were choosing to take certain items that the estate agent was at pains to point out as selling features. We held firm and most of said items (electric fitted blinds, outbuildings, fitted wall lamps) now staying plus negotiated money off the house for the few items they really wanted to take. The sale is because they are splitting up so there is a level of emotion in it for the woman, who wants the items for her new house. We paid top price for the house and so I feel no guilt. I wouldn’t normally be too bothered but when items are specifically pointed out on viewings they should stay. We’re leaving pretty much everything for our buyers.

I always can’t be bothered to take fittings, they usually involve more hassle to remove. We once left a beautiful Heals light fitting because to remove it involved lifting the carpet and floorboards above.
This goodwill has often been paid forward and we’ve moved into houses where lovely things have been left without payment.
In this case, I’d do something I’ve never done, waiting as long as possible till exchange and drop your offer price!

That's just a pain. Realistically they won't end up taking all of it but it doesn't bode well and will really take the shine off it. If they take fitted light fixtures it'll be dark in some of the rooms. Our sellers took their curtains which is fine but were kind enough to leave an older set for the strange shaped windows.

As a PP suggested, I think you can legitimately kick up a fuss about anything that’s going to leave holes and say they need to replaster and paint and/or replace any tiles with holes in.

This may well be enough to discourage them from taking loo roll holders, bathroom shelves, splashback etc.

@Pickpick101 yes, we have used all of the poles and finials. We had one pole that we cut shorter to fit a new window. Everything had cost well over £5,000 so even if we’d offered the buyers the chance to buy them, they’d have thought we were taking the piss

I'm taking all my light fittings when I move house. They cost £££ and will go in my new house. I don't need an email to do it either, I can do it myself? I'll leave the original light fittings that came with the house when I bought it.

I'll also take all my curtain poles. They will be useful in my new house. I bought them. Why would I leave them?

Cooker, splashback, toilet roll holder will stay. But I'm taking my mirrors.

When I bought this house the seller wanted to leave all their curtains. I said absolutely not, they would have to get rid of them. They were hideous and I wasn't going to use my previous time taking them down and to the dump.

Also, I totally disagree with a PP about filling in holes. Much better for you to see where holes are, and put your things up accordingly. Nothing more annoying than drilling into a wall and hitting a covered hole, which won’t take the rawl plug etc. Much better to cover holes with the new poles/toilet roll holder etc that you put up

We didn't need a gas installer to fit a new cooker. It was just a bayonet fitting so we did it ourselves!

Honestly I'd just call their bluff and say you don't want any of it.

It doesn't have to cost £££ for the light fittings to be removed. Many people using the instructions, fit them themselves.

People have friends/family/neighbours who are qualified gas people, my neighbour disconnected and refitted a mate of mine for a drink.

When I leave my bathroom cabinet, light fittings and curtains are coming with me. I have a bay and although the rail looks like one piece, it's not. I had all these custom made. No tiling to replace in the bathroom, although might bung up a couple of tiles in the kitchen when the splashback comes down.

It's also possible the sellers have promised these things to their adult dc. They might have negotiated a better deal because they are taking these with them to their new build.

Why would anyone stalk ebay to see if sellers decide to sell their own property?

Could be worse they could have also decided to take the carpets and leave you with concrete floors!

@canigooutyet

It doesn't have to cost £££ for the light fittings to be removed. Many people using the instructions, fit them themselves.

People have friends/family/neighbours who are qualified gas people, my neighbour disconnected and refitted a mate of mine for a drink.

When I leave my bathroom cabinet, light fittings and curtains are coming with me. I have a bay and although the rail looks like one piece, it's not. I had all these custom made. No tiling to replace in the bathroom, although might bung up a couple of tiles in the kitchen when the splashback comes down.

It's also possible the sellers have promised these things to their adult dc. They might have negotiated a better deal because they are taking these with them to their new build.

Why would anyone stalk ebay to see if sellers decide to sell their own property?

Could be worse they could have also decided to take the carpets and leave you with concrete floors!

You’re taking a splashabck??

Op- your seller has joined this thread.

I'm taking curtain poles with me, they're extendable so will fit any window. I don't have an extra £200 to buy all new again when I just bought these 4 years ago, and the ones in the house we're moving to are horrible and ancient.

Curtains we love and brought them with up from our last house. Why buy new again when these are exactly as we like.

We're also taking our cooker as the people in the house we're buying are taking theirs. It's only 3 years old and cost £500. It's £70 for a local gas fitter to disconnect the night before of move then plumb back in again the next day at our new house.

Splash backs I can understand is madness.

Our vendor is taking their integrated washing machine which we are a bit about given we paid asking price, but they're giving it to their son who is getting a new kitchen and they only bought it 6 months ago. Our solicitor said why rock the boat over something quite small, even if it's annoying. So we let it go.

Moving house is really expensive, we are extremely tight for money and just can't afford to be giving things away that we'll need to replace as soon as we move, it could all easily come to £1000, that will pay for our summer holiday with the kids.

If you do go ahead I would tell your solicitor you want to inspect on the day of completion just before completion. It's possible to do this, although most people don't. Realistically on the day you won't pull completion because you'll have movers booked, but it might give your sellers a kick to make sure they leave the house in an acceptable standard

When I move, absolutely. It's less than a year old and wasn't cheap. I will put up a couple of tiles that come as part of a bog standard kitchen installation.

I'm not the seller

Its rubbish. I kind of understand it if the have bought expensive fittings and cant afford to rebuy.
I would try and negoiate, particularly things like the bathroom cabinet that has tiling surrounding it as it could be hard to find one that fits and doesn't spoil tiling. Was your offer based on the high standard of finish? if it was and it was marketed as being renovated and finished to a high standard you might have a case to lower your offer.

When we moved into our previous house we found that the tenant (we never met the vendors who were renting it to her) had literally ripped the living-room light fitting from the ceiling, leaving dangling bare wires that had to be made safe by an electrician .

When we bought our current house the vendors asked us to pay almost full price for a very well-used range cooker that was several years old. We declined, suspecting they were trying it on a bit as they were moving out and renting. They just left it in the end.

I dont think the cost of them removing items is going to be what you think it is, my husband (who is not very handy!) managed to put up most of our light fittings so could swap them back if we moved.

Disconnecting a gas cooker would probably only cost 1 hour labour at most, cheaper than a new cooker.

I'd just get your solicitor to agree and say that anything removed must be made good. Quite frankly it'll be hassle to take many things on that list, you may well find they just leave them.

Never understood why people are so petty like this, especially so if it was marketed as a finished/refurbed, high standard of home - do they actively WANT the sale to fall through?

Stating that they will take with them a 10 year old rubbish shed, that will 100% fall to bits the moment they try to disassemble; ridiculous lol.

Did you 'get one over' on them with a low-ball offer or something & this is their way of getting a bit back?

Be thankful you're not in Germany though. People quite literally take the kitchens with them when they move out of rented property!

It would annoy me that lots of these things will leave great big holes in the wall that will need filling. Shed and greenhouse I can understand, but poles and rails? No.