Moving out etiquette

[tinkerbell2021]

I'm moving house next week (assuming nobody in the chain catches COVID) and will be selling my current house and buying one.

How deeply would you clean your current house when you leave it? Obviously I will clean it but not sure how thoroughly to do it.

Do I leave the heating on when I leave?

I'll leave a toilet roll in the bathroom.

Anything else I should be doing?

Get thread, we are moving soon too, I didn’t think about takeaway menus, that’s a really good idea.

I will leave the house very clean, a card & a small gift of some description. And definitely a toilet rolls! Strangely enough, we have never been left any when we have moved previously.

If you have a dishwasher please leave 2 or 3 dishwasher tablets. It was a godsend when we moved in. Also a list of phone numbers of local services you use(bin cleaning, window Cleaning, Gutter cleaning). They also left us a binder full of manuals for the appliances in the house.

I'm paying for a deep clean in my onward home and will wipe and hoover here but I'm not doing skirting boards etc as everything is last minute. I wouldn't be surprised if they pay for a professional clean, especially with covid. I'll leave instructions an teabags

We hoovered, mopped, wiped round, cleaned kitchen cupboards. I wouldn’t have said it was a deep clean.

We knew the people moving in so was a bit of pressure.

Left a note about bin days, neighbours names, central heating and the boiler instructions etc.

Still got a text later asking about the bizarre thermostat which we had to admit we’d never got to work properly.

Didn’t leave heating on as we didn’t know when he’d actually be moving in as FTB living at home. He didn’t move in for 6 months.

The most helpful thing when we moved in was the list of instructions and a friendly note.

We moved with a tiny baby and booked packets so no time to do a thorough deep clean, we just hoovered and mopped throughout.
Glad we didn’t do more as first thing they did was have someone in to sand all the wooden floors throughout before they even moved in.
Lots of buyers have some work done before moving in so if not clean anything like as thoroughly as I used to for rentals.

*Packers

We cleaned and left instructions for when the bins are collected. Did not leave anything like toilet roll or tea bags or wine. The buyer had been a complete arse

We deep clean and touch up all paintwork etc

Leave it how you would like to find your new house! So yes throughout it should be cleaned, dusted, oven cleaned, extractor degreased (and filter changed if applicable) ahead of moving day then after furniture is picked up vacuum, wipe down surfaces again and bleach loos. I've moved into a filthy house and it's horrible, I did manage to get £300 back from the sellers as it wasn't fit for habitation with young kids (had to rip up carpets as they were sodden with dog urine and oven was thick with grease, thankfully dad could install a new one at cost)

And yes, at this time of year leave heating on twice a day unless buyers/estate agents have indicated otherwise

Please clean! Our vendors left the house filthy- layers of dust on every surface, dirty oven etc. It was awful.

I was of course going to clean but wasn't sure whether I should be doing things like skirting boards etc.

What about fridge freezers? We're taking ours with us. We'll obviously need to take our food out to put the fridge freezer on the removal lorry but in that time the food will all defrost. What does everyone else do with this?

Our removal firm said we can leave food in our freezer, they will make sure it goes on the van last so first off at the other end.

I would agree with other posters, at this time of year, leave the heating on, the last thing the new homeowners will want to deal with is a burst pipe.

I would clean skirting boards too.

I found it surprising that one PP said they wouldn’t expect or need loo roll.

It’s possible that you’ve been waiting to get in for a while and the first thing one of you needs to do when getting in, is to have a wee. No-one wants to rummage for the loo roll at that point. So even if it’s a loo roll you wouldn’t choose and later bin (bit precious) then at least you’ve got it to start with.

Nice to haves, not not essentials include some hand wash - moving in is dirty work, so some hand wash in the loo or kitchen is handy.

In terms of cleanliness levels - look at the cupboards - would you want to put stuff into them or would you feel 5e need to clean them again. If you need to clean them again, then do it. No-one should need to do that on arrival.....if they are a clean freak and will do it regardless of the cleanliness level, that’s fine and up to them.

The other thing is to try to remove rubbish and not leave the wheelie bin full or lots of rubbish near it or in garage etc. You do need to plan ahead and so some tip runs in the days before you move. Moving in generates rubbish and you need somewhere to put it.

Even if you haven’t ended on the best of terms with the vendor/buyer then don’t be petty and leave a filthy mess or rubbish. Fine not to leave wine etc if there’s a bitter taste left in your mouth, but walk away with your head held high, knowing you’ve behaved decently in how the property is left.

We hoovered and wiped everything down but definitely didn't do a deep clean. Our buyer was a complete arsehole so I begrudged doing that!

I leave light bulbs & loo roll. I try to leave a fact sheet with closest pub/takeaway/supermarket/chemist. Also where the stopcock is and any other essential info.

Normally clean plus hoover round again when all the rooms are empty. Wipe out the kitchen cupboards. Check loft is empty.

Leave shed empty except firewood, because there is usually a clause saying all fuel must be left.

I don't have the chimney swept or shampoo the carpets. I cut the lawn if I get time.

The last time I moved the new owner sent me a bill for having the wheelie bin scrubbed out. I ignored it.

We move frequently and I build it into the cost as I find moving stressful enough. I have the house professionally cleaned, including carpets, curtains, oven and windows. Also have the garden done and wheelie bins cleaned.
It’s customary where I live to leave a welcome gift of wine and nibbles with a house manual, introduction to the neighbours and neighbourhood. Only once have we been let down by moving into a new house that had a very cursory clean.

We're hopefully moving on Wednesday!!

Will probably do a semi deep clean as s we clear out cupboards.

Will be leaving flowers, prosecco, hand gel, tea and milk for our lovely buyer! Also an info pack with all appliance manuals, info on bin days, local WhatsApp group details etc.

Glad someone mentioned loo roll- I'd have forgotten that!

I doubt our sellers will leave us anything- our solicitors totally pissed them off by being worse than awful!

We cleaned as much as possible as we packed. All cupboards/ shelves / fridge etc. It was cleaner than it ever would normally be when we were there! Also all paintwork had been touched up etc so was as pristine as it could possibly be. We gave them details of bin days, window cleaner, chimney sweep etc. Also all the instruction manuals etc
On the day we hoovered but didn’t mop as we knew by the time they got all their stuff moved in it would need done again!
We left card and bottle of champagne as they were dream buyers (offered full asking after a single viewing, cash buyers etc) and they really saved us from a huge amount of stress at a really difficult time!

The house we moved into had been empty for a few years, had been cleaned but not very well and we spent a LOT of time cleaning when we moved in. But it’s an old house and a wee bit neglected recently so not a big deal and not really a surprise

Check your removal companies policy on what they'll move, ours require freezer and fridge to be empty so we're having some rather odd pot luck meals right now to use up the food. They also won't move cans of paint/white spirit etc.

I agree not to deep clean too much, we're starting to clean inside of windows, skirting, oven now in anticipation of moving in two weeks. We will do a normal clean inbetween, but not going to stress over it as ours buyer is FTB living in rented and plans to do quite a bit of work to the house before moving. When we moved last time our Hoover broke on moving day so I have to say I was very ashamed to leave very dusty carpets where heavy furniture had been.

You need to leave heating on frost setting at this time of year to avoid burst pipes.

We've labelled up keys and leaving folder with appliance instructions, a note for bin day and details of our window cleaner.

Not doing cards/presents as they've been a pain throughout the process.

Turn the heating off before you take the final meter readings.

A good clean but not a 'deep clean'. I'd turn heating off in case they don't move in for a few days. Don't forget to take a final meter reading. Try and leave out any paperwork related to the house (built in appliance warranties, gas certificates etc). Leave behind any spare paint used to decorate in case needed for touch up paintwork. I'd leave a gift if the buyers were nice (ours were a pain so I didn't).