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Original poster

Moving day etiquette

26 replies

beguilingeyes · 02/12/2021 09:47

I haven't moved for 30 years and then I was an FTB moving into a new conversion. We're in the middle (please god) of a sale/buy.
Is there anything that you normally do on moving day aside from the obvious?
Flowers for the new owners? A gift? Leave a bottle of wine in the fridge perhaps?

OP posts:
Aroundtheworldin80moves · 02/12/2021 10:00

Be out by completion time. There has been many threads on here about people failing this obvious fact!

NovemberNovemberDarkNights · 02/12/2021 10:00

Are you leaving the fridge?

Justcannotbearsed · 02/12/2021 10:01

We left a note of things like Bin Day, where the stop tap is, names of neighbours (well the nice ones), stuff like that. Also a bottle of wine and cleaned fairly thoroughly and left a loo roll.

We knew the guy's dad and we quite happy when he texted us some other queries when he'd moved in - just about the heating system.

A friend of mine had taken a shine to her buyer, an older lady, and had cut the grass, weeded, had the chimney swept, the windows cleaned and the gutters cleaned before she moved in.

Original poster
beguilingeyes · 02/12/2021 10:04

We're leaving the fridge, cooker and washing machine. Loo roll is a good shout. Must remember to buy some to take with and have it handy.

OP posts:
bjrce · 02/12/2021 10:15

Clear out your attic before you leave. We recently moved out of our house for a new home and it took me four days to clear out the attic.

(Been there 23 years). The amount of people who told me when they moved into their house and the attics was left full of rubbish was astounding. So thoughtless and rude.

Please don't be one of those people.

MrsFin · 02/12/2021 10:16

Don't take all the light bulbs!

This happened to us and we didn't find out until it got dark and there were no light bulb shops open (ye olden days before 24hr shopping).

emmathedilemma · 02/12/2021 10:22

Read your gas & electric meters and leave a note of them for the new occupants.

tanstaafl · 02/12/2021 10:50

Let them know the code for the alarm!
Leave any user manuals behind ( boiler for example )
Set up mail forwarding.

MsSquiz · 02/12/2021 10:59

We left any manuals for electrical goods we were leaving, alarm code, a roll of toilet roll in the downstairs loo & a bottle of wine in the fridge.

We also left a note with bin days, local takeaways/restaurants & local taxi number as we knew they were completely new to the area.

It also helped to be nice to them when (a year after we moved out) baby brain meant I forgot to change address on parcels I'd ordered and they accepted delivery and called DH to let him know!

home2012 · 02/12/2021 11:00

When we moved in last year the previous owners left notes with bin day, alarm Code and the name and number of the buy who did their yearly boiler service and a few of the neighbours numbers. It was really handy

Onandoff · 02/12/2021 11:07

I cleaned it like a new pin inc inside of cupboards and windows. Left them the expensive fitted lights and all the curtains (new, tasteful, plain linen- they still have them up a year later). Left all the house paperwork, all the manuals, the card for the man who fitted the boiler. A bottle of wine and a card. They were really happy and thanked us.

ImInStealthMode · 02/12/2021 14:46

Previous owner of my flat left 2 bottles of wine, a nice note wishing me happy times in the flat, some instruction manuals and a tester pot of the paint the whole flat had been done in so I knew the colour if I ever needed to patch.

We recently had a roman blind fitted in the bedroom and have kept hold of the previous made to measure venetian blind in case the next owners prefer that Grin

user1471538283 · 02/12/2021 17:11

I've never left presents but the houses are spotless and I've left a washer, wardrobe and curtains or blinds.

The best present though would for you to be out by the time completion happens!

Skips123 · 02/12/2021 17:22

Be out by midday
Leave a note with bin days, how to work the boiler etc
Leave it clean (We even had our oven professionally cleaned before moving and took all rubbish with us - our sellers of our new property however left the bin full to the brim which was really inconvenient)
Label all keys for shed, windows etc
Nice card with some Prosecco and chocolates
Make sure you take photos of all metres when you are leaving

Roselilly36 · 03/12/2021 09:28

We cleaned all through, left all manuals, alarm code, details of how to operate alarm, a good luck in your new home card. We have never been left a gift or a card in any property we have bought. Details of GP, dentist, takeaways that we liked etc as our buyers were not local. Bin days. Our lovely closest neighbours names.

maxelly · 03/12/2021 09:36

I think more so than the helpful notes, takeaway leaflets, bottles of wine etc. (which are lovely!), the thing that is really nice/kind to do is make sure the place you are leaving is really really clean. There's obviously no particular obligation to do this and the majority of times I've moved the previous owner hasn't done more than a cursory wipe round (sometimes not even that) so I wouldn't say it's the etiquette per se but there's something so icky and exhausting about having to clean out the sticky spots in someone else's kitchen cupboards or hoover up the dust bunnies from where someone else's sofa was on an already busy moving day, so the odd times where someone's done a really good job are so much appreciated!

Lowlifeinhighplaces · 03/12/2021 10:11

Last house we moved into the previous owner left a full corner cupboard of sticky, dirty frying pans, all kitchen cupboards not cleaned, filthy fridge (built in), wardrobe shelves full of moth eaten womens jumpers, toilets not cleaned nevermind toilet roll, bin not emptied (that was bin day 1 day before) full of mouldy food....no info, no keys marked just a large pile, no card/wine/plant. Rang them to come and get said items, they did looking rather embarrassed and so they should.

Please leave the house clean as possible a card etc is a nice touch, but check all cupboards and the bin!

But sure plenty people have far worse..

HeartZone · 03/12/2021 10:17

Leave user manuals for: all the appliances you are leaving behind, the boiler, under floor heating. A couple of numbers for local electrians, plumbers etc who you’ve been happy with in the past as no doubt some time in the future they’d find this handy.

Constance1 · 03/12/2021 10:22

We cleaned the placed thoroughly and left our (very patient) buyers a bottle of prosecco, a bag of ground coffee and some chocolates. Our vendors left us a filthy house that looked like it hadn't been cleaned since we'd made our offer 3 months prior, rotten food and spilled rubbish all over the drive way, and a massive leak behind the washing machine that they can't not have known about 🤷‍♀️

MrsBison · 03/12/2021 10:24

Just be out by completion time and take all rubbish/belongings with you.

And dont take the lightbulbs, etc...

SmallBoyFury · 03/12/2021 10:55

We’ve just moved.

The previous owners didn’t leave us a gift, but they left ample toilet rolls, plenty of random bottles of different cleaners, a new mop, plus all the lightbulbs. That was more than enough.

They also left the keys in a little box, each one clearly labeled, and left all of the various user manuals etc in a stack so we could access them easily.

SmallBoyFury · 03/12/2021 10:56

Also, they cut the grass a few days before we completed (despite having already left the house), and left the house completely spotless.

All we had to do was move in our furniture- that was better than any gift.

WombatChocolate · 03/12/2021 13:01

Agree that the key thing is do the basics properly

  • Be out promptly by time specified (usually mid day) or much sooner if possible
  • don’t leave stuff behind - not in garages, loft, cupboards etc
  • leave it clean

Anything else can ever compensate for the above things being done. A card or a bottle of wine does not clear any seller of leaving their crap filling up the garage etc.

If you have never moved before in terms of exiting a fully furnished house, appreciate it takes longer than you think and use professional movers. Many of the problems people encounter with moving come down to people trying to save a few quid and doing it themselves. This often results in smaller vans than really needed, relying on unreliable friends, not having sufficient packing equipment, the process taking longer than expected, multiple trips being needed etc. All of this often means people haven’t exited by mid day, or when they do, they leave crap behind. Having professionals will mean they come in advance ir organise you so you meet the timeframes. People balk at the price, but honestly it is well worth it and you should factor it into your moving budget.

Bells3032 · 03/12/2021 13:06

Depends how nice the buyers are. For my husbands flat we made sure we were out early, left some choccies for them and a nice note detailing all the codes for the bin store and contact numbers etc they may need and a pile of all the appliance manuals etc. Our sellers left us a massive personalised chocolate bar, champagne and glasses and a card (we were very nice buyers)

When we sold my flat we did nothing bar the bear minimum. didn't bother cleaning it (just made sure debris was clear etc) but they had been nightmare buyers who were chain free buying a chain free flat and dragged their feet for nine months and then demanded money off right before exchange (and then realised they didn't even have the paperwork ready for exchange).

Other than that make sure you get a few quotes in for moving and how long it will take. i know people that got cheap quotes and the company said they could move everything the morning and ended up taking til 1am the next day to the buyers (rightful) annoyance.

maofteens · 03/12/2021 15:30

I clean, remove all rubbish (got a guy to come clear it), leave manuals, a letter welcoming them with any useful info (bin collection day, a couple trades phone numbers etc) and a bottle or flowers. I left both last time but completion didn't happen (grrr as I moved to a hotel needlessly but it would have been worse if I was moving directly to my new house) so think the flowers were not at their best when we did eventually complete a few days later! I also took my door knocker (which they knew I was doing) but couldn't find one to fit in time so left them money for a new one.
If they had been awful buyers I would have done the same other than leaving the gift and information.