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Original poster

4K for curtains? (Whole house)

45 replies

vatsucked · 01/05/2023 12:27

So the vendors of the house we’re buying have asked us to pay 4K for the curtains and curtain poles currently in situ. We did express an interest in them but not sure if 4K is a fair price. It’s for nine pairs, full length, good quality.

I’m vacillating between thinking it’s a great deal and a rip off, and can’t seem to settle somewhere in the middle. 🙄 Is 4K a decent-enough fee to pay for second hand? The house is valued at 1.1M and the curtains are high-end to match the house value.

I’d love ideas as to whether to accept or not. Help!

OP posts:

Thatladdo · 01/05/2023 13:20

Seems perfectly reasonable to me, I suspect youve not really realised exactly what quality curtains cost.
Provided you like the curtains pay it, if not youll pay much more for your own tastes, i suppose you could hope they leave the curtain rails / poles in situ. Cant say what they would be to replace without knowing more about sizes and types of window - if they are bay etc but you could easily find yourself paying a LOT more than they are asking plus all that hastle

electriclight · 01/05/2023 13:34

Thatladdo · 01/05/2023 13:20

If op is in the market to pay £1.1m for a home I think she probably does know how much quality curtains cost.

Ketzele · 01/05/2023 13:34

If you're paying that kind of money you have to really love them. I understand the temptation to not have to think about curtains during the chaos of moving, but I would still rather bung up cheap ones for now and get posh curtains when you fancy the shopping.

Mind, I'm the opposite of bring a fancy curtain expert. I literally use drop cloths and patterned bedsheets as curtains in my classy gaff.

electriclight · 01/05/2023 13:35

This will be a vendor wildly out of touch with reality and thinking 50% of what she paid ten years ago is good value.

Fretfulmum · 01/05/2023 15:46

Good quality curtains are very expensive. Id only pay if I loved them and would keep them long term, and they would match the new decor of your house. We were recently quoted £7k for 3 bay windows - high end fabric and quality stitching and fitting.

Twiglets1 · 01/05/2023 15:49

We negotiated the curtains and poles when we offered on our house - said that any offer we made was to include them and the vendors didn't have a problem with that. Who wants to take curtains and blinds with them, they won't fit another property as well in size or style.

Going forward, I would probably agree to pay say 2k for them.

RidingMyBike · 01/05/2023 15:54

Do you like them or would use them for a while?

We've just spent £6k on curtain poles, blinds and some (not all done yet) curtains for a house worth half yours so the costs of this stuff can add up. Putting up curtain poles is a PITA but if she takes them down she'll have to make good the walls?

It's useful to have some curtains at least initially as otherwise you're trying to find something that'll fit to provide privacy and it takes time to choose new ones and get them made.

RidingMyBike · 01/05/2023 15:56

And it is possible for someone to take curtains with them and reuse them. I've had curtains altered to fit after moving and one pair I've just put up are in their third house!

Taking the curtain poles though is pretty pointless as the windows are unlikely to be the same size?

electriclight · 01/05/2023 16:00

She'd have to be petty to go to the trouble of taking the poles imo.

She thinks you can easily pay £4k if you are paying £1.1m for a house but why would you. Call her bluff and hope she leaves some for convenience. If not, buy cheap until you can get ones you really want.

HarrietStyles · 01/05/2023 16:15

When we bought our previous house they offered to sell us the sound system that was WIRED behind the walls for £3k! They were hardly going to dig up the walls and remove it all! It was all about 10 years old too, so we wanted to upgrade the speakers and control system soon anyway. We said no thank you…… and they left it all anyway. Think they were just trying their luck.

bonechina05 · 01/05/2023 16:18

I went to John Lewis to get quotes for two pairs of tailor made, not particularly big curtains, I was quoted £1,900 all in. They are just mid range fabric, no way to be high end.

OMGitsnotgood · 01/05/2023 16:24

Can they even take the poles? i thought they had to leave anything that was considered fixtures and fittings?

If the curtains are truly high end and you like them, would be worth negotiating. if you're paying that kind of money for a house, then i don't think you'll want to be replacing them with cheap off the shelf curtains? As PPs have said, you need to price up what you would pay for replacements. And if I'm wrong about their having to leave the post, you have to factor in cost of fitting and possible damage to decor / finding something that covers the existing holes

Thatladdo · 01/05/2023 16:42

electriclight · 01/05/2023 13:34

If op is in the market to pay £1.1m for a home I think she probably does know how much quality curtains cost.

Show quote history

Apparently not.

WhoToBeToday · 01/05/2023 16:46

If there are any bay windows at all agree to pay for the poles....they can cost £1500+ just to get something that fits the window!

RM2013 · 01/05/2023 16:47

depends how much you like them and can use them long term. Personally I wouldn’t pay for curtains. We left all our behind when we moved recently purely because the curtains wouldn’t have fitted into our new house.
I get that they’re high end and probably cost a fortune but feel they’re being a little bit cheeky asking £4K.

if you say no you don’t want them what will they do with them?

PickledPurplePickle · 01/05/2023 17:18

We had a quote for 2 pairs of full length good quality curtains which came in at over £3k so if you love them I would negotiate

Modda · 01/05/2023 17:22

Curtains are expensive but it's a buyers market. No one else will want them so you can beat them right down.

WhoToBeToday · 01/05/2023 17:25

Oh and 5 pairs of bespoke curtains came with us from old house to new house. Quite a few windows (eg bedroom) are similar sizes, so actually will transfer fairly well. One pair is still up (was guest room, now DS's room). They are, if you want to be picky, a little big for his window...but you'd have to give enough of a fuck to realise they are not completely drawn when closed. He certainly doesn't give a fuck.

Original poster

vatsucked · 02/05/2023 16:35

So we’re firmly in camp ‘new money’ due to a few savvy business moves in recent years. When we last moved house we were on a tight budget and had to scrimp and save. I wouldn’t have dreamed of spending 4K for NEW curtains at that point. It would seem like a total waste!

I have found your thoughts so insightful. Thank you! The house is a wonderful Victorian Manor House and we’re so lucky to have found it. Off the shelf Argos curtains aren’t going to do the house justice at all. The ones currently in the house are bespoke and made to measure. They are to my taste and I would be looking to keep them long term.

We decided to pay the 4K even though I still think the vendors would have left some of them for free. It’s the faff of getting people in to fit new ones, and being without any curtains potentially in the meantime if they took them down, that also influenced the decision to pay.

But I have tried to appeal to their better nature, and cheekily asked for them to throw in any light fittings (also high end) if they can. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Once again, I really appreciate your help everyone.

OP posts:

YouCould · 02/05/2023 16:39

Sounds like a good decision. I agree that Dunhelm Mills curtains wouldn't have worked.

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