Exchange on jan 7th...think I have everything ready for new owners !

[bumblebee1000]

Sold late aunts large 5 bed house, have cleared out everything not on the seller pack, have left white goods and nice dining table and chairs....have cleaned, hoovered, dusted etc...have labelled up keys, left info about boiler and water shut off....will go over on the 6th to do final meter readings...Anything else to do..? New buyers are only moving from appx 3 roads away so know about council and bin collections etc...

Do they know where water meter is ?
Other meters
Stopcock

Should all be covered in the property information form the OP completed, and the buyers would have sight of this.

Are the white goods and the dining table part of the sale? Have the new buyers agreed for you to leave them there or have you decided to ‘gift’ them?

Definitely good to leave information about water meter/stopcock.

We are exchanging next week hopefully and we plan to leave all this information as well as a bottle of champagne and a new home card, not necessary but we’ve decided to do this because we’ve built up a ‘rapport’ with our buyers over the months.

Home insurance/contents insurance policies will need to be cancelled, as well as TV Licences and the utility companies informed that there is a new owner from X date.

Yes, all gifted items....have told them where stopcock is, unusual place in the driveway and left the tool needed to reach down to it in the hole....have contacted the insurances and cancelled from jan 7th...no water meter...they know where gas and electric meters are etc...i will leave a card and some chocs...and my email address...unlikely for any post to come other than last bills. I have done a big deep clean, as buyers havent messed about and paid over asking price so happy here.

Were they listed on your fixtures and fittings form as being left? If you leave them and they aren't expecting it (or don't want them) you'll be left footing the bill to remove them after.

Our sellers ‘gifted’ stuff to us, expect we had our own, nowhere to store it and getting white goods uplifted is about £60 an item.
maybe check they want them?

Are you also completing on the 7th, if not you are still liable for utilities until completion not exchange?

Totally agree with the ‘gifted’ items. You may think they’re lovely but they may not be to the taste of new buyers. I once moved into a house that we knew needed a lot of work but had to delay a week to be able to remove the ‘kindly gifted’ furniture that we really didn’t want on top of our own. It may seem like a kind thing to do but in reality really isn’t.

Agree with checking if they want the furniture. When we moved into our property, the sellers left loads of stuff we needed to get rid of. It was a right pain.

I’m not sure leaving contact details is a good idea. You don’t want them coming back to you with every single problem they might have with the house, and expecting you to resolve it.

The white goods and dining table and chairs were all listed on the seller pack and nobody has asked for them to be removed so assume buyer wants them..all in vgc. House doesnt need any work, just decorating, 3 big lounges and big garage. I will be in the area visiting friends every few weeks who live directly opposite the house.

I'm intrigued by a couple of comments on this thread. Like the OP, I'd assumed that if you'd listed an item (such as a white good) as 'included in the sale' on the fixtures & fittings form and the buyer didn't specifically ask you to remove it from the sale, then it should be left. I don't think you'd then actively need to check with the buyer that they want it. They should have read the form, seen it was included in the sale and if they didn't want it requested for it to be removed.

Am I wrong here? We are about to leave an item that we clearly marked as included in the sale and I wasn't thinking to specifically check with the buyer.

You need to set up a mail redirection so they don’t have to deal with the last bills that you mention.

I checked with the estate agents, as there was no mention about the white goods etc on the pack being removed, they are to be left....buyer has ample time to request removal....so they stay !

You’re right, there is no need to check with the buyer. The fixtures and fittings form forms
part of the contract, and it would become pretty pointless if you then also had to verbally confirm what is being left.

When I sold My house I left a few items of furniture. I included them on the f&f form with the comment, ‘please advise if not required’ . I didn’t hear anything, so I left them.