Furniture included in sale: take it or leave it?

[Teeteringonthebrink45]

I’ve had an offer accepted on a flat which I’m buying after a year living in a furnished rented flat (after separating from my ex). I don’t have any furniture so was assuming I’d need to buy it all when I buy a property, but actually the place I’m buying is currently rented out and the price the vendor agreed includes all furniture (I didn’t ask for this, just for reference).
At first I thought this was great as I wouldn’t have to buy everything on day 1, but now I’m wondering if I would be better off asking them to remove some/all of it (and am i within my rights to ask them to do this?)
Currently it has 4 double beds whereas I’ll only need 1 (will likely buy my children cabin beds with desks built in, and 4th room will be an office), 2 sofas, dining table (I think!) and various desks/drawers etc (I wasn’t paying super close attention to this when I viewed!). Considering I’d be looking to buy my own stuff and what’s there is likely to be crap quality/condition and a hassle to then get rid of, would I be better off just asking them to take it all? At a stretch I’d want to keep garden furniture, white goods (for sure) and table/chairs but probably better off losing the beds etc? I won’t have a big budget for furnishing but don’t want to give myself a big headache having to get rid of stuff when I don’t have a car!

You can negotiate on this, but the seller may say no.

We have several charity shops that will collect good furniture, this can be booked in advance. So you could just arrange for anything you don’t want to be donated when you move in.

Freecycle is also great for passing on unwanted furniture.

How much time has gone by since they accepted your offer then told you that all furniture is included?

Ask for a second viewing to see the furniture and then be clear. Tell the estate agent exactly what you need to keep - white goods, garden furniture, table and chairs (including sofa?) but that you don't want the desks/beds. It's not likely to be a problem if you are clear.

In the unlikely event that they do come back and say its all or nothing, you could either opt for nothing, or get a quote for the council to collect 3 double beds, 3 desks, 3 sets of drawers etc and say that you will need to reduce your offer to cover the cost of removing/disposing of their furniture. You could ask them to move the beds downstairs for you.

Ask for another viewing and take a look at the furniture again. I remember being a bit snotty about some furniture in our current home which was also an ex rental but with moving costs mounting up I was very very glad of it in the end for a few months until we got on our feet financially

It depends whether the nice-ness of the furniture you actually want compensates for the hassle of getting rid of the furniture you DON'T want. If the vendor won't take out the bits you don't want (and they may not want to, as it's inconvenient for them), as others have said, there are good charity collections, or arrange a clearance company.

Personally I'd say take it if you can. Don't underestimate the cost of furnishing a house from top to bottom - all those wardrobes, tables, chairs, shelves etc quickly add up. You can replace things slowly, as budget allows.

You can normally go through item by item and agree what is staying and what is going, doesn't need to be all or nothing but its a joint decision between you and seller - default is empty so they can't make you keep things you don't want.

Councils once you have moved will collect items to be disposed of, called a bulky item collection if you google council name and bulky item collection you can find out how much would cost. Its normally not that much like about £10 per item though a double bed with mattress will count as 2 items. Anything in usable condition can sell via ebay or similar though certain things are very difficult to sell. Charities may collect furniture in good condition. I would have a think about it and then try and negotiate. They could also pay to get rid of stuff you don't want and they don't want.

I would also price up the items you want to get new and that may help decide.

I would keep it all for now. You can always get rid of stuff when you have settled in more.

When I sold my mum's house after she had died , the buyer asked if they could keep everything ( I had already promised a nearly new washing machine & t.v. to a friend ) but everything bar her clothes , ornaments and sheets , duvets , towels , food in freezer and cupboards etc was left ! They were happy with it at no extra cost to them and I was happy not to have to engage removals .
I guess your answer is do you like it all , has it a purpose in your life and can you afford to rebuy it from day 1 ?

My council will only collect dismantled furniture from the kerbside so bear this in mind if you have heavy/bulky furniture you need to get downstairs. We get one free collection per year of up to 5 items, but e.g. a bed is 4 items - frame, slats, mattress, headboard.

Agree with PPs you need to go for another viewing to check what you’d actually want.
Then price up the cost of getting rid of items you don’t want versus what you’d save on buying everything you need.

Unless you have a nearby furniture charity shop which will collect you’ll need to use the council.
Many charge a fee per item (ours is £25) and stuff has to be dismantled and put out at the kerbside.

If you decide you don’t want the furniture make sure it is gone before taking possession.
We once bought a house and were offered the (extremely grotty) downstairs carpets for an additional fee. We declined and the seller just left them anyway!

Don't rely on these. We tried to get a couple near us to take some of my MIL's stuff. "Good condition" in their eyes means virtually perfect. They refused everything we had.

I would say don't take it unless there are a couple of specific items you want (in which case just say they are the only things you want leaving and everything else has to be removed). We had loads of stuff left by sellers and it was a real pain to get rid of it and costly if you need someone to take it away. Likelihood is that if it was decent they wouldn't be throwing it in for free. Definitely don't keep the sofas if you can afford to buy your own. Nobody ever wants to buy a second hand sofa and it's difficult even to give them away so you end up paying someone to take it from you.

Thanks so much for all the thoughts on this! I guess for the vendor it’s a hassle to get rid of stuff as he is selling a whole load of BTL properties so getting rid of furniture will be a problem for him - but I have asked the agents for a second viewing and I’ll figure out then if there’s anything I want to keep, as thinking through the practicalities of getting rid of multiple double beds from the 1st floor, plus possibly scabby sofas doesn’t sound very appealing!!