Seller wants to take range cooker despite saying it would stay!

[mabaf90]

We're buying a house and when viewing (viewed twice) the sellers said all fixtures and fittings in the kitchen will be included in the sale. We had a list of questions and specifically asked about the range cooker which they said would be included. We had our offer accepted which was under the advertised price. Just saw the F&F form and they have excluded not only the Stoves Richmond range cooker but also the kitchen pendant lights. They've also excluded a chandelier overhanging the staircase. They're also taking the shed, thee toilet roll holder which is screwed into the wall, and a host of other items. We don't really care for the shed and lights although a bit annoyed/confused as they said these were included when we viewed but are now excluding.

Just wondering what people's experiences have been? First time buyers so not entirely sure what is the norm re. the stove. On reading online it seems they can take the cooker. Wondering if they thought they would sell for higher and therefore are trying to make a point/recoup costs.

You can go back and ask for the price to rectify these items being taken.

I would drop the price.

You get a price correction.

Did you get the answers about the stove in writing? If so work out how much it will cost to replace and drop your offer by that much.

Re your list - was it questions at the viewing or in a follow-up email? Did the estate agent do the viewing? Really frustrating but I don’t take anything for granted until I see what’s indicated on the form. Whichever way, I’d still go back to the agent expressing your surprise, the vendors may change their mind again.

Our questions were all in person so not written unfortunately. We looked at the ad again and it doesn't include any details re. what is included or not. Definitely a learning point for getting things in writing next time. We'll try with the agents and see what they say.

Unless it’s your dream house at a bargain price I would just go back to them and say the vendors indicated during the viewing that these things would stay and your offer was made on that basis. Ask them to reconsider and send a new form to reflect any changes

It would have made no difference if you did have it in writing. Until contracts are exchanged anyone can change their mind

Our sellers took all their 'chandeliers' and sold us the range, fridge, washing machine etc. We thought it was a bit petty having to pay for the items but I cohldnt be bothered with arranging delivery of a fridge etc on the day we move!
Did think about callimg their bluff amd saying we wouldnt pay as it would have been a hassle for them to sell and transport them.
We really didnt want to slow down the sale.

Its their stuff so of course they can take it. Disappointing though if they previously said it was included, but they are well within their rights to change their minds. Ask for a discount for roughly the 2nd hand price of what they are taking and move along with the sale.

We had something similar with rhe house we were buying. One of the photos in the brochure was captioned ‘top quality kitchen appliances’, another photo showed just a chandelier light in the stairwell, and the brochure also made reference to ‘a stand out feature of this property is the garden gym’. When we looked through the fixtures and fittings form it showed that the built in fridge, freezer, and wine fridge were not included and neither was the light. When we checked, the kitchen appliances would have cost us at least £25,000 to replace, and scaffolding was needed to replace thr light. The first twice we ciewwd the house we were told that the gym was locked. After being told that the equipment was being removed, we insisted on looking inside when we went for a pre exchange viewing, and saw that the so called gym was just used as a rubbish store and clearly hadn’t been functioning as a gym for years. We had to pull out after our survey highlighted some serious structural issues but aside from that we wouldn’t have gone ahead if the kitchen appliances were removed.

Precisely what we’ve concluded. Certainly intend to discuss price correction even if minimal to reflect the promise which we had factored into our offer.

They said they were included presumably on the basis that they were included at the advertised price, not the reduced price you offered. The only thing you can do is assess what they are worth to you and either reduce your offer or suck it up

This hinges on they said they were going to leave it
taking light fittings , appliances and curtains/blinds is standard

The shed by happy for it to be left but wouldn’t assume

£25k for kitchen appliances? Were they made out of gold?

I wonder if they're hoping you'll offer more to keep them?

Ours said we had to pay extra to keep the shed, we said we didn't want it but they left it anyway (we actually did want it so I tried my luck there, who takes a shed with them?!). They also tried to sell us the washer and fridge but we didn't need them and then they left them behind. They also tried to sell us the curtain poles and curtains. I thought the curtain poles were a bit petty, she was moving in with a partner so its not like she needed them. We said no so they took them all down but then had to make good the holes so I'm not sure what the point of that was really. They also left quite a few other random things which was rather annoying.

Ultimately we’re not too fussed as we really love the property/location so we’re just going to tell them that it’s fine and see what we walk into on completion day.

The fact that you offered under asking price is likely to be their argument.
I wouldn’t expect a freestanding cooker to be included as it isn’t fixed or fitted. I’ve never bought a house that included light fittings without being asked if I wanted to buy them,

We were shocked when we checked the price of replacements - they really would have cost that much! I couldn’t believe anyone would spend thst much on three appliance. They were enormous and whilst our first thought was that we would just buy a big American fridge freezer, the kitchen had been built around them and we would have had to do major reconfiguration work to make it look right if they hadn’t been replaced with like for like.

Our sellers took all the hanging light fittings and left bare wires, we had no idea until we were moving in. Also various nice plants out of the garden and we discovered only half of the garage floor was concrete the rest was bare earth, couldn't see that on the viewing. I assume your sellers will say they were never included, so unless you have something in writing it will be difficult to argue.

If it's any comfort I'm regretting buying our Stoves range cooker...

I would reduce my offer by a couple of grand and cite that’s not what we agreed.

This ^

I'm guessing the EA's written description for the property said something along the lines of "space for range cooker" or just failed to mention the appliances at all? If it did refer to it specifically, I think they'd not have a leg to stand on.

We included a very expensive Bertazzoni professional range cooker when we last sold in 2024 because it was an absolute piece of shit so our description mentioned it specifically. But years ago we had an issue when our EA told some viewers (who went on to offer/buy the house) that the 'aga' was included and a misunderstanding occurred as we had both a Rayburn and a range cooker with Aga label. Ultimately we had to let the buyers have both, but the EAs admitted it was their error and paid us for a replacement oven.

On our last sale we also left some very nice, expensive light fittings, but made it clear we'd be taking the more unique/vintage ones and replacing with a plain rose/flex/bulb.

I recall when we were buying our second house, the 80+ year old vendor offered us some lovely antique furniture which we'd have happily paid for, then promptly announced she was selling them at auction. She also had nice velvet curtains which were gone on completion day.

I imagine they're expecting you to offer to buy these items - at an inflated price - perhaps?

I thought there’s a requirement to ensure they’re left safely if they do take them which means they should replace them with ceiling roses.

oh no! Why the regret with the stove?

It works both ways OP. If they leave behind things they have said they are taking then they can be charged for their removal. Obviously if it's something you want you can keep it.

I hate how greedy some sellers are. We withdrew from a purchase after being messed around for months then our sellers wanting £100 per blind for blinds they had had for years and definitely wouldn't fit their new house. No regrets.