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.

I would have thought that that the range cooker would be considered 'fixtures and fittings' so would normally be part of the sale. Frankly if they plan to take it there will be a hole/gap in the kitchen which you will end up having to pay and fill! I wouldn't want that hassle on moving day.

I’ve posted this on here before. Friends bought a house that had a greenhouse in the garden. Vendor offered to sell it to them for about £300. They said they had no use for a greenhouse and on the day they moved in they found said greenhouse had been smashed to pieces, thousands of bits of glass over the garden. Some people are so petty.

And if they are taking the screw in toilet roll holder. They have to make the holes good. So they must fill the holes and paint over the top with paint which matches. I’d remind them of that.

I would never expect or assume things like a free standing range cooker or shed would be left. That’s what a fixture and fittings form is for. If your offer was contingent on specific things being included in the sale, you need to specify that with the offer.

Blimey. I’d have taken legal advice on that. What of you had kids or dogs? You could be standing on glass for years!

no fairly straightforward, they were difficult about a second viewing as I wanted to take some measurement’s so that never happened ! and we were understanding when they changed the exchange date due to them having Covid . It was bizarre. I have never managed to get the garden looking as good as good !! Many of the mature plants couldn’t possibly have survived being dug up. My husband ever the optimist said now you can have the garden the way you want it , and he complemented how neat they left it . There wasn’t even a weed left ! Nowt so queer as folk !

We were told we could pay extra for the Aga and hot tub. We declined both. Over a decade on we still have an Aga and the hot tub as hot tub would have needed craning over the roof or breaking apart to remove. And we have never managed to afford the kitchen revamp needed to replace the Aga.

its nice but not mature ! It’s a very small garden but they had it like an oasis Beautiful floweriing vines covered old walls. Lovely tall grasses , mature shrubs and a lovely magnolia tree . I’ll never have it as nice !!

Look just say its fine but you want to reduce asking by X as they verbally indicated it was inclided and your offer was based on that.
Its fine to take it but it all needs to be made good.
You should also advise you'll either need to inspect or see video footage of the make good (gas stopped / kitchen floor undamaged, ceilings etc) after exchange but before completing. I'd push for in person

The purpose of the fixtures and fittings form that you complete as a seller is to indicate what you will leave, until thats filled in you can change your mind, which sounds like whats happened.

Bought and sold x3 - integrated appliances i have left, anything freestanding i have taken, including a shed as they’re £££ and i still needed a shed at the new property. I have always taken my light fittings, shelves, curtains and curtain poles too, i don’t think this is tight- i had a certain style i like and would replace with something very similar 🤷‍♀️ so why would i leave them and cost myself more.

The only time i have left moveable things is on our first sale where the buyer asked to buy specific things that they had seen on viewing (x2 rustic shelves, a bathroom unit and an american fridge freezer) we negotiated a separate price for those as i would of been using them in my next property.

on the forms it even asks if your taking sockets, fitted wardobe internals etc so its not uncommon and i wouldn’t be reducing my offer on the basis that someone was taking their cooker. Fair enough if they were removing the kitchen.

It might be that they intended to leave the stove, but the place they are buying has a free standing so they need to take it with them. I wouldn’t expect it to be included, and even if they had said they were happy to leave it, I would have specified it as part of the offer.

That's absolutely appalling @Starbri8! What the hell goes through some people's minds when selling?

20+ years back we looked at a house with a lovely mature garden and during the viewing the older lady vendor told us gleefully that she and her husband planned to dig the lot up and take it to their new home. Suffice to say we didn't make an offer!

A house we sold in 2011 had a really pretty front garden we'd taken ages planting up after removing a massive, plant-free rockery. A few years later I noticed on street view they'd replaced the lot with additional parking (there was already plenty).

Before marketing our last house, two years ago, we dug up half a dozen David Austin roses, a couple of small but unusual established shrubs and about ten perennials. As we'd planted the 0.5 acre garden from scratch and had put in 60+ David Austins, we felt it wouldn't be noticeable....which it wasn't, no-one that viewed was any the wiser as it was all really densely planted.

For viewings we left a massive list, several pages long of everything we'd planted, so those few plants (which we'd transferred into pots long before the first viewing took place) wouldn't have made a difference. Tbh, I fear that two years on, the garden has probably been reclaimed by nature, but that's their prerogative 🙄

Our vendor wanted £3k for the solar panels. DH told them they could remove the panels and we expected a structural survey to confirm the roof was sound and any damage had been made good. The solar panels are still on the roof.

Hang on a minute: If they take the Range that's a whole kitchen needing renovation. It's like taking a fireplace, bath, shower, toilet etc. Your Solicitor should take this up as it is a fundamental part of the kitchen. It costs many hundreds of pounds to install if it is an Aga.

If it is not of that ilk you can buy a range type cooker and have that put in. It is still a heavy cost and you can say they either leave it behind and you pay the agreed price, or they take it and you want a suitable reduction to cover your extra costs.

I'd go back with a reduced offer, saying everything you said here.

I remember similar from when I was viewing houses about 2 years ago. Once house on my viewing list had a lovely traditional aga in the kitchen, featured prominently as a perk.

My mum has one and I know how expensive they are.
When I went to view it, the aga was gone. In it's place was a cheap-looking, free standing cooker. The type they might have in a village hall kitchen, or in school cookery rooms from 20 years ago. The tiling on the wall had a gaping hole from where they'd obviously tiled AROUND the aga.
I asked the agent when it had gone, to be told the client had ripped it out, "and we don't know why."

Needless to say, the house wasn't "the one" for a host of different reasons. But the aga situation didn't help.

In my experience it’s common to take the lights/chandelier. Taking the toilet roll holders is nasty but not totally unreasonable. But I would have thought that the shed and the cooker were part of the deal, especially as the vendors specifically said they were staying. Your vendors are annoyed with you and trying it on. Tell the estate agent you’d like to submit a revised offer to take into account that you will need to buy a new shed and cooker. (Unless it’s your dream house and you’re desperate not to lose it, because that’s always a possibility until contracts are exchanged.)

You offered under the asking price so they have taken the goods to make up the difference.

When we bought our first house, the previous owners took every single lightbulb! We got the keys in the evening and excitedly rushed straight round but couldn’t do anything in the darkness 😂

The bottom line is they can take their cooker and light fitting if they want to.
It can see its annoying that it wasn't clear from the start, but thats what the F&F form is for to clarify.
Would your offer have been different if you had known the cooker and lights were not included,would you have negotiated a separate price for them ?
Also are you willing not to proceed with a 700k house purchase for the sake of the cooker and the lights.
I can see both sides of this situation and many posters here side with whoever is telling the story.
I sold my house and said the fridge wasn't included,the fridge was 3 months old and the house i was moving to had no fridge,well it basically had no kitchen,so i wanted to take it with me,this wasnt clear in the estate agents details. My buyer went on and on asking for it to be included. It became a silly battle of wills over a fridge! The light fittings were not included in my sale (they were the last thing my late husband bought before he died) and the buyers wanted them included too.
In the end i decided to leave them the fridge and buy a new one but took the light fittings for personal reasons.
Its important to remember there are 2 sides to this.
You could ask for a reduction for the cost of the range but ask if it really would have altered your offer had you known from the get go.

They’re trying their luck hoping you will offer to buy the items. Call their bluff & offer a lower price for the house.

My seller took the internal door handles, the fitted carpets and all the light bulbs.

Luckily she also took all her dirty underwear that had been scatterd around the bedroom floor when we viewed.

We offered on a house and when it came to F&F they were going to take the fire surround! Our solicitor picked this up and contacted us. He had told the vendors that if they did that then the whole wall was to be replastered and made good. They left the fire surround (we did like it and still have it). Our solicitor was very hot on several things and saved us more than his fee!

How petty to take a toilet roll holder though!

You specifically asked about the range cooker and were told it would stay. I'd reply that this is an unexpected cost of £2500 to replace and they will need to drop the price by that amount. Had you not asked then they are within their rights, because you did and they said it would stay its a variation of contract terms.

We bought from an interior designer who was trying to take a fitted cupboard off the wall when we arrived. Full crowbar job.
Same one who charged us for the aga and took the stair runner .

However OP agas are two a penny as no one wants them due to fuel costs. £80 per week.
Stoves are usually dual fuel and a pain in the arse.