Leaving a note for the buyers of our house when we move?

[ErlingHaalandsManBun]

Have you done this when you have moved?

I think I am going to leave them a note with some useful info on for them. So far I have got:

The codes for the outbuilding locks
How to read the gas and tell if you need to order more (we are on LPG)
Who our gas supplier is
Who services our boiler
Who cuts our hedges (they expressed an interest in getting this done also)
Who our window cleaner is (although we will cancel him before we leave)
When bin day is

Is there anything else you would include/have included if you have done the same for your buyer?

Anything else you would do/leave before you go?

I was going to say paint colours! So useful to have the right shade of white or whatever for touch ups until you get around to decorating. In our first flat we arrived to a whole ringbinder, with everything you could think of, indexed and alphabetically arranged, there were the manuals and details for every appliance, every vendor they used, contact details for all the neighbours. It was propped up against a lovely card and a bottle of champagne and it made me well up it was so thoughtful.

All of the above.
I wouldn't leave my contact details though.
I did add that number 23 and number 26 were lovely people and that the owners before us for 30 years had told us it was a really happy home and that we had been very happy in the house as well.

A nice thing to know.

You sound lovely @ErlingHaalandsManBun

If they aren't local to the area. I would maybe leave some recommendations for the best takeaways

Any quirks about your house...so when I moved into my house it took me months to find the loft access cos it is hidden in a cupboard

When we moved, I wrote a list of useful info, labelled keys etc while the removals men loaded up. I was sat on the kitchen floor as all our chairs and sofas had gone in the van! We never got a thank you and our buyer wasn't the most cooperative, but I did hear from her 3 months later.

Our vendors on the other hand left us a garage full of junk, random socks, nerf gun pellets, and a folder of manuals half of which were for appliances no longer in the house! And they had turned the inbuilt dishwasher off at the wall, hidden behind a panel. £60 spent on a dishwasher repairman to find and flick a switch. No contact details/address for forwarding their endless post including NHS appointment letters. Luckily the seller had told us where the stopcock was when we looked round the house otherwise it would have taken us a long time to find it.

I haven't got a fude. Is it useful?

Absolutely! We did a binder with all of the documents and warrantees for the stuff we were leaving (integrated appliances, kitchen as it was new etc.).

Also included alarm codes, keys, locations of fuse box etc., neighbours's basic info (very helpful and friendly neighbors opposite), which paint colours we'd used in rooms incase they wanted to freshen up areas rather than fully repaint (with unused cans in the garage).

We did this and left local takeaway menus on the side and info about buses/taxis.

When we moved to this house we left our buyers a list of all the utilities, advice on where stopcoks etc were, our forwarding address in case they needed it, a bottle of champagne bad some chocolate and flowers.
We got a manual for or new house. We got a file full of instructions and guarantees for the blinds, electric garage door, dishwasher, boiler etc etc.
Also a box of labelled keys for shed, windows etc.
The couple we bought our property from are now our friends

My sellers were very kind and left each tin of paint they'd used labelled with which rooms and area it went. So useful, in my last house I could not get a match on a cream wall despite using apps and buying a million testers.

A little note saying "Don't worry about the ghosts in the cellar. The clowns in the attic ate them all."

Yes we did. Basic info like the stopcock, keys, bin day etc. we also left a bottle of red and a bottle of white, a list of good local takeaways (they were moving into the area) and the names of the neighbours.

When we bought our house the people we bought from left a note including lots of personal details about our neighbours and their personal opinion on them. Please don’t do that!

If you don't leave your details, what happens to the letter telling you about your hospital appointment, or the cheque from your relative?

We also left a binder with everything I could find regarding our house including a copy of the plans for both extensions. Warranties, instructions, invoices. I included details of the great local trades people we had used in recent years. We had been in the house for 32 years so it was a pretty big binder.
We moved almost 3 years ago and I still hear from our buyers regarding stray post. Nice people.

Yes. I did. And left wine and chocs. I shared any quirks and also what plants were where in the garden because it was winter so it all looked dead. I went a bit OTT. Loved our old house though. I won’t do the same this time I don’t think.

I’d leave a folder with all of the instruction manuals for appliances and dates purchased. Details of quarterly bills so they have an idea of what to expect, details of plumber, electrician, joiner, carpet supplier etc (we always use the same people). Together with other useful info if they’re new to the area - restaurants, takeaways, supermarkets, bus routes etc. plus a bottle of wine, a bunch of flowers in a vase and a very clean house!

Yes OP, I included pretty much exactly the same info as you, plus copies of gas certificates, info about when the windows had been replaced and other work we'd had done.

You pay for the Royal Mail forwarding service?

We were given the names of all our neighbours in our cul-de-sac and what number they lived at, as well as names of postman and frequent delivery drivers. They also left numbers for the plumber and electrician they use as well as odd job man and window cleaner.

The seller we bought our current house from left us a note with the usual useful info, and it started with “Welcome home!”
Moving had been so stressful for many reasons and that little thought really made me feel happy I’d moved there!

I fully agree with all the practical notes you're listing - that said, we were absolutely touched by the sellers of our house (an old school building). They left us a note, welcoming us to our role as the custodians of the building, along with a couple of articles about the history of the building. They also left a fire built and ready to be lit in the fire place (it was late November).

I left a copy of the local parish magazine as our buyers were new to the area, as it had lots of contacts for community societies and events.

Not long after we bought this house someone turned up on the doorstep with a bunch of Victorian era photos of the family on the doorstep, as well as some 100 year old postcards written to the then owner, and a newspaper clipping about the WW1 death of a teenage soldier who lived here. Fascinated me and I was very grateful, and it’ll all stay with the house.

If the new buyers are not from the area I’d also leave takeaway menus and a little list of must do local shops/cafes, as well as all the practical things others have mentioned.

Mine left a loads of things in the attic and garden, a broken boiler (they ticked was working), red bills, a window cleaner who they owed money to (he said he could see them the last time hiding but never once told him to stop cleaning) and all 4 wheelie bins filled with junk

If you are able to, print a couple of sheets of labels with your new address so save them the faff of writing it out each time.