Should we charge our buyers for wardrobes/furniture?

[cathbath]

We are just about to move, and would like to offer our wardrobes to our buyers. They are not part of the fixtures and fittings but we don't really want the hassle of having to dismantle and move them! They cost us over £600 only 18 months ago, so my DH is saying he wants to ask for some money back for them - say £250.

Is it reasonable to ask for money on top of the house price (assuming the buyers want them, that is)?

Our buyers are first time buyers and don't have much furniture. There are a few other things such as our dining table, book cases and some other stuff, all newish, which we won't need in our new place. I am thinking of offering it all to them, but don't want it to appear that we're trying to make money from them. I would offer it all for free, but DH disagrees! I'm not sure how to approach this - any thoughts are welcome.

I think its perfectly reasonable to offer to sell them. Just ask them if they want to buy them, they dont have to if they dont want to.

I had to put things like that in my information pack.

Yes, it's perfectly reasonable to ask for £.

That said, as soon as you ask them if they are interested in buying it, it'll be fairly obvious you don't want it, so they probably won't pay you much!

I think that you should have a nosey on ebay, work out how much you could get for it if someone came to collect it. Have a think about whether family or friends would want it, if not, then offer it to the people buying for a nominal sum. surely you dont want to move it? also if they are first tume buyers they may not have money to buy it off of you.

our first time buyers we delighted when we offered fridge/oven/dishwasher/curtains and nets for nothing because we had no use for them.

dont overestimate the second hand value of your furnitiure!

Unless the furniture is really amazing and a one-off, I think it looks quite petty to chisel away over bits and pieces that you have no use for. You don't want to dismantle them, just let them have them - it will sweeten the deal.

We were just first time buyers.

The lady we bought our house from used the shed as a bargaining tool despite it being listed (EA mistake) in the description - "I'll throw the shed in for nothing". We knew perfectly well that she couldn't take it with her, but it did sweeten the deal for us. However she also left a fairly manky cooker and washing machine that she didn't want and tried to pass it off as a "favour" - I used gumtree and another one like it that I can't remember the name of to sell them and that bit of cash came in handy!

I don't think a first time buyer is going to turn down free stuff! But I'd have expected to pay a bit for a decent wardrobe if it wasn't listed among the house contents.

We bought the kitchen table and chairs with our old house - the sellers offered, we accepted ( I loved it and would have asked it they hadn't offered). Three years later, when we sold the house, we offered them to the new buyer, who accepted too.

i sold my house and gave them (they were first time buyers) an american fridge freezer, and every single set of bedroom furniture for nothing. i must be soft! i couldnt face moving it and there was no where to put it anyway. i asked them if they wanted it. they did!

must remember to try and charge next time

Thanks all - good to have your views. I have emailed the buyers and said we are selling some of the furniture as part of the move, and we are offering them first refusal.

I have listed the things we are selling but haven't attached prices to anything yet - just gauging their interest and invited a dialogue... Hopefully this is the right thing to do, and we can agree a nominal figure rather than nitpicking over individual items.

We have thrown lots of other stuff in for free so I'm sure they'll be happy!

Just waiting to exchange... any day now!