Scenario: close to agreement on a sale price. Wondering about asking for the furniture to be included. There’s nothing too amazing - a few beds, an old settee…
Wondering about people’s points of view on this? If you accept all the furniture is it more trouble than it’s worth if you then have to dispose of some of it?
I’d keep it.
Unless you have a lot of furniture already, or have a plan to replace it in the short term. It’s good to keep stuff until you have the time and/or cash to replace it.
One house we rented had lots of old furniture, which the landlord was happy to dispose of when we left, it was a Godsend as we moved into an unfurnished house. We took it and left him his deposit. Saved us a fortune, and we still have it.
We had a few items left behind. Well wardrobes, roman blinds, some fancy curtains and rails along with some extra electrical items (tumble dryer, dishwasher and fridge). We intend on replacing all of the non-electrical stuff eventually but we’re only tackling 1 room at a time in terms of renovation as and when the money becomes available.
It has certainly saved us in forking out more money upfront so we’re glad we agreed to it now but we did mull over it at the time.
However, if they were leaving beds and sofas (which we didn’t want) it might have been a different story and I don’t know how easy it is to pick and choose with them what they leave behind.
Here’s link to what kind of costs you’d be looking at if you have a means to dispose of unwanted furniture:
oxigen.ie/meath-amenity-cen … cling.html
Thanks.
We’ve got a few things… a table and chairs tucked up in storage… a chair… a coffee table… odds and ends like that.
I’m just a little wary of asking for it, thinking it’s a grand deal, then my other half wanting to buy, for example, a new sofa and bed anyway!
Unless it is really nice I wouldn’t. We did and I regretted it, you just end up double buying as while it tides you over unless it is nice you will end up replacing. That being said we were ripped off.
I would have a look on gumtree etc and see what is out there. I know people who have got amazing stuff for next to nothing as it is expensive to get rid of stuff you don’t want if you don’t have a home for it !
The secret is pretty much making the seller think you might take it, but aren’t bothered one way or another.
If they think you want it, they’ll do their utmost to charge extra.
Unless it’s good enough for you personally, I’d chuck it out.
We had ‘white goods’ left behind. Fridge-freezer broke immediately (read: before we moved in) and the others are on their last legs. Still, useful to not have to buy all of those things on day one. I’d feel differently about beds and maybe even couches. Bit of a pain to get rid of them all if you plan on getting new ones soon.
Sellers also left behind a few free-standing shelving units. We didn’t complain as we thought they could be useful but they are probably more of a burden tbh.
Thanks folks.
Question - in general, is it the job of the seller to move all their stuff out?
Yes, though ‘empty’ varies by culture!
In my experience, Ireland and UK, fixtures and fittings - kitchen units, light fittings (not lightshades), bathroom fittings/plumbing are fixtures, pretty much everything else is not, though typically the cooker is left and fitted dishwasher etc. may be.
(in some countries, you’ll get a house/apartment without even sockets or light switches!).
Often curtains are left to offer some level of privacy, though, I’ve taken ones I like with me when they were a standard size.
We asked the estate agent for a walk-around before the final payment went through - just to check that it was empty. It pretty much was. There were a couple of small things in the shed but they left a bit of fuel, a garden hose, tins of paint et al. so it kinda balanced out. As long as they are not taking the piss by leaving you with a skip-load of junk, it’s fair enough. Our solicitor said she’d invoice the sellers if they left stuff that cost us money to dump.
id never pay for furniture , if its there when the house is being shown , it should come with the house unless stated otherwise
leaving it there is a gesture of good will by the vendor
I think it’s a good thing. You can always get rid of it later, and in the meantime you have the basics (the importance of the basics shouldn’t be underestimated — waiting on tradesmen in an empty house is not fun! Also, trying to source brass fenders that have been removed is tiresome, etc., etc.).
But if the house is lived in when it’s being shown, most of ‘stuff’ will follow the owners. I’d presume nothing would be left unless otherwise stated.
Thought of another downside to taking sellers’ property: you might try to ‘work around’ stuff rather than just start from scratch to suit your own taste. For example, a half-decent TV table - left behind ‘for free’ - can start to influence the colour of the sofas you buy.
The fact that you insure your house and contents as separate items and the fact that houses are listed for sale (rather than their contents) is evidence of what you should expect.
**Although if your notion was made law, I’d nip along to the next motorcycle show and buy myself the cheapest bike I could which happened to have a lovely girl draped over it.
**
If it’s your first house, you might want to take some things if they’re being offered but only take what you think you’ll use. Trading up and you’re unlikely to want the furniture (unless you have the same taste and the vendors intend leaving some really good quality stuff behind).
What we found useful in our first house were white goods (if/ when you buy new ones, the company will generally take away the old one anyway) and a couch and armchairs which weren’t totally hideous. We did end up keeping those longer than we should have though through inertia but in the end gave them away on gumtree and bought our own better ones..
Curtains and lampshades are usually left I think and are useful until you get replacements you prefer.
We also got some flower pots and a couple of large houseplants as a bonus. One of the plants is still with us after 12 years and will probably move to our new house.
Don’t pay a lot for anything you don’t love or really need. The owners want rid of it so you’re kind of doing them a favour by taking it anyway.
p.s. personally, I wouldn’t take a bed. I’d feel uneasy/ itchy in someone else’s bed… Illogical I know for someone who’s stayed in hotels but still.
Oh for sure I’d get new mattresses, so beds would be left without mattresses and the seller should dispose of them.
a degree of informality is required when selling a house , where i live , i bought in 2012 ( its in the countryside so is worth no more today tbh ) and a lot of furniture was left behind , they also left me a full tank of heating oil
like i said , gesture of good will
I’m currently in the process of buying an apartment from a REIT.
It was sold as-seen, i.e. I have to take the furniture with it (I did offer that they could remove certain pieces as I don’t need them but they don’t seem interested).
It’s not unhandy as I’m coming from a furnished rental and it’s not totally awful stuff, but a lot of it may get replaced in the near future anyway. Didn’t pay any extra for it.
Annoyingly, what it doesn’t have is curtains in the living room.