Is it customary/ok to leave anything in the house after you sell it? - Page 2

[limette]

Definitely find out first.

The previous owner left a bunch of stuff and we withheld money from the sale until he came and removed it.

[HeatherAtHome]

Our previous owner left things and we were THRILLED. We're young, just starting out and already putting enough money into renovations and appreciated not having to go out buying a bunch of extras. We love the tall ladder, the wheelbarrow, shovels (snow and digging), ax, clippers etc because we didn't have any of those things (first home). And then all the misc paint, building materials.... shelving, futon (we didn't move our furniture in right away so it was nice to have something to sit on!)

She asked if it was ok to leave things behind and we said it was fine. She was moving far away/into an apartment. It also helped that we had a 'big garbage day' two weeks later so we could get rid of stuff.

[mattemma04]

I never leave anything bigger than a few bottles of cleaning stuff.The 2 places we bought the previous owners left LARGE stuff they were to lazy to move,but junky that we could not use.Also plenty or old,rusty,dirty stuff in the garage and/or shed. Very rude.

I would have been thrilled with those tools and yard stuff!

[mattemma04]

I would agree that leaving useful thinks is ok. I would want all that you are leaving!

[BarefootScientist]

Well I just advertised our open garage for tomorrow morning. Now I'm going to go through the house today and find anything else we don't want to bring with and stick it out there in the garage. I really hope people come and take this stuff off my hands! There are also a few items I still really want money for, so I'm labeling them special and hope someone wants them.

[Coconut Chronicles]

We were left paint, tiles and 2 boxes of our wood flooring which have all been useful.

[Caneel]

I would leave the tiles and get rid of everything else.

When we bought our house, the owner tried to leave a bunch of similar stuff and we said clean it out or the closing will be postponed until you do.

He was very offended/hurt as he thought he was doing us a favor. I viewed it differently as I didn't want to deal with old paint, caulk and such. Those things go bad quickly and are a pain to dispose of properly.

You could ask the borrowers, like other mentioned, and maybe you will get lucky.

[PapayaMom]

I would have been thrilled to have had the opportunity to have the stuff as tiles can crack and paint can chip, but I would have wanted it cleared with us as well.

Our realtor was not happy to see paint left in our first home, she said it shouldn't have to be our responsibility to remove old paint from our new home as sometimes it can be a process.

When we sold that home we gave a list of things that we wanted to leave to our buyers, similar to the items you have listed, shingles matching paint tile etc they took it all but they had been kinda tricky up until that point so I think it was best that we had run it by.

It's too bad the realtor is not following through with the buyer. The rule at the final walkthrough is broom clean therefore anything other than some dust bunnies has to be approved or risk closing being postponed.

Maybe make a list and bring/fax it to their realtor.

[BarefootScientist]

Well, our open garage went fairly well. Only a little bit left to drop off at the thrift store or resource yard. We have decided to leave a screen, a hose, and the paint and tile that matches the house, but that's it.

We're still going to be living here during the final walk-through so how does that work? I mean, we're driving the U-haul to closing, kwim?

I think it's the buyer's agent that's dropping the ball. We don't know what time closing is yet either. I'd like to make some travel plans.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by Novella

Can you contact the buyer and find out?

This could totally go either way. For some people it would be a wonderful treat (eg. younger couples getting started). For others, it would sour the deal and they'd always feel you'd dumped a bunch of junk on them because you couldn't be bothered to clean the place out properly.

This.

We had our sellers leave a ton of crap that we had to deal with. Some ok to leave behind, others a pain

OTH,
We had a piece of furniture in our old kitchen that was built specifically for the room. We were going to leave it behind because it made the room. Turns out the buyer wrote it into the offer that it stays.

We also gathered all our paint cans and put them in the closets of the rooms they matched. A few rooms they painted that day so they I am sure just tossed, but for the others they used to touch up after moving in day.

[texmati]

I would ask. for a year after we bought the house we were finding trash that the old owners couldn't bother to clean out. We asked repeatedly to have the place cleaned out-- but on moving day; the place was still a mess. it's infuriating.

I would move everything out-- the only thing I would leave would be the tiles.

[BarefootScientist]

In theory it would be so great to just ask...yes...and get an ANSWER...grrrrrrr I am getting so annoyed. At the buyer/buyer's agent, not you guys.

I've been trying to get ahold of her for more than two weeks to ask if she wants the stuff. Like I said upthread, we finally got rid of almost everything. We are keeping the floor tiles, paint that matches the house, a screen, a hose, maybe a couple other little things that have specific purposes in our specific house. I asked our agent to let hers now that if they can't bring themselves to get into contact with me by the time we move (first thing Friday morning) they are not allowed to complain about anything we left or didn't leave. I know legally, technically, they probably still are, but SERIOUSLY!

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by BarefootScientist

Oh, and if anyone can think of a better, faster, easier way to get rid of this type of stuff, I am ALL ears.

Do you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore in your area?

Oops, nvm, see you already got rid of it all.