Surprise! What did the seller take with them that you expected would stay with the house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glass shelves in the bathrooms (from Restoration Hardware), the lamp post from the front yard, ALL of the paint (which was stacked in the basement every time we were in the house, including the walk-through...a huge pain because there were so many different colors in the house and we could have used the paint for touch ups...ended up having to paint the entire house due to damage when previous owners removed things from the walls).

We had the opposite when I sold our last house. There was a closet in one room (the old converted garage) where I had neatly stacked all of the paint that we used in the house. I had labeled everything. I also left wallpaper remnants. I left carpet fragment remnants from when we had the carpet replaced just a week before listing. We had redone bathrooms and there were leftover tiles for the bathroom. Extra pieces of the hardwood that was replaced a week before listing. All there, all nicely labeled which room.

The wife did the walk-through that morning and came to closing livid telling me that I had left a closet full of junk. I explained with the closer, and realtors there that these were the paint, wallpaper, and flooring remnants for all of the materials in the house in case they needed to patch or repair. She sneered and very pointedly told me that if I didn't come and remove those immediately after closing that she would not close; and her husband agreed with her. The realtors tried to convince her that she wanted those things. She said she absolutely didn't want those and didn't want to clean after me (we had professional cleaners clean before the walk-through). If I didn't agree to remove all those things immediately after closing, she wouldn't sign. So, after closing, we drove back to the house, I removed all those things and took them to a dumpster (except the paint which took me 6 months before I managed to dispose of it).

Maybe she wanted to repaint with her color scheme and didn’t want to deal with disposing all the paint you left.

yeah. That was my idea. But that could have just been explained nicely.

I'm the PP who told the story. Yeah, she could have said she wanted to repaint. But she also called the brand new carpet fragments and the extra hardwood boards (brand new) junk and wanted me to take those away. We got a floating floor so that individual planks could be replaced if damaged. I'm not sure she would consider those planks to be "junk" if she dropped something heavy on one and broke it and no longer had the replacement planks that she told me to throw away. Or the brand new bathroom tiles. But hey, if she wanted to spend an additional $10-20K on flooring that had just been replaced, it's not my problem. I dutifully threw it away. But the two realtors agreed with me that she was nuts. The good thing is after I threw the supplies away, I never had to deal with her again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So none of you had a walk thru before closing?

+1

I'm one of the PP who posted about the sellers taking all the bathroom mirrors (which weren't "nice"). We did notice it during the walkthrough but didn't care that much since we would've replaced them anyway as the sellers had terrible taste. We just thought it was weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Digging up landscaping is crazy. I don't care if the shrubs are imported and the perfect height. Landscaping is part of the land.

I have some plants that were my moms, that I transplanted from her garden when she passed away.

I would dig them up and take them with me If I were to sell, but ai would let the buyers know before the sale.

My sister had just purchased a very large lilac bush for a good chunk of change the year before they listed their house for sale. She specifically put in the listing documentation that the lilac bush did not convey (but all the rest of the landscaping did and there really was a ton of it). Apparently the people they sold to were still mad that the bush was removed and tried to make it an issue at closing, even though it was right there in the documentation that it did not convey.

I'm kind of amazed at all of these people who take large shrubbery with them when they move. It's fairly difficult to keep that stuff alive through the transplanting process, once the plant is fully established in a spot. (It's very different than planting a shrub that has spent it's entire life growing in a pot).
I think that transplanting is the last thing that I'd want to deal with in the middle of a whole-house move....I'd want to get my kitchen unpacked rather than dealing with immediately dealing with some stressed-out shrub. Did your sister's lilac bush survive the move?

I do understand the person who took the flowers that she had gotten from her mom's garden. It would still be a process, but perennials are much easier to deal with than shrubs!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glass shelves in the bathrooms (from Restoration Hardware), the lamp post from the front yard, ALL of the paint (which was stacked in the basement every time we were in the house, including the walk-through...a huge pain because there were so many different colors in the house and we could have used the paint for touch ups...ended up having to paint the entire house due to damage when previous owners removed things from the walls).

We had the opposite when I sold our last house. There was a closet in one room (the old converted garage) where I had neatly stacked all of the paint that we used in the house. I had labeled everything. I also left wallpaper remnants. I left carpet fragment remnants from when we had the carpet replaced just a week before listing. We had redone bathrooms and there were leftover tiles for the bathroom. Extra pieces of the hardwood that was replaced a week before listing. All there, all nicely labeled which room.

The wife did the walk-through that morning and came to closing livid telling me that I had left a closet full of junk. I explained with the closer, and realtors there that these were the paint, wallpaper, and flooring remnants for all of the materials in the house in case they needed to patch or repair. She sneered and very pointedly told me that if I didn't come and remove those immediately after closing that she would not close; and her husband agreed with her. The realtors tried to convince her that she wanted those things. She said she absolutely didn't want those and didn't want to clean after me (we had professional cleaners clean before the walk-through). If I didn't agree to remove all those things immediately after closing, she wouldn't sign. So, after closing, we drove back to the house, I removed all those things and took them to a dumpster (except the paint which took me 6 months before I managed to dispose of it).

You were very thoughtful for doing that. The previous owners of my house did the same thing: left paint cans (everything labelled), gave use spare tiles from the recent bathroom remodel and gave us the brand and product name for the linoleum flooring on the first floor. We were very grateful for it as we had to do some touch ups when we moved in.

[Anonymous]

Once you experience a weird or mean seller, you become the one that leaves the TP, the bottle of wine, and the names of the repair people who know the place already.

The transaction is stressful enough. Why are some people so awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Their CAT!!

They gave it to a neighbor, and as an outdoor cat, it lurks in our yard and constantly begs to come 'home.' It even dashed inside our house once and I had to catch it.

Poor thing is confused. Have a heart!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, if taking what is "yours" involves using tools to dismantle/remove from the walls and take down - it is a fixture of the house that isn't "yours" anymore unless it is specifically stated that those things do not convey.

I can not even imagine showing a house with custom closet shelving in place and then removing it at the time of the sale as a nasty little surprise for the new owner.

I'm shocked that people do that actually.

Exactly!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My retirement. God, this place is a money pit.

Oh no!! Old house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once you experience a weird or mean seller, you become the one that leaves the TP, the bottle of wine, and the names of the repair people who know the place already.

The transaction is stressful enough. Why are some people so awful.

I want to be this person when we move!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had just painted and I was planning on leaving a can of each color for touch ups. I was disposing of other old paint from the sellers before us and asked out agent if we should leave the newer cans. She said no and that all paint cans must be removed so we dumped it. One week before closing got a question from the buyers on what paint colors we used in case they needed to do touch ups. They would have liked to just have the cans. Oh well.

We left the Elfa because I didn't want an issue but I really, really wanted to take the drawers. We had rods already in the closets and would have left the attached rods and shelving.

Why on earth would Elfa convey?

We have no plans to sell, but when we do, you can bet I will take all the Elfa with me.

You're going to leave bare closets with holes in the walls?! Closet systems convey. You'd better write in your listing that Elfa doesn't convey. I wouldn't go to closing if I went on a walk through and all the Elfa was gone. That could easily be 10k.

No, fixtures convey. Elfa is not built-in, nor is it a "fixture."

It will not convey and we will make sure that is stated in the contract, when the time comes.

[Anonymous]

Door knocker

[Anonymous]

If it's attached to the wall, like modular shelving, it goes with the house unless it's exempted in the contract. Our daughter required the sellers to return and reinstall all modular shelving in closets, home office, etc. Their agent told them they had to comply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the convenient outlets in our old house were the newer USB integrated outlets. We had 3-4 per room. I knew I wanted the same convenience in the new house. We swapped them out for standard outlets.

That is cheap and mean!

It's on par with the LED lightbulbs. Sellers owe buyers light and electrical outlets. They don't owe them the latest and greatest.

Totally my point on the ELFA Closets. I will glad go down to Target or whatever and buy a $40 closet rod. But I'm not giving away a system that cost a grand a piece. No sir. No ma'am. They're entitled to a functional closet, not an extravagant one.

If I could dismantle my custom shower I'd take that too but I'm not that petty. Or crazy.

For the USB plugs and the closet systems, if you are going to swap them, do it before you show the house.

[Anonymous]

Well I WISH they had taken the bar of soap in the shower - complete with pubic hairs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it's attached to the wall, like modular shelving, it goes with the house unless it's exempted in the contract. Our daughter required the sellers to return and reinstall all modular shelving in closets, home office, etc. Their agent told them they had to comply.

Yes this happened to my cousin. Their closing was delayed for several days until the sellers replaced all the Elfa shelving they stole when they moved (as well as the washer and dryer). Elfa conveys unless it's in the contract that it doesn't convey.