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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone here ever have an issue with the sellers taking the fridge? In CA, it's customary for the fridge to go with the sellers. Many apartments don't even have a fridge and I was surprised that it wasn't the case when I moved here. I can see that being a culture-clash in a home sale!

My husband is from CA and normal is bring your own appliances. Here they generally come with the house.

[Anonymous]

I think having a rent back is one factor that can increase the likelihood of these surprises and similar ones. When you do the walk through just before closing, all of the seller's stuff is still there in place as they are using it just like before when the house was on the market.
Then during the rent back there is an awkward period (ours was a few weeks, but contractually was up to 3 months and they only needed to give us 30 days notice ) when you own the house and are planning to move, but don't have the ability to move in and take over. During this time you may have numerous direct communications with the seller, as we did. You may establish a rapport and the expectation of good faith. By the time the final handover comes, you are just ready to have the whole process done with as it may have dragged on for months (3 months in our case counting a 60 day close). So you may not want to dicker over stuff at that point.

This is what happened with us. We wished to get along smoothly during the process including rent back, and we did, and fortunately they were trustworthy.
We did our final walk-through *without* our agent because by this time we had established the rapport. I would not do it that way next time, but we didn't know any better. There was some minor damage that had been hidden behind some furniture.( I don't believe it was intentionally misleading---it was giant furniture that I think had been there for ages). It was no big deal for us and the sellers were gracious about showing us around and little quirks of the house, but putting our experience together with the others mentioned here, I'd advise people to bring their agents to the final post-rent back walk through, and second, to plan on needing to have that conversation if there's a surprise.

[Anonymous]

This is a great thread. But if you are just reading now, please save your energy (and keep this thread from veering off course ) by not posting yet another posting about how you love your Elfa and would /would not keep it. Just make your intentions crystal clear to the buyer.
The other examples are much more interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curtain rods are person in terms of style and color. I would absolutely take ours with us We can cut them down if they are too big for bigger ones. Blinds, I'd probably leave. Curtains are part of the decor and should not be left.

Closet shelving should be specified. I'd take ours if I knew I could make it work. Its only in place with a screw and I like them. They are pretty generic except a few closets which we custom built but can easily remove.

Light fixtures - I'd replace them before sale as I like them and may not find them again. Some are older/age of the house we restored.

You are a nightmare. You'd probably leave the blinds? Really. I've bought and sold several homes and have dealt with some asshat buyers but never this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curtain rods are person in terms of style and color. I would absolutely take ours with us We can cut them down if they are too big for bigger ones. Blinds, I'd probably leave. Curtains are part of the decor and should not be left.

Closet shelving should be specified. I'd take ours if I knew I could make it work. Its only in place with a screw and I like them. They are pretty generic except a few closets which we custom built but can easily remove.

Light fixtures - I'd replace them before sale as I like them and may not find them again. Some are older/age of the house we restored.

You are a nightmare. You'd probably leave the blinds? Really. I've bought and sold several homes and have dealt with some asshat buyers but never this.

Our house didn't come with anything - blinds, curtain/curtain rods, usable appliances, blinds, closet organizers. No big deal, we got what we needed. Why would you want someone else old curtains and their rods? Buy your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People sell or give away their wood piles on nextdoor all the time before moving.

Which I find really odd, since the house has a fireplace and the new owners may need to wood and assume it conveys if it's still the yard during showings. Can see getting rid of it if you want to clean up your yard before the house goes on the market, but after? What's the point?

I bet they get rid of it because they don't want the buyer to complain that they left it. Lots of things are still there during showings that don't convey.

I am in the process of buying right now and I hope our seller removes the wood. I don’t like wood piles, I’m afraid of pests. Rats, mice...
I’ll be bummed if they leave the wood.

Don't forget snakes.

But, if you're in the area, people will come and take seasoned wood off your hands.

[Anonymous]

I bought. The sellers had a shed - not a really nice one - it looked like Rubbermaid. I specified before the walk thru that shed must be removed. They replied that it had many supplies that they were leaving for free. I replied that everything in garage, backyard, and unfinished basement that wasn’t an appliance must be removed. So glad I did!

Neighbors told me how day before walk thru sellers were emptying their shed and getting stuff out to the curb. The sellers wanted to rent back for one day. I said no. They asked at least 10 times. I said no 10 tines. I would never rent back.

[Anonymous]

Sellers took the wooden bench in the garden and workbench in the basement - which we were told about. They also took the bathroom mirror. It was pretty standard and easy to replace, but we were surprised.

[Anonymous]

They took the garage door openers.

[Anonymous]

We sold and took the thermostat, but replaced it with one of equal value that just wasn't as user friendly for us. Buyer said that the thermostat we took was one of the reasons they bought the house, so they'd like to have it back. Of course we gave it back, but thought it silly that anyone would buy a house for a thermostat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We sold and took the thermostat, but replaced it with one of equal value that just wasn't as user friendly for us. Buyer said that the thermostat we took was one of the reasons they bought the house, so they'd like to have it back. Of course we gave it back, but thought it silly that anyone would buy a house for a thermostat.

They didn’t buy the house for the thermostat. They told you it was one of the reasons they bought your home (vs others ). Why wouldn’t you just buy the same damn thermostat for your new home instead of taking theirs? By the way, you may say it was of equal value but I bet it cost less and you thought you could get away with it. Otherwise, again, you would’ve just bought yourself the type you liked for your new place. Stingy and you got caught- good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sold and took the thermostat, but replaced it with one of equal value that just wasn't as user friendly for us. Buyer said that the thermostat we took was one of the reasons they bought the house, so they'd like to have it back. Of course we gave it back, but thought it silly that anyone would buy a house for a thermostat.

They didn’t buy the house for the thermostat. They told you it was one of the reasons they bought your home (vs others ). Why wouldn’t you just buy the same damn thermostat for your new home instead of taking theirs? By the way, you may say it was of equal value but I bet it cost less and you thought you could get away with it. Otherwise, again, you would’ve just bought yourself the type you liked for your new place. Stingy and you got caught- good!

Not sure why you think it's great that I "got caught." I'm already sharing a story that doesn't cast me in a favorable light, so I'm not sure why you'd pile on with nonsense. We had an Ecobee in the house when we showed it and replaced it with a Nest. We had intended to take it off the wall for the open house, but the buyer gave us about 1 hour of notice the day it went on the market and gave us an offer 3 hours later. We never got to the open house, and they buyer really didn't want the Nest. I think that's weird, but ymmv

[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 baby

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curtain rods are person in terms of style and color. I would absolutely take ours with us We can cut them down if they are too big for bigger ones. Blinds, I'd probably leave. Curtains are part of the decor and should not be left.

Closet shelving should be specified. I'd take ours if I knew I could make it work. Its only in place with a screw and I like them. They are pretty generic except a few closets which we custom built but can easily remove.

Light fixtures - I'd replace them before sale as I like them and may not find them again. Some are older/age of the house we restored.

You are a nightmare. You'd probably leave the blinds? Really. I've bought and sold several homes and have dealt with some asshat buyers but never this.

Our house didn't come with anything - blinds, curtain/curtain rods, usable appliances, blinds, closet organizers. No big deal, we got what we needed. Why would you want someone else old curtains and their rods? Buy your own.

Exactly- The first thing we did when we moved into our house was take down all of the fancy window treatments and blinds.

[Anonymous]

Friend, as seller, did not take the drapes. The buyers put them in the trash, I noticed and retrieved them. My friend should have stated in the contract she wanted them. She was so grateful when I brought them to her. She was a professional seamstress, long hours making them herself and they were gorgeous. Just not someone else's taste obviously. If you want something ... have it in the contract.