Selling my house

[russc2542]

wine and gifts? yea that's weird unless they overpaid. Just don't leave a mess. If you remove equipment or appliances, leave the fittings in usable and safe condition or remove them altogether.

wish the PO of our place left directions or notes or ANYTHING. House came with a koi pond and some equipment... no directions or guidance given because it was the wrong equipment, nothing would have made it work. PO also used an external wood burner with water pipes to the house and garage but took the appliances with and just cut the lines leaving random bits of hoses sticking through the foundation to wonder at.

 

[4651feeder]

This ^^^ No surprises... IE, when we bought out place the seller asked if we wanted him to leave the kids toys his kids had outgrown. We said that was fine as long as it wasn't all junk, and that he left X, Y,& Z toys specifically (he said he was going to donate those toys). He took all the good toys, including those specifically requested to be left, and left all the junk. My wife had to haul 2 truckloads of broken toys to the dump... Furthermore I hauled several truckloads of trash out of the outbuildings... Don't be a trashy jerk-wad and you're GTG.

Isn't that what a "Walk Thru" just before closing is for? House before last, the seller(s) thought it'd be ok to leave behind half a cart load of old paint and other liquid products in the trash cart Waste Management normally would not accept. Having no intention of using Waste Management services, I took a proactive approach by returning the cart to them on their premises. From the subsequent conversation (confrontation), I could tell they were perplexed at not having my front lawn available to leave the items on while recovering the cart.

 

[AtTheMurph]

Here is what the former owners left for me at the house I bought in FL a year and a half ago:

A bottle of Champagne
A 10ft step ladder
Manuals and User guides to everything from the Refrigerators, TVs, ceiling fans, etc., including warranty info.
Receipts and records for all maintenance people he has used.
A photo record of the house being built and a little history about the place, who else owned it etc.
and a nice note telling us how much they have enjoyed the house and hoping that we enjoyed it as much as they did and that they hoped to even meet us.

Very classy IMO.

 

[4651feeder]

Oh yea, the thoughtful note left behind hidden away in a cabinet to be found by the new owner(s); we got one of those on another home purchase.

 

[dprimm]

Sketching positive that happened when we got our house. The seller walked me through the entire place and gave me all the tidbits. For example, I never would have figured out the running water sound in the bathroom in the am was the hot water recirculation system. Heck, how the outlets were setup and the corresponding switches. He also offered me shelving etc that I was happy to take. They even mowed one last time.

Our sellers needed more time to empty/pack and I had no issue with that. I just needed the carpets cleared off for cleaning.



Our buyer had had the furnace die and I told him everything we knew about it.

Made life e easier for all

 

[bocefus78]

Ok....that 2 page pic wins in my book.

 

[Reller39]

If you live out of town septic field bed location or drain location. Well marked circuit breakers and if anything is on out of place circuit and gfi's that are linked

 

[Leo]

A card or a note is a nice touch. I have really appreciated the instruction/owners manuals to the mechanical and plumbing systems and any appliances included in the deal. The last guy left the partial buckets of paint that were labeled for which room for touch up purposes. That was pretty helpful also.

 

[Dirtebiker]

Last college town house we sold, I walked the new owner through and showed them everything including the secret compartment I built into one of the bedroom doors.(big enough for cash, jewelry, keys), gave them all the extra keys, paperwork, etc..

 

[Hoosierkav]

Great ideas!

If they're new to the area, though Google can be their friend, a list of area grocery stores, restaurants, etc., is nice, especially if there are local nuances (Store X is closer, but in the afternoon, it's a zoo, so don't go there. Store B has great deals on Tuesdays (if a non-chain)).

I like leaving tp and some sundries--many people do not plan for their first days in a new place, and having paper goods is not high on their preps.

 

[Bfish]

I'd say post 24 takes the cake! Holy cow, that's something they didn't disclose before hand for a reason!

 

[Tactically Fat]

Previous owner of my home left me with a leaking water service line to the house...

But he/they did pay to have it repaired. Thankfully. I don't know they HAD to - but it was certainly leaking during the pre-closing walk-through. I'd probably have been ignorant enough to go ahead and close anyhow without that being addressed.

 

[KittySlayer]

We left a bottle of wine and a full roll of toilet paper for the young woman buying her first home.

Don't kill yourself cleaning. If there is a woman moving in she will clean it all again anyway.

A nice list from Jeepster with input from others. What if you forgot something, wouldn't it be nice if the new owner returned it? You never know when something is going to show up at the door of your. If Ed McMahon shows up with my million dollar check I want him to be able to find me at my new place.

Give them your forwarding information in case something slips by the post office. If you receive mail for someone not easily recognized as part of your household, let them know and what to do with it.

Exchange phone numbers so they can ask questions or you can call with additional information you forgot to mention.

 

[HoughMade]

We bought our house in September of 2014. The sale was forced upon the occupants as the result of a nasty divorce and a foreclosure. The ex-husband and ex-wife refused to be in the same room for closing.

The gifts left by the ex-wife (she had been living there) included a big burned spot in the back yard where, as best as we can discern, she dragged whatever the ex-husband had left behind out there and torched it. Of course this included an easy chair, es evidenced by the steel frame and springs left behind, as well as pictures and, of course, shattered beer and liquor bottles.

The house I sold? Having lived there for 15 years, I finally got it about the way I wanted it...then I sold it. It was the nicest house in the neighborhood (honestly, not the biggest challenge, but still) and it was cleaner than it was in the 15 years we were living there. No note, i think this was enough.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Isn't that what a "Walk Thru" just before closing is for? House before last, the seller(s) thought it'd be ok to leave behind half a cart load of old paint and other liquid products in the trash cart Waste Management normally would not accept. Having no intention of using Waste Management services, I took a proactive approach by returning the cart to them on their premises. From the subsequent conversation (confrontation), I could tell they were perplexed at not having my front lawn available to leave the items on while recovering the cart.

Generally pre-closing walk-thrus are not conducted if the buyer doesn't get immediate possession. IE, for us, we got possession 40 days from closing. This gave the seller time to close on their new place and move. Not to mention I was in the sand-box and there was already enough weight on my wife's shoulders being a "single" mother, closing by herself, etc... we assumed the seller was an upstanding guy because we had no reason to believe otherwise. He was seemed super generous, honest, and respectful up until that point. But looking back, there were signs that he was a "trashy" person...

 

[JettaKnight]

My PO left me with three layers of shingles over rotten plywood with 24" OC rafters.

 

[edporch]

I know when I bought my recent house in April of 2016, besides having a mutually polite closing was exchanging email addresses in case either of us had any questions.

It came in handy once, as I had a question for the previous owners several months after I bought the place.

 

[indytechnerd]

Previous owner of my home left me with a leaking water service line to the house...

But he/they did pay to have it repaired. Thankfully. I don't know they HAD to - but it was certainly leaking during the pre-closing walk-through. I'd probably have been ignorant enough to go ahead and close anyhow without that being addressed.

I'm sure that leak would be no match for your massive home improvement skills.

 

[dudley0]

I never give my personal info to a buyer or seller. I use the realtors as middle men for a reason. I do not want a call because the new person thinks there is a problem or some such.

I meet with them at closing and give the buyer the info I think is needed. I mark the breakers, leave any papers for new items installed, and tell them where the sewer, water, gas, electric and boundary lines are at. I am not in the business of ripping people off, but once I sell the place I am not in the business of helping them out any longer.

 

[awames76]

when we let bank take mom and dads house after dad died 2006 and mom went in nursing home 2009 [lived in it for 9 yrs] i left a note on where main water shut off was. water on front of house was shut off at, under house. and dont remember what else, there was sever things. also left note with my name and number. they never called.


they bought the house from sheriffs sale. when they got the keys and went in all the base board heat was on full. it was over 90 in the house. the electric company wanted them to pay the bill but dad gave them the info of when they got the keys and they did not have to pay. took some talking to to get them to accept that, there were kids that had the keys to the house, he changed the locks.

first thing id do is change all the locks. never know who has the keys.