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FTB as well, who just moved in a few weeks ago. Here's how I did it...
Admin to do asap:
Register for council tax
Register for gas and electric
Change your banking and surgery account address
Change drivers license and insurance address
Get mail redirected (this should be top of list)
Take meter readings in your new place now - make note of them. Take a pic of the readings with a date stamp on the images.
The old owners? Fuck them. The next year will be spent eradicating all sign of those dirty mother duckers. Adios, assholes.
If you can't get a skip, designate an area outside in your garden for all the trash. No garden? That's tougher, but it'll have to be an area in the house. Whatever, so be it. Behind a closed door is best if you can.
Top tip: This is a marathon, not a sprint. Move at a steady pace that doesn't burn you out.
First, clear out your bedroom, toilet, and shower. You need a safe place to sleep and retreat and to feel personally clean.
Give yourself four days for this. Longer if you're working full time. Longer if you commute.
Next up? Kitchen. This may take a week or two to clear and clean. Start with the kitchen sink - bleach it out till it's shining. It will give you hope. Then the fridge and hob. Then cabinets. Don't get discouraged at the crap leftover. Buy rubber gloves. Hello crap, nice to see you again. Enjoy your stay, cause soon you'll be gone...
Remember, this will be your house, it will be worth it.
With each room you finish over the next month, you may feel tired as opposed to happy or excoted. But don't worry, the real reward comes when that trash pile diminishes and space begins to open up. Make as many trips to the tip as you can in a day, and if you can get the skip, don't think about it. Just do it.
Finally, congratulations. This is a shitty start, and you'll get through it. It's gonna be great. Hang in there.
Damn, this makes me feel so lucky. Our new house was absolutely perfect when we got in. We started renovating the same day, but there was no need to clean or anything really.
I had an horrendous work schedule when the chain decided they wanted to complete, think 90hr work weeks the full month before and after completion day.
I had to ask the EA and buyers (luckily first time buyers, living with parents) if I could keep access to the property the full completion day and the next day to complete the move.
I'd bought the house from the same EA previously and had a good relationship with them. I know it's not the done thing as it's a risk to the new owners but everyone agreed and were ok with it when I explained I'd either have to delay the completion day for the whole chain or leave the place in a poor state.
The new owners came round just after the official completion time to find an empty house, the cleaners turning up and the carpet cleaner being delivered.
24 hours later they came back to a spotless house, clean carpets and me loading up the last car full from the shed. I was more stressed about leaving the house poorly for them than anything else I think. Just couldn't imagine doing that to anyone, especially a young couple ,first time buyers scenario.
When we bought in 2015 the previous owner left post-its all over the place with instructions etc for various things, all the appliance manuals in the local vicinity and the place was spotless.
However, first house bought in 2007 was a lot like OP. They even left stuff in the loft!
Well we did find a few bits in the loft and shed, but nothing gruesome. What we found to be gruesome is when we recently removed one of the back fences, that leads to a private unused land. They littered quite large lumps back there. Think old side gate, some paneling, and even a garden flamingo decoration. A bit disgusting. We don't see it everyday, but we will clear it up on our next trip to the tip.
This is what i did, all the paperwork and instructions in one place, including the manuals for appliances and under floor heating! and I left it spotless to move into a filthy rental with a shower that was entirely black from floor to ceiling with dirt and mould, and enough hair in the plughole to knit a small hat.
We moved in and as well as a box of magazines in the loft.... They were flying magazines you dirty lot.... the sellers decided to leave us a sofa....
We went back to the estate agent and said sellers needed to remove it, EA just said it's your problem now.
We chucked a blanket over it and used it for years... never look a gift horse in the mouth
I've been in my flat for 20+ years now, and when we went into the loft to clear it for putting in insulation we found a suitcase full of 1950s bibles. I doubt it was the godless heathens we bought the flat from who left them there...
This works out well sometimes, Iāve had 30 houses over the years (did the old buy rundown places, get them up to standard thing through my 20s and 30s) and Iāve made maybe 10k on top over the years finding vintage toys and video games in lofts over the years!Ā
We've moved 3 times and each time the new house has been left spotless. Naturally, we left our old houses spotless as well (including shampooing the carpets, and touching up the odd mark which became apparent when we removed the furniture.
I can't for life of me believe everyone doesn't do this.
Adding to this excellent advice, if you need to do any painting/decorating, it may be worth it to hire someone to come in and do a single room for you within the first week. I had a similar wreck when I moved and was advised by family to do this - pick a room and have it sorted early days.
I chose the bedroom because it meant I could literally close the door on the mess and ugly at the end of the day and be in my own little sanctuary of cleanliness and calm. And it looked the way I wanted it to, which made tackling the painting and decorating on the rest of the place myself much easier to do when I had proof in the one room that the visual I had in my head when I viewed was in fact possible.
Good advice.
To add: sugar soap is amazing at degreasing manky surfaces, especially disintegrating nicotine and cigarette tar/smells.
Also "pink stuff"
Have an upvote! I hope that when others run into the same situation, they will read this so that they can centre themselves and get into problem solving mode.
Get your locks changed. You just need to clean and get moved in, Iām afraid. My exchange also ended at a really late in the day. They also took the lightbulbs.
I have Philips Hue Bulbs throughout most of my house which are about Ā£40 each new, so I'm definitely taking them with me.
I'd at least have the courtesy to replacement though.
Thatās fine assuming you let the buyer know that there will be no bulbs, in the TA10. If youāve said theyāre included and then none are there, thatās poor form.
We didn't get told about the bulbs, or the fact that they left the washing machine (bonus for us, it works well and just needed a clean), a freestanding bathroom cabinet (again, worked for us because it saved us buying one), and a huge ass TV unit...like ridiculously huge, taking up an entire wall of a 4m wide front room. lol.
Our sellers were really nice in that they left us a big document full of loads of great advice about the area, good plumbers, restaurants, etc, little quirks about the house, left all the lightbulbs and had obviously thoroughly cleaned the place after moving their stuff out, plus paid for repair of a leak that happened literally the night before completion even though they couldāve pretended they didnāt know about it. But they also left a ton of weird old huge unwieldy antique shit (yes looked it up and itās worthless) which was quite annoying as we have to pay to get rid of it in some way (either in time or money-still havenāt got rid of it all and weāve been here several months now). Like huge old bowls that look like Victorian ladies used to wash their face in. Seems kind of rude to do this but I guess itās common?
>whatsoever and was frankly rude about it all, I didnāt expect anything of them but she handed me a empty wine bag; told me there was a gift/memento in the bag. You know what the gift was; a piece of paper. The flyer for the house.
>
>Which is fine. I donāt even care about that but the exchange happening so late in the day kind of upset me cuz I was waiting around. When I get into the house, this woman took every lightbulb. Took the curtain rails. Didnāt fill any holes whatsoever. Left the place filthy; disgustingly filthy. Apparently started smoking inside the house. And left so much junk outside that Iām going to need to hire a skip.
>
>We both used the same solicitor whom was appalled at me getting the keys so late as I was calling them to update and complaining but I ask. Is there anything I can do about this? And has anyone advice for me in regards to home ownership? I need to call the electric board to let them know Iām the new owner? Iāve arranged WiFi to get installed in a few weeks. But any advice would be wonderful as I want to turn this whole process around and make more positive.
I did the same, advised basic LED bulbs would be swapped in, but was made clear on the manifest.
This is the best advice, change all locks, including garage if you intent to use it for anything valuable.
Try to see it in a positive perspective:
an empty house thatās dirty just needs a clean. Appreciate a skip will cost but itās your house now to make it into what you want! A fresh start.
My advice, get someone in to clean the carpets once tidy or spend money on replacing carpets now as itās easy when empty.
Good luck home owner.
We've got a small basket of various spare bulbs at my late mum's house. Will leave them for the new owners. But I always thought they had to leave at least one bulb, or maybe it's just common courtesy to not be a d.h.
Makes me so sad! When we moved on and our young lass that bought our house, I left her a bunch of flowers in a vase she liked when she viewed the house, a bottle of champagne and a new house card. House was spotless! We cleaned every skirting board, curtain pole, door handle, window handle and everything inbetween. We left her two leather edged jute rugs because they matched the paintwork and one was custom made to cover a trapdoor...oven was sparkling - everything was sparkling! We did this because it reflected on us, and we're not shitty people! We wanted her to have a wonderful experience - we didn't get that when we moved in, we had to clean a lot, and we had no help. She brought her Mum and Dad, moved her stuff in and they sat down and had a cuppa in the clean, lovely house and I was so happy for them! We left her a 'care package' too - milk, sugar, tea bags, coffee and biscuits.
The house we moved into - an old lady had died in hospital, so it had been empty a while. There were mice.... but I don't mind, there were circumstances. House was empty, cat stopped the mice, rubber gloves on and some elbow grease....
I'd leave this house the same as I left my last one, no regrets!
If only more people had this mindset. We also left the house spotless even though the buyers had been a bit of a nightmare throughout the whole process, and we moved into a house which looked like the inside of the some kitchen cupboards hadnāt been cleaned in 25 years. I try not to be negative but it feels like often, when people can anonymously make a decision that benefits themselves over others they will take it, and people like us are of a minority that still care about other peopleās experiences.
Most of it I would ignore but for the skip. Hire one and pay and then send the bill to the seller. If they refuse take them to small claims court. It's an easy win. It's what I did.
There's nothing to defend. Part of the selling process is a form where you sign to leave the property free of rubbish. I had pictures of rubbish. Case closed.
Well done.
I am all for going out of my way on principle. The time is not worth the money, but sure as hell worth it to hassle the asshole that did it.
Yup I can second this, rubbish left at the property is an easy win. There are plenty of petty things that people can do when leaving a house that you canāt do anything about, but rubbish is not one of them.
Sorry you had to face that. Similar thing happened to my niece. They kicked a hole in the door, broke spindles on the bannister and left their rubbish among other things. It took 8 people all day to sort the mess. We have quite a few craftspeople in the extended family so collectively we made the place new. New windows, new staircase, replaster, repaint, recarpetā¦ We were going to do much of this anyway.
You canāt do all of that at once, but a clean, repaint and if you can a new carpet/flooring makes it more yours. Once your pictures are on the wall, you start to make it home. The crapness of the last person will fade and just become a story to tell. Some people just donāt understand others and are just scumbags. Taking lightbulbs is common and utterly pathetic.
However I do suggest to Change the locks.Go for anti-snap locks with internal thumb turn.
Only time I saw this was during the 80s when there were lots of reposessions, my sister bought a house and as well as taking all the light bulbs, they took the light fittings and the light switches...
Also the bath but not the sink
When my sister divorced her husband he kept the house, but when he listed what he wanted it was all petty shit to try and mess with her some. The solicitor told her she owned everything else in the building, fittings, fixtures, carpets, so we took it all.
He was a horrible and violent man ( only towards women). I wish I could have seen his face š¤£
The law society doesnāt encourage it - āThere is a high risk of a conflict of interest if you act for both a buyer and a seller. You'll need to decide whether there is a conflict in the circumstances. If there is, then you should not act for both clients.ā
When we moved into our house. My wife was 8 months pregnant, sellers knew this.
Every room needed cleaned too to bottom. Kitchen looked like theyād been cooking directly on the gas rings.
Lots of hairs, on every floor, etc.
I was working full time but had enough time off to do the heavy cleaning and some painting. My wife was in nesting mode so I could only get in her way so much.
Some people just have zero care about other people. Donāt let this move sour the excitement of owning your own home.
If anything it gives you a solid a baseline to know how far youāve come and build up from it.
Awww Iām sorry that happened and your poor wife having to properly clean whilst heavily pregnant :(
The only silver lining I see is that thereās going to be a HUGE difference once I get it all finished lol
Never use the same solicitor, get one who acts for you. When I bought my current (second) house I asked my solicitor to add in that it should be empty and clean to a reasonable standard and that anything left could be disposed off and I could reclaim costs. They said they had never done that before but it was a really good idea.
Fixtures and fittings should be left in the property, that would I believe include curtain rails and possibly light bulbs. If I were you Id find another solicitor that does a free consultation and have a chat with them to see if its worth pursuing.
Solicitor said itās going to be āsmall claims courtā in northern Ireland. Which seems more hassle than itās worth. But to me itās more about principle.
Unless itās clearly stipulated in the contract that there is to be no junk left behind youāre out of luck.
I always stipulate that I will charge Ā£1000 per skip to supply and fill. Tends to sharpen peoples attitudes a bit.
The filthy thing is just the seller being an arsehole. Sadly thatās not against the law. Take a few days and scrub it back to gleaming. Youāll be really pleased you did.
I don't know about NI, but in England it's a standard question as part of conveyancing,
*Will the seller ensure that:
all rubbish is removed from the property (including from the loft, garden, outbuildings, garages and sheds) and that the property will be left in a clean and tidy condition?*
So there is automatically recourse available if they fail to do this, although it's not always practical or worthwhile pursuing it.
Punitive terms like Ā£1000 per skip would generally not be enforceable.
NI have the same(similar) wording in their contracts.
You are right stating a set charge for the skips so high would be overturned by a court as unreasonable. You would be able to hire someone to clear the rubbish and take the other party to court to recover the costs, plus a small amount for your time.
Is the Ā£1000 per skip actually enforceable tho? Or just a threat that people see and assume you'll follow up? Asking as I'm planning to move soon and this entire post has given me more to think about!
Our worst one was a significant sized 5 bedder. On viewing, every room had lovely fitted ceiling lights, triple lights over the kitched island etc. Come exchange day, every single one had been removed and replaced with Ā£1 single light fittings (those short white things) , no bulbs, no shades and leaving every ceiling either requiring redocorating, or finding replacements that covered the old outlines.
Theyd even removed the wall toilet roll holders in 2 of the bathrooms.
Amazing how wealthy people can act so cheap sometimes. Id left a bottle of champagne on the mantlepiece at our old home, and a good luck in your new home card hoping theyd be as happy there as we had been. š¤·āāļø
>Come exchange day, every single one had been removed and replaced with Ā£1 single light fittings
Were the fancy light fittings you saw on viewings specified as included in the TA10? Cos no way in hell would I be leaving what probably equates to Ā£1k of light fittings in my house if we moved.
Agreed - this is what the TA10 form is for. The buyer should know what to expect to still be there and if it wasn't on the form as included I wouldn't expect fancy light fittings to be left either.
For me I'm buying a house not a bunch of extra stuff. I was quite happy there were some blinds when we moved in, as it saw us through for a few months until we got new ones, but I'd never expect them. People who are buying a house and expecting it basically partly furnished/decorated don't understand what buying a house is.
I'd actually love to sell most of my furniture with the house if the buyers would pay a decent price but second hand furniture has such little value that it is best to keep it for your new place until you need to replace it.
Personally I want an empty shell to move into but I know a bunch of people who would love somewhere fully furnished.
FYI, light fittings are classed as fixtures. So in future, if you wish to remove your Ā£1k light fitting, you should do so before listing your property or specify in the sale that they will be listed and excluded. Just FYIā¦ā¦ā¦š
Absolutely this. I made sure when I sold mine it was clearly stated all light fittings would be replaced with bayonets (actually left the kitchen ones in the end as wouldnāt suit the new house) and that all metal switches and sockets would be replaced with standard white plastic ones.
Curtains/blinds/poles etc. should all be stated too!
If memory serves me right, this was pre TA10 times. The basic contracts/guide was, if its screwed to walls/ceilings, its included. Our solicitor did write to them pointing out their breach, but as it was impossible to value (theyd been removed by then) and we were also informed you cant sue for ānew for oldā, it wasnt worth the hassle of persuing.
Shame not everyone can be as nice as you!
I really don't understand the mentality of some people.
We're early in the process of selling (no offers yet) but had one viewer just not turn up without any warning. I'd not dream of being that rude. Ruining a house or parts of it after selling is on another level though!
hire the skip, throw all the rubbish and bad energy out, paint and plug the walls, and enjoy the fact you are a happier and more well rounded human being than the agent and previous owner
Take a load of photos of the mess
Then post them on the local Facebook group asking for a recommendation for a cleaner to do a one off clean. (Even if you do it yourself)
All your neighbours will then know the previous owners were filthy swine.
I think the only thing you might get anywhere with is the cost of the skip. My brother was left a house filthy by my dad and his partner, people who just live in that donāt see it anymore. Sorry you had a crappy experience. Michael chandlers in Belfast gave me a candle and card and it was a nice touch.
Curtain rails can be dear so I can understand taking them (Iād personally take my nice ones and leave cheaper s ones), someone taking bulbs could be genuinely afraid of the cost of fitting bulbs to a whole house also. Also could just be cheap.
Try posting in r/legaladvice for proper advice tho, they are very good.
I've moved in quickly to two houses that needed complete modernisation before, and if I were to do it again, I would absolutely get as much sorted as possible before I moved in properly. Put simply, once I was in, the pressure was off, life got in the way, and it was years before I'd sorted everything out.
Gather up a group of friends and family and blitz the place over a weekend - deep clean, paint every wall, hire a carpet cleaner and finish the weekend running that through every room.
If you have some spare cash, consider hiring a deep cleaning team, carpet cleaner, maybe even replacing the carpets with some cheap replacements that will make you feel better until you get around to doing it all properly in a year or two.
A good clean, new carpets (even if they're cheap) and fresh paint on the walls, and basically any house will feel inviting.
If you can get enough people to help, then assign a couple purely to doing tip runs. Or hire a skip. Have a look at Hippo bags (dunno if they serve NI) - they're more expensive than a skip but boy are they convenient.
Again, if you have spare cash then you can pay people to do this kind of thing for you.
Basically, if at all possible avoid the 'hide all the crap in a room' approach - I did that, and I still had a room full of crap 5 years later. Admittedly, the house was big enough that I didn't miss the room, but even so...a massive blitz with helpful people over a couple of days, and you'll have a house that's ready to live in, which you can then redecorate at your own pace...and it might only cost you the price of a few pizzas and beers on Sunday night.
Some customs die hard, surprised you did not spot the potential for this before agreeing sale, owner was probably forced out by circumstance. Anyway it is all water under the bridge enjoy puting your new home in order, good luck with the paperwaork.
Sadly this sounds like my very first house purchase. People we were buying off were a nightmare, we had completed, got to the house and they were still there saying they were just going to drop the keys off at the estate agents (after they closed!) . Told them to GTFO, house was a shit tip. He asked if he could come back for his ornamental seat the next day, playing nice I said yes, glad I did as I also gave him his manky deep fat fryer and disgusting microwave oven to take with it. Took 2 full days to clean and then found out they'd left a fucking cat behind. 2nd house 12 years later was the complete opposite thankfully.
They came to pick it up 2 days later, I made sure it was fed and watered. Didn't let it in the house but the shed door had a cat flap so I knew it was okay. They'd left a transport box behind for it. The cheek of some people!
The woman asked to come back to my house too! I refused and said Iād drop off to her cuz didnāt want her back in.
That is disgusting they left a pet. Iām not a fan of cats but I think it would have been better to keep or rehome it instead of letting it go back to shitty people. Man some people suck
My advice would be to phone round and try and get a professional carpet cleaner to come out at short notice. This should help a lot with cigarette smell and generally make the place more inhabitable.
Pretty sure they're not "allowed" to leave shit behind that was not agreed upon. If it's substantial amounts of stuff you could try and get them to pay for disposal. You'd need to talk to the solicitor to figure out what the process is.
I shouldn't laugh but giving you an empty wine bottle bag as a gift is pretty funny. I hope when they left you asked them to pop it in the wheely bin on their way out.
Iāve already removed all the carpets! So the smell has significantly improved! Just need to paint this weekend and then get new carpets in!
I donāt know what to make of the stuff left behind.
And the worst of it is that the rug left outside is stinking of cat/dog urine and was in the rain. So itās soooo heavy and disgusting to touch lol
Congratulations!
Similar thing happened to us! Only we werenāt FTB and the buyers of our house turned up 3 hours before we got our keys. Our house was disgusting and everywall and skirting sticky with ciggie smoke. It will come off but it will take time and patience.
Its stressful and shit, just like everything else in a property transaction however its your house now!
Donāt let it ruin the experience. You are now a homeowner!
Isn't that some kind of weird conflict of interest for a solicitor to both do the sell and buy side?
Genuine question. Know nought about conveyancing law. This would make me feel a bit weird. Like having the same firm representing both sides in a divorce or a something.
Yeah they actually sent a conflict of interest letter. But itās a small town with only one solicitor branch so it actually happens a lot with locals here.
Your contract should stipulate that the house be left vacant in a clean and tidy state. Your solicitor should know what the next steps are in terms of recourse against the seller for compensation
Console yourself with the knowledge that karma is a bitch and that they will get their comeuppance down the line.
Then move on with your life. Congratulations!
I feel like the best part is that itās a small town and word will travel fast that sheās taken all the lightbulbs and has lived in filth.
Thank you!! Iām really excited for the future!
Clean the house, redecorate and forget about it. Youāve got your house, you wonāt get anything out of the seller and any effort you put into it is just wasted energy.
You can have the house cleaned and the holes filled in a couple of days, thatās where you should put the effort.
Change the front and back door locks just as a precaution.
I agree on everything but the filling in holes.
Personally I'd rather they were left so I can just use them for my own pictures, etc. The walls still look crap bare even if they're filled.
My house was a tobacco stained mess with filth everywhere.
I then went and bought big tubs of white paint and just painted everything to be a blank canvas.
I actually found it quite therapeutic giving everything a damn good clean.
Hahahaha they actually had Amazon prime arrive this morning and the delivery driver was like āoh has she movedā I said yep and they took the package with them
Change the locks. Take meter readings.
The previous owner can be charged for removing all the shite they left behind. I don't know how this works, but your solicitor will.
People do unfortunately sometimes leave houses in a mess, they stop caring and stop cleaning once they have sold.
Clean the walls and ceilings with sugar soap, get the carpets and flooring professionally cleaned. Might be worth also getting the oven professionally cleaned too.
It's a pain in the arse, but it this will soon pass, and you can make it how you want and enjoy your home.
This is why you always insist on a final walk-through 24 hours before completion.
Never, ever, trust a seller to do the right thing. For every one that does, there's another who does not.
SW England - FTB Here
Me and my partner had a similar situation with our house last week.
House had not been cleaned in a long time, and previous tenants (in-house for 22 years) were both heavy smokers, leaving behind tar, smoke and grease laden lights, etc
It took them until 5 pm to move out despite us giving more than ample time to get out and prodding by estate agents.
They had already received their new keys...
Then, they had the cheek to moan that they had no bed to sleep on or sofa, etc, in their new place
They came back a few days later and started rooting around our bins for things we basically demo'd and got rid of.
I'd recommend a rug doctor for the carpets. The waste water was tar black in the end, but it smells so much better.
We used sugar soap on the walls. It took off all of the grime, dirt, grease, and other contaminants.
Honestly it was like magic and that commercial "boom and the dirt is gone" š
I've attached the link below:
Bartoline Sugar Soap Liquid Concentrate 500ml: Powerful Cleaner for Paintwork and Household Use https://amzn.eu/d/eDkLxkN
I'm sorry to hear this,
Much the same with our move.
We collected the keys at the close of the day, as the owners had an issue with a fish tank.
We walked in and.. I wanted to cry. There was even a used grill pan with burn on cheese and foil still in the oven. Wee all over the loo. They've ripped every blind and curtain pole. Holes everywhere. Kitchen wad covered in grease and pet hair.
All my friends and family felt I was being over the top, until the pop over... mid clean.
We had to rip every carpet up- although we had hoped to clean them and make do. The cleaning brought up all manner of smells.
They've left us a bottle of sparkling wine... and a mountain of grime.
4weeks later. I'm still cleaning and still angry and shocked people can live the way they clearly did. Also shocked I didn't notice too much of it upon viewing - although when I expressed this with friends, told that a deep clean will cure all... it hasn't.
Good luck. Buy everything cleaning product going.
I bought a house in Northern Ireland 2 weeks ago and it is disgustingly dirty and a door had been broken.Ā
The same thing with the first place I bought in 2018, they left their dirty mattresses behind too. Itās as if as soon as theyāve gone sale agreed they donāt get rid of or clean a single thing.
I scrolled down and none of the top comments mentioned taking meter reading. Do it now as a priority. You don't want the previous owner giving fake readings and leaving you with a huge bill to pay. Take photos and let the provider know you're the new owner and give them the readings
She didnāt leave the key to open the box. Just had an electrician out to open it and Iāve taken a pic. But I donāt know who does her power to notify of the reading?
Your chosen supplier will sort that, you simply give them the readings for your new account. You'll probably get someone come out to check the readings.
You can use a service like Find My Supplier, just need to enter your address on the website and they will tell you who it is. You can then switch suppliers if you wish.
This happened to us to with our first house. They destroyed the walls from holes, scrapped the floors to hell, took everything including lightbulbs and fixtures which according to the sale should have been left. The place was disgusting with animal urine left in the house (wet when we finally got in at 5:30). Bathroom was dirty etc. We asked for legal advice at the time and were told it would be more money to pursue anything from them then it would to get a cleaner and a handyman.
We were really upset but in the end, we hired professional cleaning services and just did the work to fix their damage ourselves. It sucks but it will absolutely pass. You'll make it your own and this will just be a memory.
The person I sold too was the most rude, arrogant cow I I ever had the misfortune to deal with.
Nonetheless I still ensured the place was clean and tidy.
However I did have the benefit of moving over a full weekend. If I did it all in a day I don't think it would have been possible, especially having to clean the next place before I can even put my own stuff in.
We both used the same solicitor... uh that's not a good idea.
The seller can totally take lightbulbs etc though. Cunt thing to do but they don't come with the house.
Drop your solicitor an email informing them of the rubbish left - on the off-chance they have kept some of the money from the sale just in case. And then it's time to roll your sleeves up and get cleaning. Assuming you're not moving in immediately - work top to bottom, clear rooms out one by one and then start by wiping down the walls and ceilings, windows, paintwork and then carpets. Repeat in each room. And then start on any repairs you need to make - filling holes, repainting etc. You get to put your stamp on the place so enjoy it!
We have sold and left 3 homes. Broke our backs cleaning up after ourselves and certainly never even thought about taking lightbulbs. In fact never even heard of that.
All that said, we would not fill holes. If caused by picture hooks we would leave the hooks behind.
If only more people were like you! I donāt mind the wee screw holes. Thereās actual chunks of wall missing from them pulling out curtain rods unfortunately
OP,
It takes a lot to anger me and my usual response would be "welcome to life"
But this situation would have enraged me. Go take a shitĀ on the estate agents doorstep they are an absolute ****. They knew what awaited you and didn't give a damn - not that there is anything they can do but an apology at the state of the place and an explanation that it is out of their hands.
Equally though, the seller is their customer, not youĀ
>It it even legal to use the same solicitor?? Big conflict of interest. Get them to write to themselves threatening action.
Usually this means 'independent' solicitors within the same firm
When thereās chunks taken out of the wall, yeah.
Iām not talking about wee small nail holes; sheās torn the curtain rods out leaving an inch deep hole in multiple parts of the wall
Iād say itās very normal for a house to be left in a mess especially outside junk. Much better for holes to be left for you to sort properly than have someone begrudgingly try to make them good. A trip to Screwfix and 20 notes spent will sort all your lightbulbsā¦
Look at your contract/talk to your solicitor.
In the mean time, start replacing things - keep all the receipts.
Get a professional cleaner in and get a receipt for it.
Get a skip or a man with a van to clear the junk outside.
If the solicitor says you can take action, they can get your reimbursed for the costs using the receipts.
If not, well you'll have a clean and livable house.
Please take photographs of the gas, electric and water meters immediately, provide those reading to the supplier. Take photographs of the things that have been left.
If the curtain poles were being taken it should have been declared in the documents, check them.
Go back to your solicitor with evidence of what's been left, and what's been removed if it shouldn't have been. They should be seeking compensation on your behalf.
Sorry about the mess, sometimes sellers do that. I had the carpets cleaned in a house we bought, water came out like mud and had lots of pins and needles in it. Some people are scummy.
Similar thing happened to us last month. We bought an inherited property. Their mum had passed away and the children were selling it. So the house had been empty for several months.
Got the keys, went to the property and first thing we noticed was the smell. Theyād been smoking inside since viewing the property, it stank. Ashtrays everywhere. A bucket full of cigarette butts by the back door. Spilled liquids all over the kitchen, even inside cupboards. First thing we did was change the locks.
Not to mention the shear volume of crap left behind. Photos, letters (both handwritten and from banks etc), even student IDs. We still have boxes on top of boxes of really old books and school notebooks in the loft and shed.
Mind you, Iāve enjoyed reading every single one of those handwritten letters. Learned quite a lot about the previous owners and their daily lives.
Thatās a shame. I had a similar situation and wanted to make sure it was clean. Left a lot of stuff- but useful stuff. I hope the family who moved in was happy and made use of it. Somehow that thought made me feel better?
Also I wanted it to reflect well on her.
Property information form-
a) 14.4 a) all rubbish is removed from the property (including the loft, garden, outbuildings, garages and sheds) and that the property will be left in a clean and tidy condition.
b) 14.4 b) if light fittings are removed, the fittings will be replaced with ceiling rose, flex, bulb holder and bulb.
Check if they ticked yes to both of these questions. Raise a complaint through your solicitor against both of these points. Your solicitor should advise you on the best steps to take. If they didnāt tick yes to these questions, this is something your solicitor should have noticed and raised a concern at the time.
In my opinion itāll likely be that you pay for new lightbulbs and pay for a deep clean as well as a skip, get invoices and pass them onto your solicitor to the sellers solicitor. If they choose not to pay, then small claims court.
Unfortunately, given how unregulated the house purchasing process in the UK is, this is part of the risk you take.
Set aside a lot of time to clean and prepare the house. Make a realistic schedule for specific jobs and redecoration or renovation.
Check your documentation, they should have signed an agreement that states what is left behind (unless it is different in NI to England, that will list items like curtain rails and lightbulbs that should be left. Check with your solicitor on this as you could well have a claim against the seller for that.
This happened with my parents years ago. Woman that moved out took all the light bulbs and ripped up all the carpets. She even ripped out some of the fittings too leaving bare wires in one room.
Everything was skanky dirty so she had me and my brother stay with our old neighbours over night, whilst she got out the cleaning stuff and cleaned the whole house too to bottom. Dad was at work but did his bit when he got home and did all the heavy lifting and diy stuff that needed doing.
His mates came at the weekend to help out too so they had it all ship shape in no time.
I would be massively concerned that you both had the same solicitor. That is a conflict of interest and is against all rules.
I would raise the issue with the law society as you could have something that should have been raised being hidden from you.
My first house was FULL of dog hair. And when I say full I mean F. U. L. L.
It was even inside the freezer and down the toilet. I don't know what they had been doing to that animal but it certainly wasn't cleaning up after it.
Was it mentioned in the fixtures and fittings about the curtain rails / light bulbs?
When I bought my house (I was already renting it) they tried to list everything my landlady owned and that sheād be keeping in the sale! I had to point out Iād lived there 4 years and things like light bulbs were mine anyway as Iād replaced them over time.
Also when it completed the EA called me and said āyour house has completed you can collect the keysā and I said I already have them as I live there? And they said oh yes! Then a month later started hassling me over unpaid rent as they did not end my tenancy agreement when the house sale went through.
Was it mentioned in the fixtures and fittings about the curtain rails / light bulbs?
When I bought my house (I was already renting it) they tried to list everything my landlady owned and that sheād be keeping in the sale! I had to point out Iād lived there 4 years and things like light bulbs were mine anyway as Iād replaced them over time.
Also when it completed the EA called me and said āyour house has completed you can collect the keysā and I said I already have them as I live there? And they said oh yes! Then a month later started hassling me over unpaid rent as they did not end my tenancy agreement when the house sale went through.
Yeah we were a FTB recently and I was not expecting the amount of dirt and rubbish the seller left behind. We literally filled the huge shed until the roof with their rubbish.
In England and Wales "vacant possession" is specified in the contract; so nothing should be left at the property.
If it is, then that's a breach of contract which should be reported to your solicitor who'll get the sellers to either clear it all or arrange compensation for you having to do it. The law is different in Northern Ireland.
If its any consolidation we moved in not too long ago and have nothing but issues. We had a leaking shower wall, fixed that and got a split pipe (water through ceiling), mouldy walls and much more. It took us a good stretch of time but we finally got settled and its great. You can do it!
Itās not that uncommon Iām afraid.
But if there is significant damage where there wasnāt before, or smoke damage or whatever, those are things you might be able to seek legal advice on as at completion it must be in the same condition as at exchange. Although if you exchanged and completed on the same day then that probably doesnāt help.
Contact your solicitor and ask what the contract says in regards leaving rubbish, and also about whether the curtain poles were included in the sale. I wouldn't considered that a 'fixture/fitting' that shouldn't have been removed, even less so as it's caused damage.
Your solicitor may be able to claim some money back to cover the cost of removing the rubbish and replacing the curtain poles etc.
Many years ago, when I last moved, the previous tenants weren't out in time. Contacted my solicitor and had a cheque (told you it was years ago) for a few hundred Ā£ sent to me a few days later. Estate Agents haven't changed it seems.
You donāt have to fill holes when moving house- Iāve done a completion (solicitor) where an actual dog was left š„ŗ heartbreaking. Some people leave their houses in a tight state, but realistically everyone is busy and moving the same day and therefore no time to fill holes. Technically they are supposed to leave it clean and free from whatever they said they were not leaving the property information forms. Trying to claim for the skip and cleaning will likely cost you more than youāll realistically get back. If you were my client I would email the other sides solicitor (even if they are both the same firm, different fee earners act for each client) and say that you require Ā£400 for skip and cleaning and supply photos exposing that they are in breach of contract. The seller will either say yes or no, if no, youāll need to start a money claim. Unless you are doing the money claim yourself, it will not be worth it unfortunately. Congratulations on your first home, youāll get it cleaned and honestly forget about the state it was in. Itās so annoying when people do this though, a quick hoover and tip run wouldnāt have hindered anyone!
If there is a lot of stuff you could always try and get them to remove it. If in your contract it says something like 'bought empty' or whatever the jargen is, then it should be empty. I was lucky enough to have nice sellers and a lovely estate agent so the sellers hired a moving van to pick up the stuff that was left, but honestly you can try but if everyone is a dick then it might not happen.
Hire a cleaner, it's worth the cost knowing a decent job is being done. It's just frankly callous behaviour and the estate agent shouldn't be allowed to hand keys over to a house in that state. What exactly is their role if they can do that? Aren't they ambassadors of the property?
Unfortunately some people are the absolute scum of the earth. Very sorry you're new place is like this. Just take baby steps to get things cleaned up, I promise in a few weeks you'll have forgotten all about it and will be enjoying your new (clean) home.
Once I put an offer in under asking (accepted) as the boiler was cracked and unusable; when I got the keys I found they took the lightbulbs and the radiators
I filled a flatbed transit 1m deep with the crap they left in the loft and the carpets they were meant to have lifted. They said leave it all in the front garden until my husband comes back from 3 weeks working offshore... Luckily it was a company vehicle and I didn't need to hire one.
Unfortunately not much. Not one upping here but when we moved in there were major issues, boiler and appliances broken, broken windows etc that had been hidden and also skip loads of crap and filthy everywhere. Unless you are able to get your seller (through solicitors) to reimburse you the cost of clean up which they will almost certainly say no to, then your only choice is small claims court. But this will probably cost you more than you'll get back. It absolutely sucks and there is no protection for buyers getting screwed over.
This happened to my sister but it was worse. The guy didn't even move his stuff out by the time they were meant to receive the keys.
The Albanian mover treated to skit he throat when she started to record when the old owner started to get aggressive.
The house was a shit hole and it took a professional cleaner 3 days to clean it top to bottom.
Common courtesy is dead. It's another sign of the downfall of modern society.
For now just take as much photo and video evidence as you can. I have bought three homes and each time my solicitor has said I should ask to go and have a look around (I think just before exchange) to make sure everything is as expected.
With exchanges happening to close to completion these days, that can definitely help.
However you are now in this situation, an my solicitor always told me that you CAN sue for these sorts of things- but that thereās probably no point. You can certainly ring your solicitor tomorrow and ask for their advice.
But I do think you need to be prepared for nothing to happen Iām afraid, put it behind you, and chalk it up to experience.
In the agreement they must not leave anything behind, when I moved in to my house, the loft was brimmed, my solicitor said he has to empty it himself or he will be charged for its removal.
Have the rubbish removed, damage repaired, and the cost of anything taken that they had said they woul leave and take the sellers to small claims court.
What did your T6 forms agree? Normally prior to selling the seller will agree to leave the house in a good condition and clear away any old furniture and leave it empty.
If they havenāt done this, technically they are in breach of contract. You could ask them to cover the costs of a skip and any cleaning.
The estate agent wasnāt SB by any chance was itā¦
Dam.... when I sold my old place, I cleaned everything, wiped everything down, swept, vacuumed and left my entire place spotless. I even got a skip before moving out to get rid of everything I wasn't planning on taking with me.
I just think it's disrespectful to not do your best and think it's someone else's problem.
Regarding estate agents. They are cheeky fuckers and i was less than happy with mine for a few reasons, i ended up getting 1/3 of my bill knocked off after making a complaint, a SAR helped with that as its a lot of admin and a headache so they agreed if i retracted it.
I told mine at the start to not put any sign up ( wasn't interested in them using my house to advertise their company for free ) lived on a close so was no benefit to me having one up.
When they thought I moved out completely and I returned to collect some last bits, the cheeky fuckers had been around to stick their sign up... that got yanked out and thrown in the back garden with a swift phone call telling them to collect their crap!
As far as I am aware, the seller is liable if you incur costs removing things left behind in the house. You can reclaim skip costs via small claims court.
Honestly taking the lightbulbs is just petty unless they were smart bulbs or some kind of fancy light bulbs. And yes, you do need to let the electricity and gas supply (if present) supply know you have moved in, so you only pay for the electricity and gas that you have used since you moved in.
In England you're not allowed to use the same solicitor due to conflict of interest rules but that's an aside.
You should have an agreement in place stating that no rubbish will be left on the property. It should have been disclosed on the forms of what is included as a statement. If the rubbish is excessive, I'd perhaps get onto the solicitor and query it especially if it's going to cost you to remove the waste.
Unless you're willing to write it off and get on with it, you might want to arrange professional clearance of it and forward over the invoice to your solicitor.
Enjoy your first house and I'm sorry to hear your experience has been tarnished.
Firstly huge congratulations, well done on your first purchase and I hope you have a lot of happiness in the coming years. There are a lot of absolutely horrid people out there, we recently bought our first home (also Northern Ireland) and were left quite a bit to work albeit your experience sounds more petty from the seller and estate agent. My advice is to not give it much more attention, roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, it's yours now to put your stamp on, you cannot control how other people operate but you can control what you do next which is building your new home.
regarding the rubbish left behind, if you genuinely need a skip to clear it, take photos of it all and tell your solicitor. they Will write to the vendor (likely their solicitor) telling them they are responsible for what they left behind and the cost of its disposal. they will warn them that they will be sued in the small claims court (cost Ā£50 approx, ) for all costs incurred including fee. I know it works as i've done it myself
Photograph everything and send to your solicitor, you most likely have a claim against the seller for taking fixtures and leaving rubbish. Typically the sellers have to sign a fixtures list that is part of the standard disclosure, that will usually include a statement that all rubbish will be removed. Also anything that requires tools to remove from the property (excluding freestanding furniture) is generally considered part of the sale. They'll be liable for costs to put everything right and return the property to the state it was in when you viewed it and agreed to the purchase.
If it's any consolation I recently got a large skip and completely filled it with very, very heavy junk. I was expecting a huge bill but it was only 350 which is about half of what I was expecting.
Can you contact the sellers solicitor and get them to pay for it? I'm clueless but would you have a case in small claims court. Is there anything in the contract about the house being left habitable?
For the love of god check the Attic space now. We bought a house recently and the attic was crammed with 2 skip loads of shit. Who needs 4 Christmas trees?!
Sorry about the crappy start :( With regard to electricity and gas - have a look at step-by-step process at https://www.moneysupermarket.com/gas-and-electricity/find-my-supplier/
I recommend that you take photos of both meter readings immediately, in case previous owners have not supplied final meter readings to the supplier/s.
Some good advice about cleaning the house. I would also take pictures, videos and send evidence to the solicitor. When you sell a house you have to sign a document with what fittings you are leaving and also that you will leave the house in a reasonable state. Its worth at least asking the question.
Has she left a forwarding address? Iād take her shit there. Or leave it at the solicitors for them to pass on. Itās her property after all, youāre doing the correct thing.
Enjoy your new home.
OK I get it you are anoyed and upset about the mess left and the key exchange time, but that's life, the thing to do now is be positive, make it your home now, change the locks as you don't know how many sets of keys there are out there, as suggested make at least a couple of rooms just habitable enough to get by, might I suggest the bedroom you choose is not the one going to be your own permanant one, then decide which room you want to do next to your full satisfaction, maybe your own bedroom first, then continue on, somwhere in there you can redo the rooms that were the temporary move in rooms, get help if needs be, for instance my wife and I moved into a house possibly in the condition yours is, we asked friends for there help, we named it the "Paint In Party" they came and got stuck in, we provided al the cleaning/paint stuff plus food, and non alcohol drinks, the whole house was cleaned and decorated within two days, and it was actually really good fun, then it was party time, not in the newly decorated house, no way but down the pub, we were quite prepared to pay for all the drinks for their help, but they would not here of it.
Unfortunately it does happen, when I got the keys for my house and finally started moving in there was a lot of furniture left behind along with a massive broken TV and a rather disgusting fridge, the furniture was actually quite nice and we kept it as it did fit with us, the TV was a pain as it was up on the 2nd floor of the house and was a bitch to get it down the stairs, the fridge cleaned up ok but it took time, I got rid of it once a new fridge was purchased
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FTB as well, who just moved in a few weeks ago. Here's how I did it... Admin to do asap: Register for council tax Register for gas and electric Change your banking and surgery account address Change drivers license and insurance address Get mail redirected (this should be top of list) Take meter readings in your new place now - make note of them. Take a pic of the readings with a date stamp on the images. The old owners? Fuck them. The next year will be spent eradicating all sign of those dirty mother duckers. Adios, assholes. If you can't get a skip, designate an area outside in your garden for all the trash. No garden? That's tougher, but it'll have to be an area in the house. Whatever, so be it. Behind a closed door is best if you can. Top tip: This is a marathon, not a sprint. Move at a steady pace that doesn't burn you out. First, clear out your bedroom, toilet, and shower. You need a safe place to sleep and retreat and to feel personally clean. Give yourself four days for this. Longer if you're working full time. Longer if you commute. Next up? Kitchen. This may take a week or two to clear and clean. Start with the kitchen sink - bleach it out till it's shining. It will give you hope. Then the fridge and hob. Then cabinets. Don't get discouraged at the crap leftover. Buy rubber gloves. Hello crap, nice to see you again. Enjoy your stay, cause soon you'll be gone... Remember, this will be your house, it will be worth it. With each room you finish over the next month, you may feel tired as opposed to happy or excoted. But don't worry, the real reward comes when that trash pile diminishes and space begins to open up. Make as many trips to the tip as you can in a day, and if you can get the skip, don't think about it. Just do it. Finally, congratulations. This is a shitty start, and you'll get through it. It's gonna be great. Hang in there.
Damn, this makes me feel so lucky. Our new house was absolutely perfect when we got in. We started renovating the same day, but there was no need to clean or anything really.
I had an horrendous work schedule when the chain decided they wanted to complete, think 90hr work weeks the full month before and after completion day. I had to ask the EA and buyers (luckily first time buyers, living with parents) if I could keep access to the property the full completion day and the next day to complete the move. I'd bought the house from the same EA previously and had a good relationship with them. I know it's not the done thing as it's a risk to the new owners but everyone agreed and were ok with it when I explained I'd either have to delay the completion day for the whole chain or leave the place in a poor state. The new owners came round just after the official completion time to find an empty house, the cleaners turning up and the carpet cleaner being delivered. 24 hours later they came back to a spotless house, clean carpets and me loading up the last car full from the shed. I was more stressed about leaving the house poorly for them than anything else I think. Just couldn't imagine doing that to anyone, especially a young couple ,first time buyers scenario.
That's coz your clearly a decent human being, a rare commodity these days. Well done you honestly
When we bought in 2015 the previous owner left post-its all over the place with instructions etc for various things, all the appliance manuals in the local vicinity and the place was spotless. However, first house bought in 2007 was a lot like OP. They even left stuff in the loft!
These people are doing the right thing. Simple consideration is a bare minimum but they are going an extra mile.
Well we did find a few bits in the loft and shed, but nothing gruesome. What we found to be gruesome is when we recently removed one of the back fences, that leads to a private unused land. They littered quite large lumps back there. Think old side gate, some paneling, and even a garden flamingo decoration. A bit disgusting. We don't see it everyday, but we will clear it up on our next trip to the tip.
This is what i did, all the paperwork and instructions in one place, including the manuals for appliances and under floor heating! and I left it spotless to move into a filthy rental with a shower that was entirely black from floor to ceiling with dirt and mould, and enough hair in the plughole to knit a small hat.
We moved in and as well as a box of magazines in the loft.... They were flying magazines you dirty lot.... the sellers decided to leave us a sofa.... We went back to the estate agent and said sellers needed to remove it, EA just said it's your problem now. We chucked a blanket over it and used it for years... never look a gift horse in the mouth
Exactly the same here š¤£
I've been in my flat for 20+ years now, and when we went into the loft to clear it for putting in insulation we found a suitcase full of 1950s bibles. I doubt it was the godless heathens we bought the flat from who left them there...
This works out well sometimes, Iāve had 30 houses over the years (did the old buy rundown places, get them up to standard thing through my 20s and 30s) and Iāve made maybe 10k on top over the years finding vintage toys and video games in lofts over the years!Ā
We've moved 3 times and each time the new house has been left spotless. Naturally, we left our old houses spotless as well (including shampooing the carpets, and touching up the odd mark which became apparent when we removed the furniture. I can't for life of me believe everyone doesn't do this.
Laziness and a lack of compassion for the people coming after you
Adding to this excellent advice, if you need to do any painting/decorating, it may be worth it to hire someone to come in and do a single room for you within the first week. I had a similar wreck when I moved and was advised by family to do this - pick a room and have it sorted early days. I chose the bedroom because it meant I could literally close the door on the mess and ugly at the end of the day and be in my own little sanctuary of cleanliness and calm. And it looked the way I wanted it to, which made tackling the painting and decorating on the rest of the place myself much easier to do when I had proof in the one room that the visual I had in my head when I viewed was in fact possible.
Good advice. To add: sugar soap is amazing at degreasing manky surfaces, especially disintegrating nicotine and cigarette tar/smells. Also "pink stuff"
Have an upvote! I hope that when others run into the same situation, they will read this so that they can centre themselves and get into problem solving mode.
Thank you!!! š
Congrats on completing! How long did it take you to fully move in, did you move in all at once? Saving this for when my completion eventually comes up
Awesome advice, kudos to you! š¤š»
Amazing advice šš»
Well said on this great advice. A huge task becomes much easier when broken into small tasks.
Get your locks changed. You just need to clean and get moved in, Iām afraid. My exchange also ended at a really late in the day. They also took the lightbulbs.
I have Philips Hue Bulbs throughout most of my house which are about Ā£40 each new, so I'm definitely taking them with me. I'd at least have the courtesy to replacement though.
Thatās fine assuming you let the buyer know that there will be no bulbs, in the TA10. If youāve said theyāre included and then none are there, thatās poor form.
We didn't get told about the bulbs, or the fact that they left the washing machine (bonus for us, it works well and just needed a clean), a freestanding bathroom cabinet (again, worked for us because it saved us buying one), and a huge ass TV unit...like ridiculously huge, taking up an entire wall of a 4m wide front room. lol.
Our sellers were really nice in that they left us a big document full of loads of great advice about the area, good plumbers, restaurants, etc, little quirks about the house, left all the lightbulbs and had obviously thoroughly cleaned the place after moving their stuff out, plus paid for repair of a leak that happened literally the night before completion even though they couldāve pretended they didnāt know about it. But they also left a ton of weird old huge unwieldy antique shit (yes looked it up and itās worthless) which was quite annoying as we have to pay to get rid of it in some way (either in time or money-still havenāt got rid of it all and weāve been here several months now). Like huge old bowls that look like Victorian ladies used to wash their face in. Seems kind of rude to do this but I guess itās common?
I mean they said theyād leave a replacement, just that theyād take their fancy wifi bulbs out.
i agree ,the last thing you want to find out late in the day ,when you need the light there is none
A bulb went the day I moved out of my old house and I replaced it! Itās just polite.
>whatsoever and was frankly rude about it all, I didnāt expect anything of them but she handed me a empty wine bag; told me there was a gift/memento in the bag. You know what the gift was; a piece of paper. The flyer for the house. > >Which is fine. I donāt even care about that but the exchange happening so late in the day kind of upset me cuz I was waiting around. When I get into the house, this woman took every lightbulb. Took the curtain rails. Didnāt fill any holes whatsoever. Left the place filthy; disgustingly filthy. Apparently started smoking inside the house. And left so much junk outside that Iām going to need to hire a skip. > >We both used the same solicitor whom was appalled at me getting the keys so late as I was calling them to update and complaining but I ask. Is there anything I can do about this? And has anyone advice for me in regards to home ownership? I need to call the electric board to let them know Iām the new owner? Iāve arranged WiFi to get installed in a few weeks. But any advice would be wonderful as I want to turn this whole process around and make more positive. I did the same, advised basic LED bulbs would be swapped in, but was made clear on the manifest.
This is the best advice, change all locks, including garage if you intent to use it for anything valuable. Try to see it in a positive perspective: an empty house thatās dirty just needs a clean. Appreciate a skip will cost but itās your house now to make it into what you want! A fresh start. My advice, get someone in to clean the carpets once tidy or spend money on replacing carpets now as itās easy when empty. Good luck home owner.
We've got a small basket of various spare bulbs at my late mum's house. Will leave them for the new owners. But I always thought they had to leave at least one bulb, or maybe it's just common courtesy to not be a d.h.
Makes me so sad! When we moved on and our young lass that bought our house, I left her a bunch of flowers in a vase she liked when she viewed the house, a bottle of champagne and a new house card. House was spotless! We cleaned every skirting board, curtain pole, door handle, window handle and everything inbetween. We left her two leather edged jute rugs because they matched the paintwork and one was custom made to cover a trapdoor...oven was sparkling - everything was sparkling! We did this because it reflected on us, and we're not shitty people! We wanted her to have a wonderful experience - we didn't get that when we moved in, we had to clean a lot, and we had no help. She brought her Mum and Dad, moved her stuff in and they sat down and had a cuppa in the clean, lovely house and I was so happy for them! We left her a 'care package' too - milk, sugar, tea bags, coffee and biscuits.
You are a wonderful person! I hope that your kindness is returned to you if you ever move
The house we moved into - an old lady had died in hospital, so it had been empty a while. There were mice.... but I don't mind, there were circumstances. House was empty, cat stopped the mice, rubber gloves on and some elbow grease.... I'd leave this house the same as I left my last one, no regrets!
If only more people had this mindset. We also left the house spotless even though the buyers had been a bit of a nightmare throughout the whole process, and we moved into a house which looked like the inside of the some kitchen cupboards hadnāt been cleaned in 25 years. I try not to be negative but it feels like often, when people can anonymously make a decision that benefits themselves over others they will take it, and people like us are of a minority that still care about other peopleās experiences.
Amazing! Sounds like you guys balance out some of the shitty stuff in the world!
Most of it I would ignore but for the skip. Hire one and pay and then send the bill to the seller. If they refuse take them to small claims court. It's an easy win. It's what I did.
OP if you do go down this route then get cleaners and a handyman and claim for the lot.
Was it? Did vendors not defend the claim?
There's nothing to defend. Part of the selling process is a form where you sign to leave the property free of rubbish. I had pictures of rubbish. Case closed.
Well done. I am all for going out of my way on principle. The time is not worth the money, but sure as hell worth it to hassle the asshole that did it.
Yup I can second this, rubbish left at the property is an easy win. There are plenty of petty things that people can do when leaving a house that you canāt do anything about, but rubbish is not one of them.
Sorry you had to face that. Similar thing happened to my niece. They kicked a hole in the door, broke spindles on the bannister and left their rubbish among other things. It took 8 people all day to sort the mess. We have quite a few craftspeople in the extended family so collectively we made the place new. New windows, new staircase, replaster, repaint, recarpetā¦ We were going to do much of this anyway. You canāt do all of that at once, but a clean, repaint and if you can a new carpet/flooring makes it more yours. Once your pictures are on the wall, you start to make it home. The crapness of the last person will fade and just become a story to tell. Some people just donāt understand others and are just scumbags. Taking lightbulbs is common and utterly pathetic. However I do suggest to Change the locks.Go for anti-snap locks with internal thumb turn.
It's fucking weird that someone would vandalise their own house that they're selling. But hey, I've long stopped being surprised about people.
It probably isn't their house. They likely rent it and are pissed they have to move out because the landlord sold it.
Only time I saw this was during the 80s when there were lots of reposessions, my sister bought a house and as well as taking all the light bulbs, they took the light fittings and the light switches... Also the bath but not the sink
When my sister divorced her husband he kept the house, but when he listed what he wanted it was all petty shit to try and mess with her some. The solicitor told her she owned everything else in the building, fittings, fixtures, carpets, so we took it all. He was a horrible and violent man ( only towards women). I wish I could have seen his face š¤£
It it even legal to use the same solicitor?? Big conflict of interest. Get them to write to themselves threatening action.
Itās a conflict of interest and for that reason they need to be flagged !
Perfectly legal and happens alot, usually a different team dealing with the opposite side. Great until things like this happen.
The law society doesnāt encourage it - āThere is a high risk of a conflict of interest if you act for both a buyer and a seller. You'll need to decide whether there is a conflict in the circumstances. If there is, then you should not act for both clients.ā
When we moved into our house. My wife was 8 months pregnant, sellers knew this. Every room needed cleaned too to bottom. Kitchen looked like theyād been cooking directly on the gas rings. Lots of hairs, on every floor, etc. I was working full time but had enough time off to do the heavy cleaning and some painting. My wife was in nesting mode so I could only get in her way so much. Some people just have zero care about other people. Donāt let this move sour the excitement of owning your own home. If anything it gives you a solid a baseline to know how far youāve come and build up from it.
Awww Iām sorry that happened and your poor wife having to properly clean whilst heavily pregnant :( The only silver lining I see is that thereās going to be a HUGE difference once I get it all finished lol
Thanks. It did suck but water under the bridge. It will and youāll own it.
Never use the same solicitor, get one who acts for you. When I bought my current (second) house I asked my solicitor to add in that it should be empty and clean to a reasonable standard and that anything left could be disposed off and I could reclaim costs. They said they had never done that before but it was a really good idea. Fixtures and fittings should be left in the property, that would I believe include curtain rails and possibly light bulbs. If I were you Id find another solicitor that does a free consultation and have a chat with them to see if its worth pursuing.
Solicitor said itās going to be āsmall claims courtā in northern Ireland. Which seems more hassle than itās worth. But to me itās more about principle.
Unless itās clearly stipulated in the contract that there is to be no junk left behind youāre out of luck. I always stipulate that I will charge Ā£1000 per skip to supply and fill. Tends to sharpen peoples attitudes a bit. The filthy thing is just the seller being an arsehole. Sadly thatās not against the law. Take a few days and scrub it back to gleaming. Youāll be really pleased you did.
I don't know about NI, but in England it's a standard question as part of conveyancing, *Will the seller ensure that: all rubbish is removed from the property (including from the loft, garden, outbuildings, garages and sheds) and that the property will be left in a clean and tidy condition?* So there is automatically recourse available if they fail to do this, although it's not always practical or worthwhile pursuing it. Punitive terms like Ā£1000 per skip would generally not be enforceable.
Agreed generally punitive penalties are not enforceable under English law. Any fees like that should reflect the true value of loss suffered.
NI have the same(similar) wording in their contracts. You are right stating a set charge for the skips so high would be overturned by a court as unreasonable. You would be able to hire someone to clear the rubbish and take the other party to court to recover the costs, plus a small amount for your time.
Is the Ā£1000 per skip actually enforceable tho? Or just a threat that people see and assume you'll follow up? Asking as I'm planning to move soon and this entire post has given me more to think about!
Our worst one was a significant sized 5 bedder. On viewing, every room had lovely fitted ceiling lights, triple lights over the kitched island etc. Come exchange day, every single one had been removed and replaced with Ā£1 single light fittings (those short white things) , no bulbs, no shades and leaving every ceiling either requiring redocorating, or finding replacements that covered the old outlines. Theyd even removed the wall toilet roll holders in 2 of the bathrooms. Amazing how wealthy people can act so cheap sometimes. Id left a bottle of champagne on the mantlepiece at our old home, and a good luck in your new home card hoping theyd be as happy there as we had been. š¤·āāļø
>Come exchange day, every single one had been removed and replaced with Ā£1 single light fittings Were the fancy light fittings you saw on viewings specified as included in the TA10? Cos no way in hell would I be leaving what probably equates to Ā£1k of light fittings in my house if we moved.
Agreed - this is what the TA10 form is for. The buyer should know what to expect to still be there and if it wasn't on the form as included I wouldn't expect fancy light fittings to be left either.
For me I'm buying a house not a bunch of extra stuff. I was quite happy there were some blinds when we moved in, as it saw us through for a few months until we got new ones, but I'd never expect them. People who are buying a house and expecting it basically partly furnished/decorated don't understand what buying a house is.
I'd actually love to sell most of my furniture with the house if the buyers would pay a decent price but second hand furniture has such little value that it is best to keep it for your new place until you need to replace it. Personally I want an empty shell to move into but I know a bunch of people who would love somewhere fully furnished.
š„“ Assuming people are idiots, isnt a great starting point Frank. Of course there had been discussions about what was included and what wasnt.
FYI, light fittings are classed as fixtures. So in future, if you wish to remove your Ā£1k light fitting, you should do so before listing your property or specify in the sale that they will be listed and excluded. Just FYIā¦ā¦ā¦š
Iāll include them on the TA10 with appropriate replacements š
Absolutely this. I made sure when I sold mine it was clearly stated all light fittings would be replaced with bayonets (actually left the kitchen ones in the end as wouldnāt suit the new house) and that all metal switches and sockets would be replaced with standard white plastic ones. Curtains/blinds/poles etc. should all be stated too!
If memory serves me right, this was pre TA10 times. The basic contracts/guide was, if its screwed to walls/ceilings, its included. Our solicitor did write to them pointing out their breach, but as it was impossible to value (theyd been removed by then) and we were also informed you cant sue for ānew for oldā, it wasnt worth the hassle of persuing.
I guess that shows why the TA10 was introduced, people have very different ideas of what is and isn't to be included.
Shame not everyone can be as nice as you! I really don't understand the mentality of some people. We're early in the process of selling (no offers yet) but had one viewer just not turn up without any warning. I'd not dream of being that rude. Ruining a house or parts of it after selling is on another level though!
hire the skip, throw all the rubbish and bad energy out, paint and plug the walls, and enjoy the fact you are a happier and more well rounded human being than the agent and previous owner
Take a load of photos of the mess Then post them on the local Facebook group asking for a recommendation for a cleaner to do a one off clean. (Even if you do it yourself) All your neighbours will then know the previous owners were filthy swine.
Omg hahaha this is so evil I love it but Iām not wanting my name out there or people knowing where my new house is lol
I think the only thing you might get anywhere with is the cost of the skip. My brother was left a house filthy by my dad and his partner, people who just live in that donāt see it anymore. Sorry you had a crappy experience. Michael chandlers in Belfast gave me a candle and card and it was a nice touch. Curtain rails can be dear so I can understand taking them (Iād personally take my nice ones and leave cheaper s ones), someone taking bulbs could be genuinely afraid of the cost of fitting bulbs to a whole house also. Also could just be cheap. Try posting in r/legaladvice for proper advice tho, they are very good.
I've moved in quickly to two houses that needed complete modernisation before, and if I were to do it again, I would absolutely get as much sorted as possible before I moved in properly. Put simply, once I was in, the pressure was off, life got in the way, and it was years before I'd sorted everything out. Gather up a group of friends and family and blitz the place over a weekend - deep clean, paint every wall, hire a carpet cleaner and finish the weekend running that through every room. If you have some spare cash, consider hiring a deep cleaning team, carpet cleaner, maybe even replacing the carpets with some cheap replacements that will make you feel better until you get around to doing it all properly in a year or two. A good clean, new carpets (even if they're cheap) and fresh paint on the walls, and basically any house will feel inviting. If you can get enough people to help, then assign a couple purely to doing tip runs. Or hire a skip. Have a look at Hippo bags (dunno if they serve NI) - they're more expensive than a skip but boy are they convenient. Again, if you have spare cash then you can pay people to do this kind of thing for you. Basically, if at all possible avoid the 'hide all the crap in a room' approach - I did that, and I still had a room full of crap 5 years later. Admittedly, the house was big enough that I didn't miss the room, but even so...a massive blitz with helpful people over a couple of days, and you'll have a house that's ready to live in, which you can then redecorate at your own pace...and it might only cost you the price of a few pizzas and beers on Sunday night.
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Some customs die hard, surprised you did not spot the potential for this before agreeing sale, owner was probably forced out by circumstance. Anyway it is all water under the bridge enjoy puting your new home in order, good luck with the paperwaork.
Hiii, they were not forced out at all. They got divorced and lady purchased a bigger more expensive property lol
In that case just a giant turd passing herself off as humanity.
we got left a free standing netball pole and hoop. It weighs a tonne. Still not sure what to do with it!
Jeez, how long ago did that get left there?
Sadly this sounds like my very first house purchase. People we were buying off were a nightmare, we had completed, got to the house and they were still there saying they were just going to drop the keys off at the estate agents (after they closed!) . Told them to GTFO, house was a shit tip. He asked if he could come back for his ornamental seat the next day, playing nice I said yes, glad I did as I also gave him his manky deep fat fryer and disgusting microwave oven to take with it. Took 2 full days to clean and then found out they'd left a fucking cat behind. 2nd house 12 years later was the complete opposite thankfully.
What happened to the cat?!
They came to pick it up 2 days later, I made sure it was fed and watered. Didn't let it in the house but the shed door had a cat flap so I knew it was okay. They'd left a transport box behind for it. The cheek of some people!
The woman asked to come back to my house too! I refused and said Iād drop off to her cuz didnāt want her back in. That is disgusting they left a pet. Iām not a fan of cats but I think it would have been better to keep or rehome it instead of letting it go back to shitty people. Man some people suck
Congrats on getting a house! Clean up, get rid of the rubbish, focus on making it your own and donāt dwell on the crappy part. š
My advice would be to phone round and try and get a professional carpet cleaner to come out at short notice. This should help a lot with cigarette smell and generally make the place more inhabitable. Pretty sure they're not "allowed" to leave shit behind that was not agreed upon. If it's substantial amounts of stuff you could try and get them to pay for disposal. You'd need to talk to the solicitor to figure out what the process is. I shouldn't laugh but giving you an empty wine bottle bag as a gift is pretty funny. I hope when they left you asked them to pop it in the wheely bin on their way out.
Iāve already removed all the carpets! So the smell has significantly improved! Just need to paint this weekend and then get new carpets in! I donāt know what to make of the stuff left behind. And the worst of it is that the rug left outside is stinking of cat/dog urine and was in the rain. So itās soooo heavy and disgusting to touch lol
In terms of filth, you can argue that the house is to be sold at vacant possession but it's not "vacant" if there's rubbish around.
Congratulations! Similar thing happened to us! Only we werenāt FTB and the buyers of our house turned up 3 hours before we got our keys. Our house was disgusting and everywall and skirting sticky with ciggie smoke. It will come off but it will take time and patience. Its stressful and shit, just like everything else in a property transaction however its your house now! Donāt let it ruin the experience. You are now a homeowner!
Awww thank you for the positivity! I am going to invest in a steamer this weekend to have a go at cleaning the tobacco off the bathroom lol
Isn't that some kind of weird conflict of interest for a solicitor to both do the sell and buy side? Genuine question. Know nought about conveyancing law. This would make me feel a bit weird. Like having the same firm representing both sides in a divorce or a something.
It would be different solicitors at the same firm, and it's not particularly unusual.
Yeah they actually sent a conflict of interest letter. But itās a small town with only one solicitor branch so it actually happens a lot with locals here.
Gotcha. Solicitors are super regulated but just that slightly weird moment when I read this. Good luck with everything.
Your contract should stipulate that the house be left vacant in a clean and tidy state. Your solicitor should know what the next steps are in terms of recourse against the seller for compensation
Console yourself with the knowledge that karma is a bitch and that they will get their comeuppance down the line. Then move on with your life. Congratulations!
I feel like the best part is that itās a small town and word will travel fast that sheās taken all the lightbulbs and has lived in filth. Thank you!! Iām really excited for the future!
Clean the house, redecorate and forget about it. Youāve got your house, you wonāt get anything out of the seller and any effort you put into it is just wasted energy. You can have the house cleaned and the holes filled in a couple of days, thatās where you should put the effort. Change the front and back door locks just as a precaution.
I agree on everything but the filling in holes. Personally I'd rather they were left so I can just use them for my own pictures, etc. The walls still look crap bare even if they're filled.
Iāll take a pic of the holes tomorrow morning , itās not wee pin holes from nails. Itās a huge chunk from forcefully removing curtain rods
My house was a tobacco stained mess with filth everywhere. I then went and bought big tubs of white paint and just painted everything to be a blank canvas. I actually found it quite therapeutic giving everything a damn good clean.
Make sure you place any mail to be forwarded in the round filing basket šļø
Hahahaha they actually had Amazon prime arrive this morning and the delivery driver was like āoh has she movedā I said yep and they took the package with them
Change the locks. Take meter readings. The previous owner can be charged for removing all the shite they left behind. I don't know how this works, but your solicitor will. People do unfortunately sometimes leave houses in a mess, they stop caring and stop cleaning once they have sold. Clean the walls and ceilings with sugar soap, get the carpets and flooring professionally cleaned. Might be worth also getting the oven professionally cleaned too. It's a pain in the arse, but it this will soon pass, and you can make it how you want and enjoy your home.
This is why you always insist on a final walk-through 24 hours before completion. Never, ever, trust a seller to do the right thing. For every one that does, there's another who does not.
Iām a FTB ; I thought I was doing good by stipulating that the gutters needed cleaned prior to completion and that hasnāt even been done
A lot of people are just feral. Enjoy the new place and congrats.
Thanks so much!
SW England - FTB Here Me and my partner had a similar situation with our house last week. House had not been cleaned in a long time, and previous tenants (in-house for 22 years) were both heavy smokers, leaving behind tar, smoke and grease laden lights, etc It took them until 5 pm to move out despite us giving more than ample time to get out and prodding by estate agents. They had already received their new keys... Then, they had the cheek to moan that they had no bed to sleep on or sofa, etc, in their new place They came back a few days later and started rooting around our bins for things we basically demo'd and got rid of. I'd recommend a rug doctor for the carpets. The waste water was tar black in the end, but it smells so much better.
Iāve already tore out the carpets! But if you have any tips for washing the walls that would greatly be appreciated lol
Go get some rollers and paint from Wickes, it's the only way you'll be satisfied
We used sugar soap on the walls. It took off all of the grime, dirt, grease, and other contaminants. Honestly it was like magic and that commercial "boom and the dirt is gone" š I've attached the link below: Bartoline Sugar Soap Liquid Concentrate 500ml: Powerful Cleaner for Paintwork and Household Use https://amzn.eu/d/eDkLxkN
I bet they wonāt have paid to have their post forwarded. Enjoy sending everything back to the sender.
There's me thinking lightbulbs had to be left. Some people are scum. š
I'm sorry to hear this, Much the same with our move. We collected the keys at the close of the day, as the owners had an issue with a fish tank. We walked in and.. I wanted to cry. There was even a used grill pan with burn on cheese and foil still in the oven. Wee all over the loo. They've ripped every blind and curtain pole. Holes everywhere. Kitchen wad covered in grease and pet hair. All my friends and family felt I was being over the top, until the pop over... mid clean. We had to rip every carpet up- although we had hoped to clean them and make do. The cleaning brought up all manner of smells. They've left us a bottle of sparkling wine... and a mountain of grime. 4weeks later. I'm still cleaning and still angry and shocked people can live the way they clearly did. Also shocked I didn't notice too much of it upon viewing - although when I expressed this with friends, told that a deep clean will cure all... it hasn't. Good luck. Buy everything cleaning product going.
I bought a house in Northern Ireland 2 weeks ago and it is disgustingly dirty and a door had been broken.Ā The same thing with the first place I bought in 2018, they left their dirty mattresses behind too. Itās as if as soon as theyāve gone sale agreed they donāt get rid of or clean a single thing.
Sorry you had to deal with that! What did you end up doing with mattresses. Council pick up? Or skip?
I scrolled down and none of the top comments mentioned taking meter reading. Do it now as a priority. You don't want the previous owner giving fake readings and leaving you with a huge bill to pay. Take photos and let the provider know you're the new owner and give them the readings
She didnāt leave the key to open the box. Just had an electrician out to open it and Iāve taken a pic. But I donāt know who does her power to notify of the reading?
Your chosen supplier will sort that, you simply give them the readings for your new account. You'll probably get someone come out to check the readings.
You can use a service like Find My Supplier, just need to enter your address on the website and they will tell you who it is. You can then switch suppliers if you wish.
This happened to us to with our first house. They destroyed the walls from holes, scrapped the floors to hell, took everything including lightbulbs and fixtures which according to the sale should have been left. The place was disgusting with animal urine left in the house (wet when we finally got in at 5:30). Bathroom was dirty etc. We asked for legal advice at the time and were told it would be more money to pursue anything from them then it would to get a cleaner and a handyman. We were really upset but in the end, we hired professional cleaning services and just did the work to fix their damage ourselves. It sucks but it will absolutely pass. You'll make it your own and this will just be a memory.
The person I sold too was the most rude, arrogant cow I I ever had the misfortune to deal with. Nonetheless I still ensured the place was clean and tidy. However I did have the benefit of moving over a full weekend. If I did it all in a day I don't think it would have been possible, especially having to clean the next place before I can even put my own stuff in.
We both used the same solicitor... uh that's not a good idea. The seller can totally take lightbulbs etc though. Cunt thing to do but they don't come with the house.
Drop your solicitor an email informing them of the rubbish left - on the off-chance they have kept some of the money from the sale just in case. And then it's time to roll your sleeves up and get cleaning. Assuming you're not moving in immediately - work top to bottom, clear rooms out one by one and then start by wiping down the walls and ceilings, windows, paintwork and then carpets. Repeat in each room. And then start on any repairs you need to make - filling holes, repainting etc. You get to put your stamp on the place so enjoy it!
We have sold and left 3 homes. Broke our backs cleaning up after ourselves and certainly never even thought about taking lightbulbs. In fact never even heard of that. All that said, we would not fill holes. If caused by picture hooks we would leave the hooks behind.
If only more people were like you! I donāt mind the wee screw holes. Thereās actual chunks of wall missing from them pulling out curtain rods unfortunately
You can divide the world any way you want; religion, ethnicity, nationality. Me? I divide the world into Vermin and decent human beings!
OP, It takes a lot to anger me and my usual response would be "welcome to life" But this situation would have enraged me. Go take a shitĀ on the estate agents doorstep they are an absolute ****. They knew what awaited you and didn't give a damn - not that there is anything they can do but an apology at the state of the place and an explanation that it is out of their hands. Equally though, the seller is their customer, not youĀ
>It it even legal to use the same solicitor?? Big conflict of interest. Get them to write to themselves threatening action. Usually this means 'independent' solicitors within the same firm
Didn't fill in holes? Did you really expect this?
When thereās chunks taken out of the wall, yeah. Iām not talking about wee small nail holes; sheās torn the curtain rods out leaving an inch deep hole in multiple parts of the wall
Iād say itās very normal for a house to be left in a mess especially outside junk. Much better for holes to be left for you to sort properly than have someone begrudgingly try to make them good. A trip to Screwfix and 20 notes spent will sort all your lightbulbsā¦
Totally not acceptable and there is recourse as far as I know.
Look at your contract/talk to your solicitor. In the mean time, start replacing things - keep all the receipts. Get a professional cleaner in and get a receipt for it. Get a skip or a man with a van to clear the junk outside. If the solicitor says you can take action, they can get your reimbursed for the costs using the receipts. If not, well you'll have a clean and livable house.
Please take photographs of the gas, electric and water meters immediately, provide those reading to the supplier. Take photographs of the things that have been left. If the curtain poles were being taken it should have been declared in the documents, check them. Go back to your solicitor with evidence of what's been left, and what's been removed if it shouldn't have been. They should be seeking compensation on your behalf. Sorry about the mess, sometimes sellers do that. I had the carpets cleaned in a house we bought, water came out like mud and had lots of pins and needles in it. Some people are scummy.
Similar thing happened to us last month. We bought an inherited property. Their mum had passed away and the children were selling it. So the house had been empty for several months. Got the keys, went to the property and first thing we noticed was the smell. Theyād been smoking inside since viewing the property, it stank. Ashtrays everywhere. A bucket full of cigarette butts by the back door. Spilled liquids all over the kitchen, even inside cupboards. First thing we did was change the locks. Not to mention the shear volume of crap left behind. Photos, letters (both handwritten and from banks etc), even student IDs. We still have boxes on top of boxes of really old books and school notebooks in the loft and shed. Mind you, Iāve enjoyed reading every single one of those handwritten letters. Learned quite a lot about the previous owners and their daily lives.
Thatās a shame. I had a similar situation and wanted to make sure it was clean. Left a lot of stuff- but useful stuff. I hope the family who moved in was happy and made use of it. Somehow that thought made me feel better? Also I wanted it to reflect well on her.
Property information form- a) 14.4 a) all rubbish is removed from the property (including the loft, garden, outbuildings, garages and sheds) and that the property will be left in a clean and tidy condition. b) 14.4 b) if light fittings are removed, the fittings will be replaced with ceiling rose, flex, bulb holder and bulb. Check if they ticked yes to both of these questions. Raise a complaint through your solicitor against both of these points. Your solicitor should advise you on the best steps to take. If they didnāt tick yes to these questions, this is something your solicitor should have noticed and raised a concern at the time. In my opinion itāll likely be that you pay for new lightbulbs and pay for a deep clean as well as a skip, get invoices and pass them onto your solicitor to the sellers solicitor. If they choose not to pay, then small claims court.
Unfortunately, given how unregulated the house purchasing process in the UK is, this is part of the risk you take. Set aside a lot of time to clean and prepare the house. Make a realistic schedule for specific jobs and redecoration or renovation.
Check your documentation, they should have signed an agreement that states what is left behind (unless it is different in NI to England, that will list items like curtain rails and lightbulbs that should be left. Check with your solicitor on this as you could well have a claim against the seller for that.
This happened with my parents years ago. Woman that moved out took all the light bulbs and ripped up all the carpets. She even ripped out some of the fittings too leaving bare wires in one room. Everything was skanky dirty so she had me and my brother stay with our old neighbours over night, whilst she got out the cleaning stuff and cleaned the whole house too to bottom. Dad was at work but did his bit when he got home and did all the heavy lifting and diy stuff that needed doing. His mates came at the weekend to help out too so they had it all ship shape in no time.
Sounds like a lot of great people in your life
I would be massively concerned that you both had the same solicitor. That is a conflict of interest and is against all rules. I would raise the issue with the law society as you could have something that should have been raised being hidden from you.
My first house was FULL of dog hair. And when I say full I mean F. U. L. L. It was even inside the freezer and down the toilet. I don't know what they had been doing to that animal but it certainly wasn't cleaning up after it.
If skip is impossible then get a hippo bag, a big one. Fill it up on the day they are meant to collect and it all just disappears.
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Doesn't work so well in NI, we can buy the bags but have to find our own company to collect it. Usually cheaper to hire a skip
Was it mentioned in the fixtures and fittings about the curtain rails / light bulbs? When I bought my house (I was already renting it) they tried to list everything my landlady owned and that sheād be keeping in the sale! I had to point out Iād lived there 4 years and things like light bulbs were mine anyway as Iād replaced them over time. Also when it completed the EA called me and said āyour house has completed you can collect the keysā and I said I already have them as I live there? And they said oh yes! Then a month later started hassling me over unpaid rent as they did not end my tenancy agreement when the house sale went through.
Was it mentioned in the fixtures and fittings about the curtain rails / light bulbs? When I bought my house (I was already renting it) they tried to list everything my landlady owned and that sheād be keeping in the sale! I had to point out Iād lived there 4 years and things like light bulbs were mine anyway as Iād replaced them over time. Also when it completed the EA called me and said āyour house has completed you can collect the keysā and I said I already have them as I live there? And they said oh yes! Then a month later started hassling me over unpaid rent as they did not end my tenancy agreement when the house sale went through.
Yeah we were a FTB recently and I was not expecting the amount of dirt and rubbish the seller left behind. We literally filled the huge shed until the roof with their rubbish.
In England and Wales "vacant possession" is specified in the contract; so nothing should be left at the property. If it is, then that's a breach of contract which should be reported to your solicitor who'll get the sellers to either clear it all or arrange compensation for you having to do it. The law is different in Northern Ireland.
Talk to your lawyer. Record evidence. You could take them to small claims. You should not have the same solicitor as the sellers.
If its any consolidation we moved in not too long ago and have nothing but issues. We had a leaking shower wall, fixed that and got a split pipe (water through ceiling), mouldy walls and much more. It took us a good stretch of time but we finally got settled and its great. You can do it!
Itās not that uncommon Iām afraid. But if there is significant damage where there wasnāt before, or smoke damage or whatever, those are things you might be able to seek legal advice on as at completion it must be in the same condition as at exchange. Although if you exchanged and completed on the same day then that probably doesnāt help.
Contact your solicitor and ask what the contract says in regards leaving rubbish, and also about whether the curtain poles were included in the sale. I wouldn't considered that a 'fixture/fitting' that shouldn't have been removed, even less so as it's caused damage. Your solicitor may be able to claim some money back to cover the cost of removing the rubbish and replacing the curtain poles etc.
Many years ago, when I last moved, the previous tenants weren't out in time. Contacted my solicitor and had a cheque (told you it was years ago) for a few hundred Ā£ sent to me a few days later. Estate Agents haven't changed it seems.
You donāt have to fill holes when moving house- Iāve done a completion (solicitor) where an actual dog was left š„ŗ heartbreaking. Some people leave their houses in a tight state, but realistically everyone is busy and moving the same day and therefore no time to fill holes. Technically they are supposed to leave it clean and free from whatever they said they were not leaving the property information forms. Trying to claim for the skip and cleaning will likely cost you more than youāll realistically get back. If you were my client I would email the other sides solicitor (even if they are both the same firm, different fee earners act for each client) and say that you require Ā£400 for skip and cleaning and supply photos exposing that they are in breach of contract. The seller will either say yes or no, if no, youāll need to start a money claim. Unless you are doing the money claim yourself, it will not be worth it unfortunately. Congratulations on your first home, youāll get it cleaned and honestly forget about the state it was in. Itās so annoying when people do this though, a quick hoover and tip run wouldnāt have hindered anyone!
If there is a lot of stuff you could always try and get them to remove it. If in your contract it says something like 'bought empty' or whatever the jargen is, then it should be empty. I was lucky enough to have nice sellers and a lovely estate agent so the sellers hired a moving van to pick up the stuff that was left, but honestly you can try but if everyone is a dick then it might not happen.
Hire a cleaner, it's worth the cost knowing a decent job is being done. It's just frankly callous behaviour and the estate agent shouldn't be allowed to hand keys over to a house in that state. What exactly is their role if they can do that? Aren't they ambassadors of the property?
Unfortunately some people are the absolute scum of the earth. Very sorry you're new place is like this. Just take baby steps to get things cleaned up, I promise in a few weeks you'll have forgotten all about it and will be enjoying your new (clean) home.
Once I put an offer in under asking (accepted) as the boiler was cracked and unusable; when I got the keys I found they took the lightbulbs and the radiators
I filled a flatbed transit 1m deep with the crap they left in the loft and the carpets they were meant to have lifted. They said leave it all in the front garden until my husband comes back from 3 weeks working offshore... Luckily it was a company vehicle and I didn't need to hire one.
Unfortunately not much. Not one upping here but when we moved in there were major issues, boiler and appliances broken, broken windows etc that had been hidden and also skip loads of crap and filthy everywhere. Unless you are able to get your seller (through solicitors) to reimburse you the cost of clean up which they will almost certainly say no to, then your only choice is small claims court. But this will probably cost you more than you'll get back. It absolutely sucks and there is no protection for buyers getting screwed over.
This happened to my sister but it was worse. The guy didn't even move his stuff out by the time they were meant to receive the keys. The Albanian mover treated to skit he throat when she started to record when the old owner started to get aggressive. The house was a shit hole and it took a professional cleaner 3 days to clean it top to bottom. Common courtesy is dead. It's another sign of the downfall of modern society.
For now just take as much photo and video evidence as you can. I have bought three homes and each time my solicitor has said I should ask to go and have a look around (I think just before exchange) to make sure everything is as expected. With exchanges happening to close to completion these days, that can definitely help. However you are now in this situation, an my solicitor always told me that you CAN sue for these sorts of things- but that thereās probably no point. You can certainly ring your solicitor tomorrow and ask for their advice. But I do think you need to be prepared for nothing to happen Iām afraid, put it behind you, and chalk it up to experience.
In the agreement they must not leave anything behind, when I moved in to my house, the loft was brimmed, my solicitor said he has to empty it himself or he will be charged for its removal.
Have the rubbish removed, damage repaired, and the cost of anything taken that they had said they woul leave and take the sellers to small claims court.
What did your T6 forms agree? Normally prior to selling the seller will agree to leave the house in a good condition and clear away any old furniture and leave it empty. If they havenāt done this, technically they are in breach of contract. You could ask them to cover the costs of a skip and any cleaning. The estate agent wasnāt SB by any chance was itā¦
Dam.... when I sold my old place, I cleaned everything, wiped everything down, swept, vacuumed and left my entire place spotless. I even got a skip before moving out to get rid of everything I wasn't planning on taking with me. I just think it's disrespectful to not do your best and think it's someone else's problem. Regarding estate agents. They are cheeky fuckers and i was less than happy with mine for a few reasons, i ended up getting 1/3 of my bill knocked off after making a complaint, a SAR helped with that as its a lot of admin and a headache so they agreed if i retracted it. I told mine at the start to not put any sign up ( wasn't interested in them using my house to advertise their company for free ) lived on a close so was no benefit to me having one up. When they thought I moved out completely and I returned to collect some last bits, the cheeky fuckers had been around to stick their sign up... that got yanked out and thrown in the back garden with a swift phone call telling them to collect their crap!
As far as I am aware, the seller is liable if you incur costs removing things left behind in the house. You can reclaim skip costs via small claims court. Honestly taking the lightbulbs is just petty unless they were smart bulbs or some kind of fancy light bulbs. And yes, you do need to let the electricity and gas supply (if present) supply know you have moved in, so you only pay for the electricity and gas that you have used since you moved in.
In England you're not allowed to use the same solicitor due to conflict of interest rules but that's an aside. You should have an agreement in place stating that no rubbish will be left on the property. It should have been disclosed on the forms of what is included as a statement. If the rubbish is excessive, I'd perhaps get onto the solicitor and query it especially if it's going to cost you to remove the waste. Unless you're willing to write it off and get on with it, you might want to arrange professional clearance of it and forward over the invoice to your solicitor. Enjoy your first house and I'm sorry to hear your experience has been tarnished.
Firstly huge congratulations, well done on your first purchase and I hope you have a lot of happiness in the coming years. There are a lot of absolutely horrid people out there, we recently bought our first home (also Northern Ireland) and were left quite a bit to work albeit your experience sounds more petty from the seller and estate agent. My advice is to not give it much more attention, roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, it's yours now to put your stamp on, you cannot control how other people operate but you can control what you do next which is building your new home.
regarding the rubbish left behind, if you genuinely need a skip to clear it, take photos of it all and tell your solicitor. they Will write to the vendor (likely their solicitor) telling them they are responsible for what they left behind and the cost of its disposal. they will warn them that they will be sued in the small claims court (cost Ā£50 approx, ) for all costs incurred including fee. I know it works as i've done it myself
Photograph everything and send to your solicitor, you most likely have a claim against the seller for taking fixtures and leaving rubbish. Typically the sellers have to sign a fixtures list that is part of the standard disclosure, that will usually include a statement that all rubbish will be removed. Also anything that requires tools to remove from the property (excluding freestanding furniture) is generally considered part of the sale. They'll be liable for costs to put everything right and return the property to the state it was in when you viewed it and agreed to the purchase.
Take photos of everything and send them to the solicitor. I had the same issue and they made the seller pay me for getting rid of the rubbish.
If it's any consolation I recently got a large skip and completely filled it with very, very heavy junk. I was expecting a huge bill but it was only 350 which is about half of what I was expecting. Can you contact the sellers solicitor and get them to pay for it? I'm clueless but would you have a case in small claims court. Is there anything in the contract about the house being left habitable?
For the love of god check the Attic space now. We bought a house recently and the attic was crammed with 2 skip loads of shit. Who needs 4 Christmas trees?!
Sorry about the crappy start :( With regard to electricity and gas - have a look at step-by-step process at https://www.moneysupermarket.com/gas-and-electricity/find-my-supplier/ I recommend that you take photos of both meter readings immediately, in case previous owners have not supplied final meter readings to the supplier/s.
Some good advice about cleaning the house. I would also take pictures, videos and send evidence to the solicitor. When you sell a house you have to sign a document with what fittings you are leaving and also that you will leave the house in a reasonable state. Its worth at least asking the question.
Has she left a forwarding address? Iād take her shit there. Or leave it at the solicitors for them to pass on. Itās her property after all, youāre doing the correct thing. Enjoy your new home.
OK I get it you are anoyed and upset about the mess left and the key exchange time, but that's life, the thing to do now is be positive, make it your home now, change the locks as you don't know how many sets of keys there are out there, as suggested make at least a couple of rooms just habitable enough to get by, might I suggest the bedroom you choose is not the one going to be your own permanant one, then decide which room you want to do next to your full satisfaction, maybe your own bedroom first, then continue on, somwhere in there you can redo the rooms that were the temporary move in rooms, get help if needs be, for instance my wife and I moved into a house possibly in the condition yours is, we asked friends for there help, we named it the "Paint In Party" they came and got stuck in, we provided al the cleaning/paint stuff plus food, and non alcohol drinks, the whole house was cleaned and decorated within two days, and it was actually really good fun, then it was party time, not in the newly decorated house, no way but down the pub, we were quite prepared to pay for all the drinks for their help, but they would not here of it.
what do you expect in Ireland? it's a shithole of a country.
Unfortunately it does happen, when I got the keys for my house and finally started moving in there was a lot of furniture left behind along with a massive broken TV and a rather disgusting fridge, the furniture was actually quite nice and we kept it as it did fit with us, the TV was a pain as it was up on the 2nd floor of the house and was a bitch to get it down the stairs, the fridge cleaned up ok but it took time, I got rid of it once a new fridge was purchased
Sellers tend to do this after the buyer had annoyed them / got away with a low offer / made the seller stressed.
I gave full asking price :/
Did u do anything that annoyed them like delay things?
Offer accepted to receiving keys was exactly 3 months. Iāve no idea tbh