The nervous wait to exchange....

[Tee Hee Johnson]

Just had all of our documentation/reports etc. through from the solicitor to read and sign. Interestingly enough on the fixtures and fittings they state they are not including (i.e. are taking) the fridge/freezer, dishwasher, and washing machine. Considering the property was rented out (tenants left a week or so ago) I can't fathom why they wouldn't leave these for us, or at worst offer them to us at a price? That's weird, right?

It's quite annoying as coming from our rented place we have none of these things.. And we want to redo the kitchen (after the loft conversion), so it'd be difficult to pick appliances we'd want in the new kitchen right now...

Maybe it's a good thing? I don't like other people old white goods

 

[Martynt74]

Just had all of our documentation/reports etc. through from the solicitor to read and sign. Interestingly enough on the fixtures and fittings they state they are not including (i.e. are taking) the fridge/freezer, dishwasher, and washing machine. Considering the property was rented out (tenants left a week or so ago) I can't fathom why they wouldn't leave these for us, or at worst offer them to us at a price? That's weird, right?

It's quite annoying as coming from our rented place we have none of these things.. And we want to redo the kitchen (after the loft conversion), so it'd be difficult to pick appliances we'd want in the new kitchen right now...

Ordinarily i would say it was pretty usual to take those appliances as the cost to replace with new would be a lot more than what they'd sell for, but given it's rented then it does seem a little odd. Perhaps they've offered them to friends/family or just assumed you wouldn't want them.

 

[VincentHanna]

Just started looking at homes myself in Mid-Essex (Chelmsford/Maldon)

Originally tried to buy a 2 bedroom end terrace in 2012 which was £207,000 but it fell through last minute, and we've been renting ever since.

That house is worth £340,000 now. Madness.

 

[mid_gen]

Just had all of our documentation/reports etc. through from the solicitor to read and sign. Interestingly enough on the fixtures and fittings they state they are not including (i.e. are taking) the fridge/freezer, dishwasher, and washing machine. Considering the property was rented out (tenants left a week or so ago) I can't fathom why they wouldn't leave these for us, or at worst offer them to us at a price? That's weird, right?

It's quite annoying as coming from our rented place we have none of these things.. And we want to redo the kitchen (after the loft conversion), so it'd be difficult to pick appliances we'd want in the new kitchen right now...

I wouldn't expect white goods in a sale, unless they were integrated. If they're standalone units then it's perfectly reasonable. Might accept a lowball offer for them, worth negotiating if they are decent and you need appliances.

 

[rG-tom]

Just started looking at homes myself in Mid-Essex (Chelmsford/Maldon)

Originally tried to buy a 2 bedroom end terrace in 2012 which was £207,000 but it fell through last minute, and we've been renting ever since.

That house is worth £340,000 now. Madness.

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about/house-price-index/house-price-calculator

207k in 2012 == 315k in Q1 2021 in "outer south east" or 340k in "greater London"....so yeah, seems about on par?

Delaying buying a house is almost always the wrong choice, at least when looking at decades rather than months.

 

[dlockers]

Just had all of our documentation/reports etc. through from the solicitor to read and sign. Interestingly enough on the fixtures and fittings they state they are not including (i.e. are taking) the fridge/freezer, dishwasher, and washing machine. Considering the property was rented out (tenants left a week or so ago) I can't fathom why they wouldn't leave these for us, or at worst offer them to us at a price? That's weird, right?

It's quite annoying as coming from our rented place we have none of these things.. And we want to redo the kitchen (after the loft conversion), so it'd be difficult to pick appliances we'd want in the new kitchen right now...

You bought a house and assumed the contents came with it?

If you're lucky you'll get curtain poles, if you're very lucky you'll get blinds. Expecting them to leave all their white goods was a very poor assumption.

Welcome to the real world.

Edit: I had to do a similar thing re: your last point of buying to fit a future kitchen. I ended up deciding I wanted fully integrated so simply had fully integrated appliances not integrated. Easier said than done although my kitchen was pretty basic. I definitely got lucky on the fridge freezer height though!

 

[VincentHanna]

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about/house-price-index/house-price-calculator

207k in 2012 == 315k in Q1 2021 in "outer south east" or 340k in "greater London"....so yeah, seems about on par?

Delaying buying a house is almost always the wrong choice, at least when looking at decades rather than months.

We had a mortgage in principle and then the lender (Nationwide I believe) wouldn't give us the mortgage. It was a bad situation as we'd already given notice on our tenancy and had to scrabble around to find somewhere decent to live. Since then I've spent approx. £90,000 renting when I could have been paying off a mortgage

Now we're looking at decent sized 3 bedroom new builds in the area so that's going to be around £460k-475k

 

[ChrisD.]

I wouldn't expect white goods in a sale, unless they were integrated.

Yeah, although I find this frustrating. The integrated dishwasher in my house was crap so I changed it for a Miele which was about £700. It's fantastic but I'm going to have to leave it unless I find something cheap to replace it with.

 

[Basher]

Just had all of our documentation/reports etc. through from the solicitor to read and sign. Interestingly enough on the fixtures and fittings they state they are not including (i.e. are taking) the fridge/freezer, dishwasher, and washing machine. Considering the property was rented out (tenants left a week or so ago) I can't fathom why they wouldn't leave these for us, or at worst offer them to us at a price? That's weird, right?

It's quite annoying as coming from our rented place we have none of these things.. And we want to redo the kitchen (after the loft conversion), so it'd be difficult to pick appliances we'd want in the new kitchen right now...

Not at all weird, no.

If you want them, offer them a price.

 

[Scam]

Maybe it's a good thing? I don't like other people old white goods

We don't either but as I mentioned we will be replacing/rebuilding the kitchen hopefully with the first year so it would have been nice to have them there to tide us over.

Ordinarily i would say it was pretty usual to take those appliances as the cost to replace with new would be a lot more than what they'd sell for, but given it's rented then it does seem a little odd. Perhaps they've offered them to friends/family or just assumed you wouldn't want them.

I wouldn't expect white goods in a sale, unless they were integrated. If they're standalone units then it's perfectly reasonable. Might accept a lowball offer for them, worth negotiating if they are decent and you need appliances.

We will probably query it. Half of me thinks they're waiting on an offer which seems a bit petty given the sums involved. Especially if they have no use for them and it would cost them just as much to remove them!

To clarify, the property was rented out. The owners are pensioners living elsewhere in their primary residence so it's pretty safe to say they have no need for the white goods. Early after the offer was accepted we had this line from the agent; "We have not yet decided what to do with the white goods, eg fridge/freezer, washing machine and dishwasher but we will be happy to consider giving these to the buyer." We took that to mean the tenants didn't own them, therefore quite likely the owners would either leave them in the house or at worst offer them to us at a price (although the word 'giving' in my book does not mean 'sell')

You bought a house and assumed the contents came with it?

Welcome to the real world.

See above. Why are you so argumentative all the time?

 

[mid_gen]

We don't either but as I mentioned we will be replacing/rebuilding the kitchen hopefully with the first year so it would have been nice to have them there to tide us over.

We will probably query it. Half of me thinks they're waiting on an offer which seems a bit petty given the sums involved. Especially if they have no use for them and it would cost them just as much to remove them!

It's easy to dismiss a few grand here or there when you're negotiating a house sale....but it's all money.

I negotiated 1.5k off for some stuff on my sale. Got a me a nice OLED TV for the living room

 

[VincentHanna]

Anyone familiar with Lifetime ISA's and the cap?

If we are looking at a house that costs £450,000 but you the developer is offering "Finishing touches" that are approx. £15K extra to have things like Integrated kitchen appliances, carpeting and flooring, the lawn turfed etc etc

Do they consider that as being a £465K house and you therefore lose all your bonuses and the 6.5% penalty?

 

[dlockers]

See above. Why are you so argumentative all the time?

You get as good as you give. You spent an entire thread lecturing people on why tenants should pick up the slack for landlords yet you clearly are very inexperienced at the entire topic at hand. I did add a constructive point.

 

[dlockers]

Anyone familiar with Lifetime ISA's and the cap?

If we are looking at a house that costs £450,000 but you the developer is offering "Finishing touches" that are approx. £15K extra to have things like Integrated kitchen appliances, carpeting and flooring, the lawn turfed etc etc

Do they consider that as being a £465K house and you therefore lose all your bonuses and the 6.5% penalty?

I tried to sweeten my LISA purchased house because we had the hard 450k limit and the house was 475k. Estate agency wouldn't risk getting pwnt by the government so I'd guess they'd edge on the side of caution and make you pay cash separately if they allow you to at all.

Edit: By no means the expert but I've heard folk preferring not to get the developer to do the lawn as they'll just sod whatever clay and crap is under it. You'll just have to fix it later anyway.

 

[Robbiec053]

Anyone familiar with Lifetime ISA's and the cap?

If we are looking at a house that costs £450,000 but you the developer is offering "Finishing touches" that are approx. £15K extra to have things like Integrated kitchen appliances, carpeting and flooring, the lawn turfed etc etc

Do they consider that as being a £465K house and you therefore lose all your bonuses and the 6.5% penalty?

It's been 2 years since we completed but I don't believe any optional upgrades are taken into account in the valuation of the property and are considered sales incentives by the developer.

The valuation (£450,000) would all within the LISA threshold. Best advice is to check with your solicitor/mortgage advisor.

 

[taB]

Anyone familiar with Lifetime ISA's and the cap?

If we are looking at a house that costs £450,000 but you the developer is offering "Finishing touches" that are approx. £15K extra to have things like Integrated kitchen appliances, carpeting and flooring, the lawn turfed etc etc

Do they consider that as being a £465K house and you therefore lose all your bonuses and the 6.5% penalty?

Am I being cynical to think that the developer's finishing touches would potentially hide snags and the like for a lot longer than they would otherwise. The turf could well have to be dug up and re done in a few years if it's just laid on the rubble from building. I'd be tempted to get others to do those jobs even if it cost a little more.

 

[VincentHanna]

It's a "5 Star builder" on a new build development of 130odd homes.

Are they likely to do that?

 

[Basher]

It's a "5 Star builder" on a new build development of 130odd homes.

Are they likely to do that?

Definitely yes.

Most builders will take short cuts on the finishing touched. I also suggest you hire a professional swagger, we hired one and they found literally hundreds of issues on a brand new 2 bed flat.

 

[Peerzy]

It's a "5 Star builder" on a new build development of 130odd homes.

Are they likely to do that?

Absolutely.

Rubble and compacted clay in the gardens is probably the most common problem people have with new builds. They've just build 130 houses and put up 130 fences marking our the gardens - the last thing they are going to want to do is work out the logistics of getting a digger round the back of every house to get rid of all the clay, rubble, broken bricks and gravel and put down the required 150mm (I think) of top soil. Best thing to do is put down the cheapest turf you can find, delay when people complain about it not taking (needs more water, wait to the summer, next year it'll be good) and wait out the 2 year warranty (some will often even say the warranty doesn't cover the garden but it does).

 

[Scam]

You get as good as you give. You spent an entire thread lecturing people on why tenants should pick up the slack for landlords yet you clearly are very inexperienced at the entire topic at hand. I did add a constructive point.

I certainly wasn't lecturing tenants, if anything quite the opposite. It highly annoys me that landlords leave their places to rot and ruin whilst stopping well-meaning tenants from doing anything positive to the property. Or other such as yourself posting such useful advise such as "don't waste your money" and therefore also perpetuating the problem.

I'll fully admit I'm inexperienced in buying a house, given this is my first time. But I do know what renting is all about.

It's easy to dismiss a few grand here or there when you're negotiating a house sale....but it's all money.

But surely it would cost them money to dispose of these things though, assuming the tenants haven't taken them? That's what I don't understand. Oh well. Glad a few agreed with me that it's weird considering the place had tenants in.