This week, Partner and Head of Conveyancing at Brethertons, Mike Dibben is quoted in the Sunday Times Home supplement (10 May 2015) on the topic of moving house, more specifically: what is, and what is not, acceptable behaviour when vacating a property!
The Times article features an exhaustive list of the Dos and Don’ts of moving home, interwoven with a grisly array of buyers’ horror stories; from diesel in the water supply to a lonely, unloved kitty wandering the empty halls of its owners former residence. Truly horrifying stuff.
To avoid leaving your buyer in the dark (quite literally, like some sellers who remove the light bulbs before they leave the house), the article highlights some key tips for making your sale or purchase as smooth as possible:
• Agree with your buyer/seller in advance what will, and what won’t, be left in the property upon move-in day
• Leave the property in the state in which you would expect to find your new home
• Arrange to have your post redirected, and inform your nearest and dearest of your move
In the absence of any other agreement, all fixed or fitted items should be left behind as part of the transaction unless they fall into the category of ‘loose contents’ or ‘furniture’, but an issue often raised with our Conveyancing Team is, “what exactly are the loose contents?” The Times quotes Mike’s ‘most helpful advice’: “Imagine that you pick up the house and turn it upside down. All the items inside that would then fall onto the ceiling count as ‘loose contents’ or ‘furniture’, which can be taken. Everything that stays put should stay, unless it’s agreed otherwise.”
This useful guidance will help you determine which items should remain intact when the seller moves on. Our Conveyancing Team helps hundreds of people buy and sell their properties each month. As members of the prestigious Conveyancing Quality Scheme regulated by the Law Society, the Team are experts in property transactions. For more information on the services they offer, visit the Conveyancing area of the website.
Read the full article in the Sunday Times Home Supplement Sunday 10 May 2015. Available online (via a subscription) here.
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