Chrissie Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 When we moved into our current house there was NOTHING. No light bulbs - no light fittings come to that, although there were a few live wires poking out of the walls. No loo roll holders, no shelves............you get the idea.What I want to know is, what do most people consider reasonable to take with them when they move out? Should we plan that we will take the wine racks (currently screwed to a wall)? Shelving in garage? Light fittings? Curtain poles? At this stage we don't know what will be in whatever new house we find.[:)]Chrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 When we were selling in France the notaire made it clear that a minimum had to be left, I took it that the rules had changed as I had heard of stories such as yours in the past. We in fact were going to leave all the light fittings and lamps and all the curtain poles and had it duly marked on the paperwork.You can take all the removable fixtures and fittings though and we took the wine racks and a couple of shelves, but we left lots of the other things. I would contact the notaire and tell him that the place had been with dangerous exposed wires. In fact I would have been on the phone that day or in to see them immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Ice-ni Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 So the old joke culminating in the line "No, we're not redecorating, we're moving" is based on fact and not just religious stereotyping.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 In Germany it is even normal to remove the fitted kitchen - I believe the standard is 1 operation light fitting - without shade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Someone I know who moved to Normandy discovered that, in the midst of winter, the previous owner had drained the oil tank for the central heating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I guess it all depends on how well you do on the sale ....or not. If the buyers have been rats and screwed you down on price big time, I guess I would take my stock of wood along with me.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommier Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 We've always acted the same in France as we did in the UK ie all fixtures are left (included in the price) unless we specified otherwise at the outset. I'd always leave light bulbs etc.When we were selling our first French house the notaires assistant told us to take all light fittings making sure we cut the wires too short to re-use as that's what had happened to her. I think (hope) she was joking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-D de Rouffignac Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 In the last 'compromis de vente' that I checked on behalf of English buyers, the Notaire included a specific clause headed 'Vendor's obligation to maintain the property in the state it was when viewed by the purchaser' followed by a long, indicative list of items that were not allowed to be removed without agreement between the two parties. The list included curtain rods and rails, door handles, fittings inside cupboards (mirrors, hanging rails, shoe racks etc), fixed shelving, all sanitary and heating equipment, radiators, blinds/shutters, water softeners, garden furniture (fixed), plants, trees, shrubs etc; external TV aerails; specific mention of light fittings - had to be left at least with sockets and bulbs. The second part of the clause expressly forbade any alterations to be carried out and an obligatiion to maintain the property in good order, including repairing any damage that might occur for example when the vendor was in process of moving out. The liquid gas tank was three-quarters full and the buyers allowed to take this over without cost. The buyers had the right to re-visit the property before signature of the 'acte finale' to ensure that eveything was in order and had cause to pull out or re-negotiate if the above clause had been breached. From the above, it is clear some Notaires are being pro-active in intervening and I would recommend having a similar clause included for protection of both buyer and seller. P-D de R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 [quote user="ericd"]I guess it all depends on how well you do on the sale ....or not. If the buyers have been rats and screwed you down on price big time, I guess I would take my stock of wood along with me..........[/quote]A property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. If you don't like the price you are offered, don't accept it and hope you get a better offer later. It's your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Our french sellar was the complete oppersite , leaving everything from furniture to telly, ordements, cutlery in the drawers, microwave, even a dirty pair of mens pants down the back of the sofa..!!!! We think they just locked up and walked out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 [quote user="Rabbie"][quote user="ericd"]I guess it all depends on how well you do on the sale ....or not. If the buyers have been rats and screwed you down on price big time, I guess I would take my stock of wood along with me..........[/quote]A property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. If you don't like the price you are offered, don't accept it and hope you get a better offer later. It's your choice.[/quote] Oh really....conduct a survey of Brits having sold their house "under duress" because they HAD to go back to the UK where the buyer might have taken advantage of the situation. yes they might have had a choice to sell or not but I believe many didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 I like the idea of P-D de R's clause - am going to make a note of that and then we will all know where we stand. I also always like to leave my house clean for the new people but almost invariably find the one I am moving into is in a pretty dire state. You really need a 24-hour cleaning service to come as part of the moving package!Chrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 [quote user="ericd"][quote user="Rabbie"][quote user="ericd"]I guess it all depends on how well you do on the sale ....or not. If the buyers have been rats and screwed you down on price big time, I guess I would take my stock of wood along with me..........[/quote]A property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. If you don't like the price you are offered, don't accept it and hope you get a better offer later. It's your choice.[/quote] Oh really....conduct a survey of Brits having sold their house "under duress" because they HAD to go back to the UK where the buyer might have taken advantage of the situation. yes they might have had a choice to sell or not but I believe many didn't.[/quote]Don't get me wrong! I do feel sorry for people that are genuinely under duress to sell, but while property hunting in France this year I have seen several properties where the seller is asking an unrealistic price compared to other similar properties in the same areas. Don,t they realise there has been a significant fall in property prices in the last 2 or so years. Just because they haven't been able to to take advantage of the buyer does not give them the moral right to remove things that should have remained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 It's 10 years since I bought and it sounds as if things are changing, but I certainly moved in to a shell. The light fittings had gone as had the wood burner and all the storage heaters. The annoying this is, she probably got 200 francs for the stove at the local Troc.... I had to pay 3500 to buy a new one in a hurry (It was very very very cold when I took possession) . If she had said something I would have happily paid a bit extra to leave the heating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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