This is common right?

[hamster]

Honestly, we left stuff behind at the last house we sold. It wasn't junk per se, but things we didn't want or need at the new house that we felt the new homeowners could use. Like, spare fence boards that were stained to match the ones that were up, a paint can or two that, you know, matched the colors on the inside. I'm sure these people thought they were being helpful.

[bunch]

Well usually the sellers would ask the buyers if they wanted it first, but it's definitely not uncommon. And definitely not hold up the closing worthy.

eta: we left a ton of stuff for our last buyer - paint, hoses, chimney cleaning kit, etc.  There was a whole shelf in the basement.

[laurensmomma]

I guess I don't understand how a property might not close because of some items being left behind, but yeah, lame to get upset over. The previous owner of our house left some stuff behind at our house, including a tanning bed.

[dottyblue]

Oh my word. Idiots. They'll be kicking themselves when they realize they need to go out and buy a hose.

Completely normal. Our sellers left us paint for the house(clearly labeled) extra tiles from bathroom redo, a leaf blower, and a few odds and ends tools that have been amazing. I can't imagine delaying closing over extras.

[Deleted]

My friend left a few things behind in her house. Left over paint for touch ups, some chemicals for the yard, hoses, a rake, air filters, and a package of toilet paper.

I would have put a bow on that shit and called it a house warming gift.

[ECB]

We left stuff behind and the people we bought our present house left stuff behind. Some was expected, some was not.

[blondemoment123]

This reminds me of the package of Bologna my parents found in the fridge when they bought their first house.

[Pom]

When we moved to the San Antonio house, we had to beg the owners to get out so we could move in. They were there like 3 days after closing. We let it go (we went out of town) and then they left shit behind, that we put out on trash day.

We had a few things at the house (pool stuff, boards) and our buyers threw a fit. The lady is nice but the guy? He is kind of an asshole. Those people there you had to deal with? Assholes as well.

Sorry, you were very nice to handle it.

[msmerymac]

Pretty sure that's where our hose came from.

[Marmee]

Yep every house we've bought or my parents bought had stuff left behind (mostly in garage type stuff), I considered it no big deal. My parents most recent purchase had a pretty cool vintage cooler (plug in) left in their garage. Like a month later the old owners showed up to get it and my mom was like "nope". Lol

[closertofine]

We actually almost held up our closing because of the stuff the owners left behind. I'm talking furniture, equipment, two kitchen cabinets full of crap. At closing they verbally agreed to take care of it. But they were going through a nasty divorce, and it took days to get them to get it all. If I recall correctly, it took the wife 3 trips and the husband one with a truck. I also have this odd structure in my backyard (it's not a shed, there is no roof. It's an eyesore but solid. Neighbors said it was intended to be a playhouse for the kids of the first owner, but they split, and never finished it) that I could not get them to come back out for. I eventually posted on free cycle and some guys came out that day, took the scrap metal and were kind enough to just haul the rest away for me.

[niq]

We bought from a builder, and the told us about the leftover supplies (some paint, mostly) were ours to keep. Buyers are a little paranoid, maybe?

[awick14]

Our house was clean at showing, but when we moved in the garage was full, I mean full of garbage. (Where was it during the showings?? IDK, the house was vacant for a year before we moved in)

We had already closed. (Out of town move, and our realtor did the walk through with the other agent and signed off on it. So they must of dumped stuff after that. Who knows. But we had the previous owners family come and move everything out. (Seller died before closing, it was all confusing.It ended up being 3 truck loads!!)

If they had left cleaning stuff and house maintenance stuff I would have been very happy.

[yentl]

I think it's common. Our current house had some random stuff left behind including plant pots, wine racks, some junk stuff. Our first house was basically empty but it was reno-ed and vacant for several months before we bought it.

Unless it's on a lot of property, I might not be thrilled to be the owner of a new wheelbarrow, but it's not something I would complain about. That's easily fixed by a free stuff craigslist post. Lawn maintenance stuff is awesome though. I would be happy about that.

[raangoli]

Jun 13, 2016 19:17:52 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Pretty sure that's where our hose came from.

Same here.

[womet]

We left stuff like that when we sold our house. We left a bunch of lawn and pest chemicals too. And all of the paint cans.

[scout8]

Yes, people often leave a few things behind, but if the buyer doesn't want them, they have every right to refuse to close until the items are gone. In my area, the contract reads that all personal items are to be removed and the home left in broom clean condition. If it is something useful such as yard tools, extra paint, etc, then most buyers aren't going to care. Sometimes people leave a lot of things or large items that will be difficult to remove and that becomes a problem.

When I bought my current place, the sellers had left a large dresser and a swing set in the back yard that I had specifically excluded from the transaction. They promised to come get it, but I don't know these people. I have no idea if they would or not and it would have cost me money to get them removed. I refused to close until some money was held back. Once the items were removed, the money was returned to them.

[drloretta]

LOL, I bought a house from an old guy who left behind 70s belts, a drawer full of very long knives, and a cabinet full of expired canned goods. It did not interfere with closing

[calamity]

We left spare paint cans (that matched all the paint in the house) in case they wanted to touch up anything.

They threatened not to close over that. They called it "hazardous waste"

LOL for days. Some people are just assholes!

[steph96]

As long as it's stuff that is easy to get rid of, I don't see what the big deal is. I would have happily kept the hose and wheelbarrow! They will be kicking themselves when they see how much all that crap adds up to.

[cjeanette]

Someone would walk away from a house they are about to close on over outdoor tools? What?

[Mrs.Rad888]

When I bought my house back in 2005, I wanted to offer to buy the washer and dryer that the sellers had in the home. My realtor said that he thought that if we didn't mention anything about them, the seller would leave them because he didn't want to deal with them (the house was in foreclosure). He was wrong, so I didn't get the washer and dryer.

The seller also left a lawnmower. It didn't run, but my next door neighbor was able to get it running for me. I used it for a few years, then right before I moved out, the lawnmower was stolen. I kind of think it was the guy I bought the house from. Whoever took it actually did me a favor. I wasn't going to need it where I was moving to, and now I didn't have to worry about getting rid of it.

[jerseyjaybird]

My sellers asked me whether I wanted a few things (plants and potting soil in the greenhouse), to which I said yes, and they left lots more. I've thrown away a bit, but most of it was/is useful---hoses, a reel mower, TP, tons of cleaning supplies. I had just moved cross-country, and all of my stuff was in storage, so I was THRILLED. The sellers and I also share a sense of humor, and they left some thrift-store art hanging in the basement, which cracked me up, but I can see that others wouldn't have appreciated that. Actually, now that I think about it, the basement is full of tools and odds and ends that have come in handy.

When my ex sold her house, the buyers threatened not to show up to closing because she'd left some trash (like, three or four black trash bags) at the curb. Trash day was the next day, and they seriously threatened to walk because of a few bags of trash at the curb for 15 hours. Real estate transactions bring out a particular brand of crazy, I think.

[sparkythelawyer]

If that is the stuff that was threatening closing your buyers were idiots.

[UnderProtest]

We left paint, plant food and a surprise garage refrigerator with apparently three beers in it (that the buyer was thrilled about). I have a feeling that our sellers on our house want to leave their broken twenty year old hot tub. Hence, why we wrote it into the contract that it would be fixed or removed. We hope it will be too expensive to fix.

I think those people are nuts.

[aurora]

I don't think it's necessarily normal to leave things like a hose, but as a buyer I wouldn't have been upset by it.

Things like paint (labeled as to what room it's for) are expected and (I think) appreciated, if the seller has leftovers.

[FormerlyRR]

The people who bought my last house were closing long distance and had her sister come do the walk through. She insisted I get rid of "anything that isn't on the list of furniture they bought" from me. So I tossed the paint (labeled by room), fluorescent tubes in a super long length for the garage, extra flooring & tiles, and the yard stuff. Getting all the hazardous stuff to the dump was a PITA, but they were such assholes about other stuff, I actually took some joy in doing it. And the lawn furniture I put by the street while the sister watched, and a neighbor snagged it in about 2 minutes.
Buyers are weird. I was just excited that the people I bought from left the fridge since it wasn't covered in the contract.

[Deleted]

Oh, my sister's step dad found a water bong in her unfinished attic when he was installing an exhaust for her new stove (iirc). He left it there and said nothing because he thought it was hers. Nope. She went up there to see see the install and was all "OMG lol I haven't used one of these in years!" The old owners left it!

[Narwhal]

We left the typical clearly labeled paint, a hose I think and maybe a furnace filters at our old house. The sellers of our new house asked us if we wanted them to leave some shelves and shelving wood in the garage. I said yes, because why not have some extra shelving in the garage. Yeah, it was a million 2x4s and old nasty wood planks. I was pretty pissed, but also irritated at myself for saying "yes". We posted it as free on Craigslist and it was gone within a day or so.

[Pilsy]

They're ridiculous. That said, I do think it's inconsiderate not to clean out the place fully. It's one thing to offer your stuff to the buyers and leave it if all parties agree, and it's another to be too lazy to finish the job of cleaning out your junk (even if it is useful).

We had to have one of the junk removal services come take stuff away when we bought our house. We saw all the stuff during our walk-through the morning of the closing, and our attorney asked the seller's attorney if they'd pick up the fee for the junk removal, and they did. Obviously, we'd have closed if they'd balked at the idea, but I think it was right of them to pick up the tab.

None of this changes the fact you were not responsible for whatever was left, and these people are morons.