HOUSE HELP (again)

When you went into contract, Did you ask them to leave anything in the house for you? i.e. window treatments, ect...

Thanks
Sue

There wasn't a THING in this house that I wanted from the original owners!

But, if I did...I suppose at contract would have been the time to specify.

LOL.. thanks claud... This house has two things i want.. one is the window blinds, they are like mini blindds but they are cloth and had to be fitted to the window, my parents had them made and they are pretty expensive, i cant imagine they would take them, becasue you cant resize them.. Also there is a hutch in the kitchen that im not so sure is attached to the wall and it matches the cabinets..
I was just wondering if anyone else had asked for these kinds of things.

I think you just have to ask the homeowner if they are leaving them behind. If they were planning to take them, you could always negotiate an offer on the items and have it added to the amount of your mortgage.

Edited to say - it sounds like most of the items are custom to the house, so it's likely they're just leaving them = you win!

You have to specify it you want anything left, including all appliance (except for oven, which must be included). The owner can also replace lighting fixtures unless specified. So if she has a pretty light in the hallway, she can just put up a $5 cover and take her light. Washer/Dryer/Refrig must all be stated to be kept in the house.
Window treatments also must be asked. Some people just leave them, but many people take stuff with them, whether they will need it or not.
I would definately ask about the hutch. It might be a stand alone piece of furniture.

Our contract had appliances listed in the standard part, though they did write in that they were excluding a second refrigerator in the basement, and the chandelier in the dining room.

Technically, if it attached to the house, they are supposed to leave it, or otherwise specifically exclude it. This would include window blinds and curtain rods, but not the curtains that may hang from the rods. Light fixtures have to be replaced if they are being taken - can't just leave bare wires, and have to be listed if they are removing them.

Definately inquire about anything you think may or may not be built in or attached, including things like bathroom mirrors. When we did our final walk through the afternoon before closing, and when we got to the house after closing, I noticed that the pretty curtain rods were gone from the main bedroom, and there were no mirrors in the half bath (couldn't remember if there ever was) or upstairs bathroom, and the upstairs bath (definately was, there are big anchors and screws in the wall).

It was not enough to bother going after her for those small things (we were just glad to be rid of her and never wanted to hear her name again) but it was irritating. Better to get it all on the contract, to make sure they know you are expecting whatever you want to be there, to still be there after closing.

Suzanne, I posted on this a while back
Heres the thread, look at my post in the middle of the thread.
Link

It really also has alot to do with your relationship/if any with the homeowners. Even though they 'promised' us so many things, and didnt leave them, we would never have asked them for it, held it against them, or written it in the contract. They are the type of people that would (did!) make me a personalized baby blanket for John Anthony !


Its like getting into an accident and deciding whether to press charges. A guy once hit my car from behind, and he was so sweet that I didnt press charges or call the cops or anything.. (it was such a small scratch, that it really wasnt worth the trouble)
OOPs, tangent again !

Anyway, good luck in whatever you do !

Here is another hint: lift up everything on the kitchen counters. Counter savers are very often used to hide burns, scratches etc... Also ask them about any warrenties that they might have on A/C units, appliances, etc... The person I got our home from had the A/C and Oil burner company transfer the warrenty over to us- thank goodness since we had a line freeze outside on our oil tank. And again, ask about lighting fixtures, plus area rugs.

Funny story...
When my friend did her walk through everything was as expected. When they moved in, the previous owner had taken all of the door knobs and closet rods.

This has nothing to do with a house, but I just wanted to comment on Anna's post about the car accident. Being the kind and naturally caring person she is, Anna would just let someone walk away from a car accident and say it's not a big deal.

But, I just wanted to point out that can be dangerous...even though there may not be any visable damage to your car, you should always take someone's insurance info when you have a fender bender. There's a chance that something may have shifted on the bottom of the car during an impact, so you want to be sure you have some recourse, just in case. I don't mean to press charges against someone, but to just submit the insurance claim. If you never have to use the info, than it works out fine for everyone.

Claud, thanks for the compliment **blush**

You are absolutely right about that. The guy that hit me immediately first asked if I was ok, and totally apologized. As I spoke to John on my cell once it happened, who told me the same (to get the info just incase).. Thats what I did and the guy had no problem. He gave me his business card (I was thinking 'ooh get me a job !! He was in the software industry!), showed me his drivers license, his insurance info, told me where he lived, to call him if I didnt feel good the next morning (how sweet !!!) and when we were getting back in our cars, he waited for me to go in first, to make sure I got in ok. (we were on the side of the parkway, and it was very dark)...
But Claud, youre totally right. I would never have thought of that (can ya tell this is my first car ??) that something can happen later on, or God forbid I felt sick or weasy from it later on...

A few people in my family were like 'You should have said ok $500 and we'll call it a deal' and to just walk away with some money. I just couldnt do that....

On the other hand, I was in an accident (fender bender) with my sister one day, I Was 6m prego and it was POURING RAIN) and the guy was a rude, obnoxious, condescending, bitter liar. Boy did we let him have it ! We made sure the cops came, my sister took digital pics of everything (got her bumper fixed for free from his ins). But he was just downright disrepsectful to us. No consideration that we were ladies, that we had an infant in the car, and one of us was pregnant. It was a disaster, I wanted to smack him ! He was acting like those punks in high school, rattling off names of Police officers that he was friends with, and just acting like one of those kids that needs Maury Povich's boot camp !


OK, did I just lose my sweet reputation ???

Just to add a bit to Claud's post, the other reason to make sure that you get the info is because the person who hits you could be attempting insurance fraud. You should also make sure that you contact your insurance company and give them the info, even if you are not asking them to cover the claim. There are all sorts of insurance scams that are run using an innocent person. In a case such as Anna's accident, the person who hit her would act as if he is a nice guy, get the info from her then turn around and claim that she hit him and that he is injured. This is a common form of fraud. The way to protect yourself is to make sure that every accident is reported to your insurer as soon as possible. This way they have all of your info already and are less likey to pay for a false claim.


Edited to add 'Anna you are still sweet. No damage done to your reputation!'