Spryte Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) Dawn’s thread made me think of this. Personally, I’d think carpet remnants that match the house and extra cushions for lawn furniture that conveyed was part of the house, really. What have you left or found in a house? My mom sold hers, and there was a mahogany bed frame from the late 1800s that she and I could not get out of the attic. I so hope that someone found it and loved it! I once moved into a rental house that had a detached garage full of really cool antique toys. And a lot of junk. When we bought our current house, we went against standard US practices and accepted an invite by the sellers for a hello/goodbye dinner and champagne, and a chance for them to show us around the house. It was really fun! This was going to be their forever house, they thought, so they had done lots of little magical touches that made us smile. They went above and beyond for us, and I am so hopeful that DH and I will do the same for the next people to buy this house, when we move. They intentionally left behind quite a bit, and everything was labeled with a sweet note, and they texted us in advance so we knew what to expect: - first, it was all impeccably clean. There were a few holes in the walls, but nothing abnormal. - They left surround sound speakers in one room, outside in the pavilion, and instructions on the wiring for each. We switched to wireless but repairing was NBD when we were ready. There was a big, neat hole for hiding wires of a wall mounted tv, where we would mount ours - manuals, with dates of installation and business cards for every contractor they used, list of all improvements they made to house - a French press and a calphalon pot to boil water for our first coffee (be still my heart) - paper goods for eating/drinking - take out menus with tips for favorite dishes - shower stools (which rocked the world of leg shaving for me, ha!) - flower pots filled with flowers - a really nice vacuum (Electrolux) to use as a back up — seriously, we used that thing for 7 years as our only vacuum. Loved it! - with our permission, and because they knew we had an interest: woodworking tools and a giant dust collector thing that vented outside, standard in wood shops, lots of nice exotic wood pieces for DH - paint cans for every room, labeled - extra flooring and stain for baseboards and floors - and a map of the neighborhood with info about neighbors and emergency numbers (with their permission, of course), plus all kinds of handwritten neighborhood info. Doc, dental, even a hair stylist rec - birdwatching books (inscribed with notes to us) and feeders to get us started It was a bit OTT, but really welcoming and sweet! Edited October 14, 2023 by Spryte 32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 Empty liquor bottles tucked way up high in the back of the linen closet. 1 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 My brother just bought a cabin in the mountains and the former owner left so much stuff it looks like he just up and left in the middle of breakfast, lol. From a half eaten jar of Nutella and a bottle of rum in the fully stocked pantry and kitchen, to bookshelves of naturalists books and ammo magazines, to deck furniture and a grill, the fully furnished cabin came with everything and more. A couple items historically belong to the cabin, not the owners, which is super cool, like the old tree saw from a couple centuries ago that lives over the mantle. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) Previous owners had inadvertently left behind their cat. They had taken it to their new place, but it got out and came through the cat door into the old house. It's funny but not funny at the time. My husband has pretty bad cat allergies so we were having all the carpets and the ducts cleaned before we moved in. They were scheduled the day I found the cat. The cat was in a closet and was very agitated when I walked into the room with my 8-month-old kid. It was hissing and yowling and it was a bit scary. The realtor and the former owners were very nonchalant about it which didn't make me very happy. I know not everyone gets it about cat allergies but come on. I guess we should have stipulated that they remove the cat door but didn't think of that at the time. Your experience sounds so nice! We didn't leave much behind except I think extra paint. We did write a letter telling the new owners all the things we loved about the house and property. Turns out they just bought it to flip it. 🤷♀️ We didn't think it was a flipper house but when it went up for sale I looked at the listing and they had updated the kitchen in a way I thought was so ugly but, again, 🤷♀️ Edited October 14, 2023 by marbel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) Our house had some practical things like paint, extra siding and shingles, a microwave, the washer/dryer set and so on, but the neatest thing was a DVD with photos of a major reno done a couple decades ago. So we know how the house was originally set up (so.much.pink!) and what kind of work was done. That's something that will forever stay with the house, for sure. It's a treasure. Edited October 14, 2023 by MEmama 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 The only thing our sellers left behind were some paint cans and some notes from a fly-by-night "How to Make Millions in Real Estate" course. They grudgingly left the water softer behind after trying to sell it to us separately for cash. They wanted to do the same with the appliances, sell them separately for cash but keep using them until the day they moved out. We told them no; either they convey and are covered under warranty, or they don't convey and you can haul them out before closing. I don't know whether they were super cheap or having money problems, (see: notes on making money in real estate). They had to have one last propane delivery before the house sold and raised the asking price by $100 to reflect the cost of the propane. Seriously? As long as trash wasn't left behind, I would be kind of excited to look through any "treasures". I would love to buy a house with an attic full of old junk! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 We actually negotiate cleanout and final walkthrough in our contract. We generally won’t close until cleanout and final walkthrough. I am ok (and welcome) leftover new flooring being left behind, same with matching paintcans with viable paint, matching furnace filters, and manuals. Everything else has to be negotiated. This house came with all kinds of rotted lumber and crap we had to deal with. It was $$$ in dump fees. They didnt leave behind garage remotes or keys or anything. We closed anyways, but all of our neighbors hated them, and I understand why. When we leave a house we patch and paint everything. It is immaculate, with the lawn freshly mowed, and all trash removed. Karma. Why would I want to leave a mess for someone else? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 The only things I can ever remember leaving are things a new owner should want--extra carpet or hard flooring, appliance or other manuals, a little extra paint (with the label showing brand and color). We got a note, through our realtor, from the new owners of our previous house thanking us for leaving the house so clean and leaving them so much info. We'd left them all the manuals, service records for HVAC, etc., which to us just seemed like a normal thing to do. I thought their note was super nice. After we moved into this house we discovered in the attic some leftover flooring (great), but lots of old cans of unmarked and non-usable paint, a couple of interior doors, and a broken blind. The doors look new. They're still up there, right where the previous owner left them. Maybe we'll leave 'em for the next owner. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 When we bought our 1880 house the folks left a potted plant, saying they had no way to take it because they were moving into an apartment. this was in February in Northern Illinois. Fast forward many months and the husband showed up asking for the plant back and got really mad that I’d tossed it on the deck and neglected it. When we sold the house we left the original curved stairway bannister and rails that had been replaced in the 1940’s. Always wanted to restore that feature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 My parents bought a house when I was 12 that had a good dozen washing machines in the basement. That was a lot of scrap! My first house was purchased from a lady who was not happy about moving out to a nursing home. Weirdest thing she left was an 8 track player; this was the late 90s. She also followed me back to the house after closing to "say goodbye" (without asking my permission). My entire family was standing there waiting for me to come with the key so we could paint it. And she pulls up about 5 minutes after me to "show me around" and "say goodbye". Can we say awkward?? I bought my current home from my mother. She left a ton of stuff since she was moving into an RV, but we talked about that beforehand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 About a year after moving into a house we had to have some AC work done in the attack the workers found several Nintento game system cartridges and several other small items under some inuslation. Apparently the previous homeowners hid Christmas gifts for the children up there and forgot about them. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
math teacher Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 Previous owners didn't rinse the noodles out of the sink where they drained their last snack. That's pretty lazy. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 We clean out houses when we sell, but we have found some very odd items in the homes we buy! Our 1st house: many dead pine roaches in the furnace closet and a carton of rotten eggs in the unplugged refrigerator -- Bleh! 2nd house: Lots of stuff in the basement we had to clear out, including an old couch. There was a large piece of plywood in the backyard where they had parked a tractor. (This was in the city; I have no idea why they had a tractor.) Anyway, when dh moved the wood, there was the well-preserved, flattened corpse of a cat! -- double bleh!! 3rd house: nothing weird left at that one Current house: The children found a pair of dirty, stiff men's whitey-tighty undies wedged under the downstairs bookshelves (laundry is one level up and bedrooms and bathrooms are three levels up, so...?) And then when we had to have some plumbing done, they found a handsaw in the wall! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Hopper Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said: We actually negotiate cleanout and final walkthrough in our contract. We generally won’t close until cleanout and final walkthrough. I am ok (and welcome) leftover new flooring being left behind, same with matching paintcans with viable paint, matching furnace filters, and manuals. Everything else has to be negotiated. This house came with all kinds of rotted lumber and crap we had to deal with. It was $$$ in dump fees. They didnt leave behind garage remotes or keys or anything. We closed anyways, but all of our neighbors hated them, and I understand why. When we leave a house we patch and paint everything. It is immaculate, with the lawn freshly mowed, and all trash removed. Karma. Why would I want to leave a mess for someone else? We leave a house the same way you do, and plan our schedules/hire out to make that possible. We have sold furniture pieces and major appliances and a piano with the house at buyer’s request, but always as contract addendums. DH is handy and a stickler for leaving things nice and clean, and he loves to patch wall holes. We usually have use one kitchen drawer where we leave extra keys and garage door openers, lists of all the paint color names and formulas, sketch of the gardens labeled with plant names. Lists of the home maintenance service providers we have used. We have left local menus once or twice. But we know the difference between buying new construction and previously owned property, and the expectations that are appropriate for each. I know I sound picky but seriously having done it a dozen times we’ve just figured out how to have a clean transaction (iow the way we personally prefer it). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 A BB gun. (We asked our realtor to have them come and get it, and their realtor did.) Actually, I think there was some leftover paint, too, but that's something I'd expect people to leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 Both my parents and in-laws (in separate states from us and each other) bought farms that came with a hundred years of items. My dad had to clear 30 some junk cars off a section to make a hayfield. My in-laws still do not have any waste management company that will service their area. I fear for the day that these will become my problems. My current house came with forgotten personal or decorative items in each room. The house itself hadn’t been vacuumed or cleaned since our showing at least a month earlier. I know the sellers wanted more time until closing but we couldn’t be flexible. I felt for them as they had a young baby and I’m not sure that their future included the adults staying together. However, the seller’s brother lived next door so we bundled stuff and gave it to him. I don’t know if they actually wanted the stuff back but it seemed awkward to not make that attempt. Other stuff like window screens, old blinds, cleaning supplies, flooring scraps, paint etc, we assumed stay with the house. I can’t imagine new buyers demanding completely clean premises. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 We always leave houses empty and very, very clean, though I might steal some of our cool previous owners’ ideas re: paper goods and coffee supplies, etc. I can’t remember if I mentioned that they asked about leaving the items in advance, but they did (usually via text with pics). There was nothing that needed, say, to go to the dump. It was pretty cool, and we knew in advance of our final walk through. As for other houses we’ve bought — all have been empty, and I think that was part of our contract as well. Certainly had we seen junk or things that needed to be moved out, we’d have insisted on that happening at the final walk through. So other than the planned stuff — no surprises. The house with the antique toys and junk was a rental, and whew, that was a learning experience for me! I was in college, and young. That was where I learned to get it all in writing ahead of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdomandtreasures Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 This house came with a rosary in the garage and MILLIONS of goatheads. I think they just rented a giant tiller and turned everything over in the ground to hide it because had we known there were goatheads we would not have bought the house. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) Oh! We do plan to leave something here when we move, aside from any paint/supplies they approve in advance: civil war relics from the yard. We have quite a little collection of standard issue civil war pocketknives, bullets and tack buckles. My plan was to leave those items with the property, if the next owners accept them (we will offer and pass along the display case and info re: the items first). What do you all think? Would someone want them? Or would that be junk? If the next owners don’t want them, we may give them to a neighbor, just to leave them in the general area — local museums are pretty saturated. There’s actually an accompanying ghost story, about the backyard, but that is for one of the neighbors to share or not. Edited October 14, 2023 by Spryte 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Spryte said: Dawn’s thread made me think of this. Personally, I’d think carpet remnants that match the house and extra cushions for lawn furniture that conveyed was part of the house, really. What have you left or found in a house? My mom sold hers, and there was a mahogany bed frame from the late 1800s that she and I could not get out of the attic. I so hope that someone found it and loved it! I once moved into a rental house that had a detached garage full of really cool antique toys. And a lot of junk. When we bought our current house, we went against standard US practices and accepted an invite by the sellers for a hello/goodbye dinner and champagne, and a chance for them to show us around the house. It was really fun! This was going to be their forever house, they thought, so they had done lots of little magical touches that made us smile. They went above and beyond for us, and I am so hopeful that DH and I will do the same for the next people to buy this house, when we move. They left intentionally left behind quite a bit, and everything was labeled with a sweet note: - first, it was all impeccably clean. There were a few holes in the walls, but nothing abnormal. - They left surround sound speakers in one room, outside in the pavilion, and instructions on the wiring for each. We switched to wireless but repairing was NBD when we were ready. There was a big, neat hole for hiding wires of a wall mounted tv, where we would mount ours - manuals, with dates of installation and business cards for every contractor they used, list of all improvements they made to house - a French press and a calphalon pot to boil water for our first coffee (be still my heart) - paper goods for eating/drinking - take out menus with tips for favorite dishes - shower stools (which rocked the world of leg shaving for me, ha!) - flower pots filled with flowers - a really nice vacuum (Electrolux) to use as a back up — seriously, we used that thing for 7 years as our only vacuum. Loved it! - with our permission, and because they knew we had an interest: woodworking tools and a giant dust collector thing that vented outside, standard in wood shops, lots of nice exotic wood pieces for DH - paint cans for every room, labeled - extra flooring and stain for baseboards and floors - and a map of the neighborhood with info about neighbors and emergency numbers (with their permission, of course), plus all kinds of handwritten neighborhood info. Doc, dental, even a hair stylist rec - birdwatching books (inscribed with notes to us) and feeders to get us started It was a bit OTT, but really welcoming and sweet! Realtors have nightmares about this stuff. I’m sure they fear the day we inevitably cut them out. Dh once made a realtor SUPER nervous because it was a FSBO and Dh noticed all the cookbooks were in Arabic. He started speaking to the couple in Arabic and she got super uncomfortable. The wife didn’t speak much English so she was made more comfortable and told DH things about the house that her husband left out. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 I I don't think we got anything in our first two houses. I know we left house #1! clean and probably left leftover pain sine we painted a lot. Maybe some tiles, too, since dh retiled the dining room. House #2 was rented out while we were overseas and we sold it when we were coming back but to a different part of the USA. I have no idea how the house was left-- it sold super fast, so fast e didn't have repairs made that we thought we would have to do. I have a feeling that those buyers lost the home- it was bought from us in mid-2006 and the sale was delayed a bit because they needed a second mortgage to complete the sale. This house came with manuals and records of when things were done. leftover paint, bricks, etc. Shelving in the garage. Pool supplies. And an ugly piece of artwork I got rid of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 19 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said: Realtors have nightmares about this stuff. I’m sure they fear the day we inevitably cut them out. Dh once made a realtor SUPER nervous because it was a FSBO and Dh noticed all the cookbooks were in Arabic. He started speaking to the couple in Arabic and she got super uncomfortable. The wife didn’t speak much English so she was made more comfortable and told DH things about the house that her husband left out. Yes. I’m sure that made your realtor nervous — but what a great connection and you got extra info about the house, and it obviously didn’t hurt your sale. We made our agent very nervous, I’m sure. The sellers left an invitation with some baked goodies when we came for the inspection, and we decided to accept. We knew there was risk, but felt confident. We had our dinner/toast after the inspection and anything we’d requested had been finished and approved, and we were both very invested in the sale. There was zero negotiating type talk, it was purely social and handing off the house and property. We had a lot in common and they may have known that in advance, too (they were from the EU area where DH has worked for 20+ years — like your cookbook story, we could see it in the house decorations). They had done the same sort of hand off with the last owners, and wanted to pass along photos of the house as it was being built, and lots of stories about the building we’d not have known otherwise. It was fun, and bittersweet as we’d definitely have wanted to get to know each other better had they not been moving 3,000 miles away the next week! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHP Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 We found lots of porn and a 900 number porn directory in one house. In another the previous owner was a huge DnD fan and left tons of themed decor that we passed on to our DM. I have been working on a history of our current house and our neighborhood that I plan to leave with the next owner. I am keeping notes in my garden for plant names and years planted and plan to pass that along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 The first house we ever purchased in Altadena, CA was a known drug house. The owners had inherited it from grandma and about 8 people were living in the house. They left a bunch of stuff, furniture outside on the patio that seemed like they just ran out of space on the truck and left. We found all sorts of nasty things.....I don't even want to tell you what some of them were but they should have gone straight to the trash after use. One closet had an entrance from the hallway AND the bedroom and I think it had been used for "sales" because we found white residue in several spots and it looked like they had cut the hallway door out themselves. The neighbors were so glad we moved in and brought us treats to welcome us to the neighborhood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 OP, that’s incredible! Ds is trying to buy a house right now. The elderly sellers fixed it up to live in as they age, but due to more serious health problems, they instead have to sell and move somewhere more accommodating. They replaced hvac, plumbing, all electrical, etc. It will only need a roof within five years or so. Right now in the house is a small ornate kitchen table with a glass top and one fancy chair. There is an outdoor metal love seat frame that just needs new cushions. I don’t know if these things will be staying. The only big thing is that the large storage building is full of stuff that is just crammed in. I would think, normally, this would be the sellers responsibility, but given their physical condition, we may have to help ds get that out if he buys it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Spryte said: What do you all think? Would someone want them? Or would that be junk? Not junk! That stuff sounds cool! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 When we bought this house besodes normal helpful stuff paint, carpet scraps ete. The barstools, they were divorcing and neither house could use them. A machete in a boys closet and cast iron skillet in the compost bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 2 hours ago, wisdomandtreasures said: This house came with a rosary in the garage and MILLIONS of goatheads. I think they just rented a giant tiller and turned everything over in the ground to hide it because had we known there were goatheads we would not have bought the house. Like…a plant, right? “Goatheads” is a name unfamiliar to me, but google says it’s maybe a prickly-type weed?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 9 minutes ago, rebcoola said: When we bought this house besodes normal helpful stuff paint, carpet scraps ete. The barstools, they were divorcing and neither house could use them. A machete in a boys closet and cast iron skillet in the compost bin. Ok, the machete made me laugh out loud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) The house we just bought conveyed with a nice children’s play set in the back and a fabulous little playhouse. It’s two stories and furnished with curtains and even has solar power lights. These things were in the contract so we expected them to be left. We don’t have little kids and we might get rid of the play set if we don’t have grandkids soon but we will keep the playhouse always. It’s awesome. I only mention all that to explain that there is an electronic toy guitar on the platform of the play set. We found it when we first moved in and it’s been three weeks and it is still sitting there and I’ve made no moves to get rid of it. We’ve talked about it. Everyone that visits the house says “is that a toy guitar?” And still it sits. So now we will just see how long it stays there I guess. Edited October 14, 2023 by teachermom2834 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 The only thing we made the sellers of our house remove was a hot tub on the back patio. We weren't going to use it and didn't want to deal with having it hauled away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 38 minutes ago, Spryte said: Ok, the machete made me laugh out loud! And of course the 10 yr old with adhd had taken that room and was the one that found it. Luckily no disasters happened. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Bean Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 iI seems every house we have bought or rented with one exception was left with a pile of trash for us to deal with. Luckily, trash guys here will take it all. One rental had about 30 gallon cans of paint left in the garage. Gave myself a migraine drying it all out. Another had cigarette ash in the dishwasher and sink plus some used “intimacy items” in a drawer in the upstairs bath. One house had the big recycling and trash cans stuffed with family photos and such. Apparently it was a bad divorce. We also found a full old stereo speaker set in that attic. The best was a lady who left her kid’s soccer goals in the HUGE backyard. My kids loved that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 A human eye. Not kidding. It was in a labeled case in the garage refrigerator (we did know the extra fridge was staying). The former owners - the wife did educational demonstrations for optometrists. They came and picked it up (told us to leave it out next to the driveway). 1 7 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 1 minute ago, purpleowl said: A human eye. Not kidding. It was in a labeled case in the garage refrigerator (we did know the extra fridge was staying). The former owners - the wife did educational demonstrations for optometrists. They came and picked it up (told us to leave it out next to the driveway). You win. We don't have an appropriate reaction emoji for that. 8 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 2 minutes ago, purpleowl said: A human eye. Not kidding. It was in a labeled case in the garage refrigerator (we did know the extra fridge was staying). The former owners - the wife did educational demonstrations for optometrists. They came and picked it up (told us to leave it out next to the driveway). Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Hopper Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Indigo Blue said: OP, that’s incredible! Ds is trying to buy a house right now. The elderly sellers fixed it up to live in as they age, but due to more serious health problems, they instead have to sell and move somewhere more accommodating. They replaced hvac, plumbing, all electrical, etc. It will only need a roof within five years or so. Right now in the house is a small ornate kitchen table with a glass top and one fancy chair. There is an outdoor metal love seat frame that just needs new cushions. I don’t know if these things will be staying. The only big thing is that the large storage building is full of stuff that is just crammed in. I would think, normally, this would be the sellers responsibility, but given their physical condition, we may have to help ds get that out if he buys it. Sorry dp Edited October 15, 2023 by Grace Hopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Hopper Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said: OP, that’s incredible! Ds is trying to buy a house right now. The elderly sellers fixed it up to live in as they age, but due to more serious health problems, they instead have to sell and move somewhere more accommodating. They replaced hvac, plumbing, all electrical, etc. It will only need a roof within five years or so. Right now in the house is a small ornate kitchen table with a glass top and one fancy chair. There is an outdoor metal love seat frame that just needs new cushions. I don’t know if these things will be staying. The only big thing is that the large storage building is full of stuff that is just crammed in. I would think, normally, this would be the sellers responsibility, but given their physical condition, we may have to help ds get that out if he buys it. If I were your son, I’d add a specific line in the contract to say that all contents in the shed convey. Then treat it like salvage, there could be saleable items in there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdomandtreasures Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 2 hours ago, alisoncooks said: Like…a plant, right? “Goatheads” is a name unfamiliar to me, but google says it’s maybe a prickly-type weed?? Yes, these! They are awful. My teen stepped on one and a microscopic piece broke off when he pulled it out, and the joint of his toe became infected and swollen. We have been battling them since we moved in 2 years ago. They are now manageable but the seeds can lie dormant for about 10 years! (Before I get a zillion responses, yes, I've tried a propane torch and it takes SOOOOO long for each pod to burn up that it's faster and cheaper to pick them by hand) 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 When we moved into our house, the seller was recovering from a broken leg, and her daughters were unable to come and move some things they'd left there. We were told one daughter was going to come back at some point and get some stuff. A long time passed, and when a daughter did come back and look around, she decided not to take anything. The stuff they left included 2 bikes that probably could have been fixed up, a bunch of indoor and outdoor tools, some pots & pans and dishes, cleaning liquids, and I don't remember what else. In addition, we negotiated with the seller to leave quite a bit of furniture and most of the appliances. She was moving to a much smaller space or maybe going back to her home country, I don't remember. She would have had to sell all the stuff to someone, but it was easier for her to just leave it for us for an adjusted selling price. There was also a "hidden" safe, but we never could figure out the combination. In my parents' old house built around 1925, when we were cleaning up to move out back in 1979, we found an old key in a hiding place, but never figured out what it went to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHP Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 2 hours ago, rebcoola said: And of course the 10 yr old with adhd had taken that room and was the one that found it. Luckily no disasters happened. You must have missed the thread where three (3!) of us found axes in our teen sons closets. A machete wouldn't make me blink! Ps. You might want to check your son's closet for an ax since that seems to be a thing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 (edited) These stories are so interesting! House #1 Seller was a widow and an alcoholic. On closing day, she gave our check to her realtor and left. Several hours later, her relatives called and asked if we had a trailor to get her moved as they didn’t have anything set up. Yeah there’s a lot more to that story. Left behind was a workshop full of empty “orange juice” bottles , kitchen items like kettles, and spatulas, decades of paint, etc. There was an attic you could only enter from the outside held all the yard tools, show shovels, etc. There was no garage or shed. I could write a book about that house. House #2. Owners moved down the street. They left a freezer they didn’t want or need anymore, but it was agreed upon ahead of time . She also left me a lovely fern as it thrived in a particular window. 6 months later, she was over to water plants as we were on extended vacation…, saw the plant and took it home. I was not doing a good job with it…(I am not a plant person). House #3 I don’t recal anything left inside, but about a week after we moved in, the boyfriend of the seller showed up unannounced, and without letting me know he was there, got up on the garage roof and took down the basketball hoop …and loaded it up with the 2 trash cans and drove away. House #4. They left a console stereo (the kind with a turntable…think 60’s….and a huge wood lathe in the workshop. We gave the lathe to my Dad and after he passed, it was sold on an auction my Mom had if Dad’s shop. The lathe ended up going to Children’s Theatre Co for set construction, ..and my Mom gave us he money she got. We were pleased. None of these stories compare to what renters have left behind in our rental properties. Our very first renter had so much stuff sitting out for the trash man ( new with tags clothes, kids toys and games) the next door neighbor asked me if she could take the stuff and have a garage sale. I should have known then being a landlord was going to be interesting. Edited October 15, 2023 by KatieJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathyl Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 (edited) The first 'house' (used mobile home) we ever bought came with a zillion giant SC roaches in the walls. I could hear them scratching in the walls at night. Fortunately, boric acid got rid of them. The next house was completely empty. No one had ever lived in it. The next one came with a lot of trash and some stuff that would have been useable if we had known what to do with it. That was a difficult house because it was in NH and a lot of that stuff was hard to get rid of. Old paint, used oil, giant drum of used oil, concrete mixer, a zillion bricks, a boxing bag, etc. I finally found a guy who traded with me. He hauled off stuff and I gave him our electric dryer (house was gas) in exchange. The next one was the worst one of all. It was 125 wooded acres with a house and 2 shops. They were retired with no kids. And the man was a packrat. They left junk everywhere, in the buildings, over the entire 125 acres, all over the 'yard'. It took me and dc about 8-10 years to haul all of it off. We only bought the property because it was a great price. And after we got it cleaned up it was very beautiful. But that was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We just happened to have kids who loved being outside and loved working. And we had access to a dump that would take anything. So it worked out. The house we're in now has been the easiest one of all. We bought it from a neighbor who had fixed a lot of things in hopes of getting his dd to come live here in TX. She hated TX and loved CA so that failed. The only things we've had to do are the big things like new roof, new AC stuff including ductwork, and some other minor things. And I'd rather do that stuff ourselves and get good quality stuff. When we sold one of our houses, we had to replace a septic system and we went with the cheapest system we could find. The buyers demanded all kinds of expensive systems, but there was no way we were going to spend that kind of money just to turn it over to someone else. We also had to get a thing for the wood stove and chimney (insert??). We called a chimney guy and told him to put in the cheapest thing he had. So I'm leery about demanding tons of repairs from sellers because I can definitely see how they would go with the cheapest thing available. That's what we've always done. As far as selling, I've always insisted that we leave the house empty and clean just because that's how I like to buy them - empty and clean. A kind of blank slate. Same with rentals. Edited October 15, 2023 by kathyl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***** Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 5 hours ago, purpleowl said: A human eye. Not kidding. This was hilarious. Thanks for the great belly laugh tonight! 4 hours ago, wisdomandtreasures said: Like…a plant, right? “Goatheads” is a name unfamiliar to me, but google says it’s maybe a prickly-type weed?? Thanks for clarifying this because I took it literally, I had no idea it could be a plant. 😆 I was trying to figure out what was with all the goat skulls and figured the sellers must have been Satanism or something! I guess it's getting late and I'm getting punchy! 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 A busty gold Roman goddess paper towel holder, a naked cherubim in the backyard, a lovely 5' statue in the flowerbed, and motion detectors in the kitchen. But, this takes the cake, step mama passive agressively left the adult sons’ baby books and some paperwork. We got those to the boys and met neighbors in the process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 Our house was mostly empty but no in good condition. I live in a ridiculous housing market, no one I know nor I ever expect a house to be immaculate. I bought my house knowing full well we were going to remodel it. Having remodeled a house, I'm probably always going to buy a fixer-upper and make it the way I want it. We got a bunch of swag lamps and a chandelier. They are still siting in my garage because DH wants to sell them... I think they are really ugly and to me they are trash. They have all this decorative detail metal work and that stuff is good but the shade parts are not in good condition. Apparently there were a few random boxes of stuff they left (bags and stuff in a box), for years DH thought they were mine and I thought they were his. (We married after he bought the house and I helped him remodel it.) All kinds of pills including prescription pain killers. We disposed of those at a local hospital. We got the cans of paint and the scraps of flooring. All that went to the dump along with the carpet and walls of the house. If I purchase any future house I would look at the house as if I would rip it up down to the studs. Especially after helping my mom sell her house. We "fixed up" the house with the help of the realtor to sell it. I would never be happy with that workmanship for my own house and it's not like choosing better workmanship is going to get that money back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dove Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 The previous owners of my house left a ton of homeschooling supplies. She found out we homeschooled, so she left a bunch of the homeschooling books, games…. The only problem was that she was sentimental and came back to get some of it when she had a grandchild. I didn’t know what to say. By that time I had incorporated her things into my stuff or given away what I didn’t want. (It had been a couple years after we bought the house when she came for the things.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 23 hours ago, iamonlyone said: Current house: The children found a pair of dirty, stiff men's whitey-tighty undies wedged under the downstairs bookshelves (laundry is one level up and bedrooms and bathrooms are three levels up, so...?) And then when we had to have some plumbing done, they found a handsaw in the wall! It’s so easy to lose tools in walls, lol! DH lost a hammer when we were fixing up our current house. We figured it would become this kind of funny story one day, but then we noticed a vent hole in the basement that is no long used, and the hammer was sitting in that hole (he’d dropped it on the second story). This house came equipped with lots of lost kid stuff—stuff buried lightly in the yard (lost or a compulsive bury-er), and a ton of small things in the HVAC vents, such as baseball cards. It looked like a little kid had just enjoyed putting them in the slots like a game, lol! 22 hours ago, Spryte said: What do you all think? Would someone want them? Or would that be junk? I vote treasure (unless there is a reason to think the history would be hurtful) especially since you are offering. 20 hours ago, DawnM said: The neighbors were so glad we moved in and brought us treats to welcome us to the neighborhood. We bought a house that the owners had purchased to be near aging parents, but the housing market crashed when the needed to leave. They rented it out from several states away, and the neighbors were so happy we moved in and took care of it. 17 hours ago, SHP said: You must have missed the thread where three (3!) of us found axes in our teen sons closets. A machete wouldn't make me blink! I wonder if they were worried about being trapped in a fire? We live in an area with legit tornado risk (but not OK bad), and when I’ve heard about historic tornadoes near here, people often had to dig their way out of basements where they had sheltered. I can imagine someone keeping axes on hand in case of a fire, especially if someone they knew had a house fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdomandtreasures Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 15 hours ago, ***** said: This was hilarious. Thanks for the great belly laugh tonight! Thanks for clarifying this because I took it literally, I had no idea it could be a plant. 😆 I was trying to figure out what was with all the goat skulls and figured the sellers must have been Satanism or something! I guess it's getting late and I'm getting punchy! Now that you say that, I wish they HAD left behind a bunch of goat skulls. They'd be much easier to get rid of! 😄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 18 hours ago, KatieJ said: None of these stories compare to what renters have left behind in our rental properties. Our very first renter had so much stuff sitting out for the trash man ( new with tags clothes, kids toys and games) the next door neighbor asked me if she could take the stuff and have a garage sale. I should have known then being a landlord was going to be interesting. Oh yeah, WHOLE other level of weird. I’ve been a renter, as have our kids. We’ve had some great tenants. And also some really bad experiences. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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