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State seller left house in

  • 01-03-2011 11:44am
    #1
    leed2486
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9 ✭


    Hi
    I persumed that when buying a house that everything that is part of the house or screwd onto the walls should be left? Is this the case?
    Before signing the contract the seller asked could they keep some light fittings, i persumeed they were a wedding gift or something so I agreed.

    When we moved into the house i realised that all the lights in each room had nothing there, they only left a broken wire in each room, and that all the curtain poles had been removed leaving big holes up on the walls in each room.

    I was wondering if this is ther norm as is my first time buying a house and if there is any point in contacting solicitor to try get seller to pay for the damages.?


Comments

  • #2
    Kosseegan
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 987 ✭✭✭Kosseegan


    The only contents you are entitled to are fixtures and fittings. If something can be removed without causing damage or is not permanent it can be removed. Light fittings which are disconnected are probably not included. It is unusual but not unknown for vendors to remove them. It is mean but you probably got the house at a lower price that the vendore really wanted so they may have been resentful. You should have been left with the curtain poles however. That being said the legal costs in pursuing the vendor do not justify legal action. They can be replaced and the walls repaired for a few hundred euro.


  • #3
    mailforkev
    Registered Users Posts: 1,783 ✭✭✭mailforkev


    I've heard of people taking the light bulbs with them so it's nothing unusual.

    In our own house if we were ever to move I'd be taking a couple of light fittings with me, one in particular cost a fair bit so will be coming with us wherever we go.


  • #4
    silja
    Registered Users Posts: 2,921 ✭✭✭silja


    What does it say in your contract? When we bought, we specified that everything present at the viewing (previous owner had moved out already) was to be included when we took posession.


  • #5
    Maj Malfunction
    Registered Users Posts: 194 ✭✭Maj Malfunction


    Usually you can ask your solicitor to specifically list the items you would reasonably expect when you take possession.

    In the property game I would assume nothing! Light fittings is common, enough, but its not uncommon to see curtain rails, poles and just about anything else that's not bolted down, disappear into the back of the removal van.

    I was very lucky when I bought my own place the vendor had the contract cleaned the house from top to bottom and left me a bottle of wine when I moved in!


  • #6
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    It reminds me of this...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_%281988_film%29

    ...They sell the New Jersey home and buy one in Idaho from an eccentric older couple, with the husband saying "we're taking it with us" any arbitrary fixture (like the windows and doors), following some of the remarks with "just kidding", until it becomes a running joke....

    ....
    The Pears arrive at their new home, only to find the pool, windows and doors removed, along with various other fixtures that the seller told the Pears they would be taking with them, without mentioning "just kidding" afterwards (it's discovered that the sellers recorded the original conversation to be legally protected)....

    I seem to remember they took the stairs aswell.

    I've had renters take the light bulbs and light shades. I don't understand that at all.


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  • #7
    dollyk
    Registered Users Posts: 602 ✭✭✭dollyk


    :confused:
    I remember moving to my first council house over 30 years ago.
    the last tenant had removed the fireplace and broken in into pieces,
    and left in in the garden. they had done the same with the doors, the taps , and even the sink was smashed....havnt a clue what motivates people to do this.
    It was not vandals, as she was walking out of the house when i arrived..


  • #8
    3DataModem
    Registered Users Posts: 3,943 ✭✭✭3DataModem


    leed2486 wrote: »

    I was wondering if this is ther norm as is my first time buying a house and if there is any point in contacting solicitor to try get seller to pay for the damages.?

    it might be worth a strongly worded solicitor letter, or it might not be worth the hassle.

    i have heard of this before.


  • #9
    focus_mad
    Registered Users Posts: 738 ✭✭✭focus_mad


    Perhaps having a word with your solicitor may be the best idea to see the finer legal side of things but I presume that they may be held accountable to make good a number of the "damages" as it does sound a bit excessive just leaving the wires hanging there!!! So you buy a house and then have to spend how much getting an electrican in to re-wire the fittings??


  • #10
    bath handle
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 370 ✭✭bath handle


    The chances are the electrician will not cost as.much as the solicitor.


  • #11
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    When I sold my mother's house, many, many years ago now, the buyer complained that I had taken the plug-in electric fire. They seemed to think it was a fitment.

    We took the light fittings too as they were very expensive, but that did not leave a loose wire.. ...

    Vandalism takes many forms...sometimes folk being evicted do these things from spite. Not good.


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  • #12
    DublinDilbert
    Registered Users Posts: 5,366 ✭✭✭DublinDilbert


    Someone who goes to the trouble of taking down light fittings and doesn't replace them with a €1 pendant fitting is just being an ass.

    I'd go get a few cheap pendant light fittings and a maybe a nice fitting for the main room. Would take an electrician a 5 mins each to pop them up....

    If they holes are still there for the curtain rails, they should be fairly easy to put back up new ones...

    As a poster above says fittings + electrician will be much cheaper than another visit to the solicitor. I'd put it down to experience.


  • #13
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    Its a bit of a wake-up call to buy a house and discover that all the lovely things that helped you fall in love with the property when you went to view it have been removed. When we were buying our townhouse- we specified that the contents were to remain, and agreed a cash amount with the seller, separate from the sale price of the property, in recognition of the contents that were left in the property. Curtains, carpets, tables and chairs etc- may not seem expensive- but they add up quickly. A couple of grand would be gone before you knew what happened.


  • #14
    DubDani
    Registered Users Posts: 1,154 ✭✭✭DubDani


    Why would you expect the curtains or lampfittings to be left by the seller? If I move, then everything that's not part of the original house (i.e. everything that would somehow move when I turn the house upside down) gets taken out (and I mean everything except carpets or flooring).

    Can't really understand why anyone would expect the seller to leave the light fittings which he might have payed a lot of money for, or the curtains.

    I personally would hate that. When we bought our house we ripped everything out, so that we could put our own touch on it.


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