Should It Stay Or Should It Go?
Moving house can be one of the most stressful times of your life, packing up everything you own, dealing with estate agents and filling out paper work all day long. One of the things many people don’t consider, is what should be left behind: Sofa? – Of course it’s your sofa. Radiators? – Certainly not, you’ll have some in your new house. It can go on and on working out what comes with you and what you leave behind, so we’ve created this handy guide on what to do with some common household objects.
Blinds/Curtains
Whether or not you bring blinds and curtains from your old house to the new property is a bit of a contentious issue, there is no legal obligation to leave up your blinds when you leave, as they’re classed as fittings. You can negotiate with whoever is purchasing your home as to whether they stay, but there’s not much point in bringing them with you.
As mentioned by DotcomBlinds in their blog post about this subject: most sets of curtains and blinds are made to measure, so if say you have a set of blinds for your bi fold doors in the living room that were made to measure to fit your windows, why bring them? – Your new windows probably won’t match the size and you’ll be stuck with poorly fitting blinds.
Conclusion: Leave blinds/curtains when you move.
Carpets
Again, when you sell your house, you’re under no legal obligation to leave your carpet, but much like the blinds and curtains, why would you take your carpet? Most people recommend leaving them as your carpet has been made to perfectly fit whatever room it is currently in, so bringing it to your new home will leave you with carpet that won’t fit right and probably cause a lot of undue hassle to whoever just brought your now carpet-less home.
Also, your new home will more than likely still have its carpets, so you may as well live with the carpet already there or get a new carpet made up for your new rooms.
Conclusion: Leave carpets when you move.
Big Kitchen Appliances
Appliances like ovens, fridges and washing machines are a bit of a grey area when moving house. Some people will bring their appliances, but others will leave the kitchen furnished. This is something you should speak about to the other people in the property chain before moving out.
Some appliances may be built into the kitchen that specifically suit that kitchen, so you’ll likely want to leave them behind, but most free standing appliances you’ll want to take with you. Ask the owner of the house you’re buying what they intend to do with their appliances, if they’re bringing their ovens etc. to their new home you should probably follow suit, but if they’re leaving them, feel free to leave yours for the next person to live in your home.
Conclusion: Leave kitchen appliances if they’re built to fit the kitchen, or if you’re moving into a home with a furnished kitchen. otherwise, bring them with you.
Wall Mounted TV Bracket
Some people think that a wall mounted TV bracket should be left behind when you move due to the fact it’s counted as a ‘fixture’ rather than a fitting. However it is also a TV accessory, you wouldn’t leave you TV just because it’s classed as a fixture.
You should bring the TV bracket with you, after all you’ll need somewhere to put your TV in your new home and what better than the TV bracket you own that perfectly fits your telly? We’d advise letting any prospective buyers that the TV bracket will come with you when you move. Also it would be courteous to cover up the holes in the wall from where it was mounted.
Conclusion: The TV bracket comes with you.
You May Also Enjoy
Latest ONS Private Rent and House Prices Index
Winter property checklist: How to protect your home this season
London homebuyers have paid nearly £25bn in Stamp Duty over the last decade
Slow maintenance responses are driving tenant anxiety
Agent confidence split as housing market braces for Autumn Budget impact
