How much effort to put into home before new owners arrive?

17 years ago

On March 29th, our very first home will belong to a new young couple. I'm packing and just boxed up all framed artwork and anything that hung on the walls. Now I've got lots of little nail holes.

I don't think the new couple wants to repaint the home since we repainted two years ago and they like the colors. So, should we putty and paint the nail holes. I'm sure the answer is yes. I almost feel like a jerk for asking.

But after having the house on the market for 6 months and showing it for six months and fixing it up for 6 months, I'm burnt out. Not to mention the house that we are building is a whole different ball game with its own affairs.

So would it be awful of me to leave the holes? I'm giving them new toilet seats and the house will be sparkling clean. I weeded the gardens yesterday to make it all charming. I'm just not in the mood to fool with paint right now.

Let me have it,

bridget

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Comments (11)

theroselvr
17 years ago
If you nailed into studs leaving the nails may be nice, think I would appreciate it.
melbat
17 years ago
No need to spackle and paint.
The Buyers know they are getting a used house.

Stop now, take care of yourself.

a sparkling clean house is a gift... if you want to do extra leave a bottle of wine in the fridge with a couple of plastic wine glasses or fresh flowers in an inexpensive vase.
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cordovamom
17 years ago
We've never moved into a home where the holes in the walls were patched and painted and we've never moved out of a home where we patched and painted holes in the wall. But I've read on this forum where some people say you should do this. Apparently I've been doing it wrong for the last 30 years and so have my sellers !!!

I say as long as the house is cleaned for the new owners you've done your share. I certainly haven't been upset by a few holes in the wall to patch.
brickeyee
17 years ago
Leave the picture hooks and you will not have any holes.
The hangers are (arguably) nailed to the building and convey.
Removing them makes even more of a mess.
jea2007
17 years ago
just leave the paint
c9pilot
17 years ago
I like having the picture hooks up in the obvious places because it saves me the work.
If you had unusual placement or an arrangement of hangings, it would be a nice gesture to fix those up, because it would be unlikely they could use those.
Either way, though. If you are mentally burned out, just sweep it clean and walk away for your own sanity.
It would be nice for you to leave the light bulbs and toilet paper and the appliance manuals, and maybe a bottle of champagne in the fridge, but that's only if you're up for it.
bridget helm
Original Author
17 years ago
thanks everyone. that's what I'll do. I'll leave a clean house with picture hangers and champagne in the fridge. They'll have paint for every room color, so it's not like they'll have to go out and buy paint. When we bought the house, the holes were there and it didn't bother us.
bridget
teelag
17 years ago
New toilet seats, champagne, and sparkling clean...that is above and beyond anything we have ever encountered moving into a "used" home. They should be most appreciative for that!

I would just leave the nails too. Leaving the paint cans with them labeled as to the room they go in (if it's not obvious by color) is more than enough.

Wish I had a seller like you during one of my home buying experiences!
mmelko
17 years ago
I grew up in a military family and my mother taught me to always leave the property clean and fill in the nail holes with spackle. So that's what I do. If you don't want to do that, be sure to leave the paint behind so they can match it.

When we moved into our house, we repainted and cleaned the carpets and the house before moving in the furniture. Even though the house was clean, it was part of my "nesting" process to clean it myself. The owners left a bottle of wine with a ribbon tied around it. That was a first for me and was a really nice touch.
theroselvr
17 years ago
I wouldn't waste money on a new toilet seat for those that replace it. I know many people that go out and buy a new one anyway. It's all part of my 1st cleaning, pull the seat off, bleach the heck out of the toilet, add a new seat. When I move, I make sure I bleach the seat I leave just in case. Leaving a bottle of clorox clean up & paper towels is another thing I'll do.
talley_sue_nyc
17 years ago
I wouldn't think my sellers would need to replace the toilet seat. I'd just clean it, probably--or assume that they'd cleaned it at the last regular cleaning time of their cycle.

if it was really worn or something, I guess I'd buy a new one.

When we bought our current place (our first), I just cleaned the toilets. For all I know, I didn't clean them right away. If I remember correctly,our seller cleaned the bathrooms on their last day in the place, so I just figured that was enough.

I use other people's toilets all the time--when I'm visiting friends or relatives, etc.--without asking them to replace the seat or sanitize it before I sit on it. And I sit my bottom down on the toilets in public restrooms. Neither I nor anyone I've known has ever ended up w/ a disease because of a toilet seat (and in fact, a study showed that the toilet seat was the least germy of all the places we think of as germ zones.

My MIL said, "did you go buy a new toilet seat?" She was horrified when I said no. It had never occurred to me. She was horrified, so i went and bought one, and it wasn't as good a seat as the one that had been there.

If I were the sort of person who had to buy a new toilet seat to feel that my bathroom was safe, I'd want one *I* bought, not one the sellers bought a week before and sat on 3 or 4 times before they moved.

So, I'd say if you're a seller, don't buy them a new seat unless you leave it for them unopened in the box.

How much effort to put into home before new owners arrive?

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theroselvr

melbat

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How much effort to put into home before new owners arrive?

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