Well, specifically my grandma’s house, who recently passed away. My brother and I have been organising the sale and it’s being bought by a couple with a young baby, who are first time buyers.
It’s all due to complete this week and I was thinking of leaving a small gift, like a bottle of wine or box of biscuits, with a short note welcoming them to their new home and hoping they have as many good times there as we all did. My brother thinks that’s a little bit strange and unnecessary though.
I’ve only ever bought a house, never sold one before, so I’m not sure! What does Reddit think?
Edit: Thank you everyone for the comments. You’ve convinced me to definitely do this, sod my brother! I’ve met the couple as part of the buying process and they seem really nice – we rejected a couple of higher offers from potential landlords to go with them, as we liked the idea of it being a home for family just starting out. We’ve cleared the house and cleaned and tidied, and I’ll give it a quick check the night before we complete. The couple have family in the area so know about things like doctors etc, but I’ve dug out appliance manuals and guarantees etc. Loo roll is also a great idea I hadn’t thought about – and I’m definitely leaving the light bulbs!
28 comments
When you know, roughly, who is moving in, I think it can be a nice touch.
If the place is being bought by a hedge fund to raze and build 24 flats in its place, then no.
But when you want to spread a bit of goodwill to people on what might be a very stressful day, then absolutely.
And – no joke – leave a couple of toilet rolls.
It’s a nice gesture. When we first bought, we’d spent several hours having tea with the delightful owners who left loads of plants in the balcony with detailed care instructions, leaflets for the best takeaways, etc.
When we sold, we knew the new owners were planning to rip everything out and had never met them, so didnt bother.
It’s a nice touch. We had a little m&s hamper when we moved into ours however it was off the estate agent and not the previous owners.
Do what you feel is best. I’m sure it’d be appreciated by the new owners.
Not weird at all. When we showed up at our house to get the keys from the seller I took them a bottle of champagne and a new home card.
They’d left a bottle in the fridge and a card for us too.
When we moved into our home, the sellers left us a bottle of champagne ( not the expensive stuff), two boxes of chocolates and a welcome card. Was much appreciated after a long day of moving
Not weird at all for someone to leave a gift for the next people who move in:
We were left mould and shoddy electrical wiring by our previous house owner. Wine would have been nice.
When I moved into my first place, the owner left me a “welcome to your new home” card.
I did the same to the person who bought that house from me, he was also a first time buyer. I left him a card, and a bottle of bubbly, as it was 3 days before Christmas.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t make a difference. But a small act of being nice is nice
I think if they have been helpful, no haggling, responsive solicitors, so it has been as smooth a process as the law allows, then to acknowledge this by a gift is a good idea.
Not weird. I’ve done it and had it done for me a couple of times. One thing I appreciated a lot when moving into the current home, was a little info sheet the previous owners had left. Stuff a little more personalised than what you could Google – their favourite takeaways, a reminder of where the utility meters and water stop valve etc were, good spots to walk the dog.
When we moved in the previous owners left us a bottle of prosecco, a ‘welcome to your new home’ card and then a letter with all the useful info e.g. what day the bins get collected, where the fuse boxes and the thing to turn off the water is etc. I appreciated it and if/when we sell this house, I’ll do the same for the next person.
I think you should do it, it’s a nice touch! Your brother just sounds miserable haha.
Very Important: if there are any bodies buried in the basement, under the patio, the rose gardens or heaven forbid in the walls (by a previous occupant)… leave a polite note explaining that they were there when you moved in. A case of fly spray 🪰🪰🪰 would be a nice welcome gift.
When we sold our flat we left a bottle of champagne, a congratulations card, and two a4 pages of instructions/advice for those weird intricacies it can take you years to find out
Not weird, I’ve moved into places where the previous occupiers did that and it was a well appreciated touch.
Our sellers left us a folder full of local information for Doctors/ Dentists/ restaurant recommendations etc. we’d literally moved from 3 streets away 😂
I’m still in my first home and it was the first home of the lady I’d bought from. She left me a bottle of prosecco and a Belvoir with some plastic flutes, a box of chocolates and a card. She also left a note with when the next bin day was and how to adjust the thermometer/motion sensor light etc which I thought was so thoughtful. I’ll probably do the same when I move
Not weird at all!
When I bought my first place they left me a card, biscuits, and some flowers. When I sold I left a card and biscuits and a note with some quirks of the house/neighbours that wouldn’t have been covered in any of the official forms or in manuals
The people we bought off didn’t even bother to label the keys, just left every key in a bowl and we had to work it out – now that annoyed me
When we moved in to our house there was a letter and card from the previous owner (well, children of) plus a bottle of bubbly, and flowers and a card from the estate agents.
It was a really nice surprise after a very stressful morning.
I did that recently when I sold my late dad’s house. I left them a card & a bottle of bubbly. I wrote that I hope they & their son are as happy in the house I was growing up
We’re selling to FTBs and we will leave them a gift, just a bottle of prosecco and a card. The vendor of our flat did the same to us and it was a nice little touch!
No I think its nice – the person I bought from left me a bottle of wine
We did that when we sold our house two houses ago. We’d met the couple who were buying a couple of times. They were really nice, and it was going to be their first home together.
We left them a bottle of wine, a congratulations note and a lengthy list of instructions as to how to operate the property/things to keep an eye on, as well as local companies they might find helpful.
Every house I’ve sold I’ve left an information sheet like that.
When we bought our first house the previous owners left us a salt and pepper set that we had commented on when we were looking around, and a card saying welcome and they hoped we would have a great time in the house etc. we left a bottle of whiskey and some wood for the fire for our buyer when we moved earlier this year. Sellers of our new house left us a nice houseplant and a card too.
It’s a nice gesture I think, it’s a stressful process for everyone and a little token at the end is a nice thing to do
When I bought my house I didn’t have a gift from the previous owners, but the mortgage company sent a box with mugs, tea bags, milk, bread, sugar, washing up liquid, kitchen roll and loo roll.
So thoughtful and I’ve never forgotten it.
I would definitely leave a gift
I bought my place as a young solo first time buyer without a car on a snowy day so the whole experience was stressful and complicated.. the welcome gift of a pack of beer and celebrations tub was VERY APPRECIATED
No real reason to leave a welcome gift, but for people going through the stress of moving it’s a lovely touch at the end of the day
I was selling last house to FTB who I remembered from their viewing were excited to get their first garden and learn how to do it, so along with a big book of every manual for every gadget we were leaving, i did a diagram of what i had growing where, with all the details i knew. Some were ‘some kind of fir tree, smells lovely but grows quick so keep it under control’ to a full latin name & when it produced what cos I’d planted it.
I used to get a bit worried when people said actions like that were ‘weird’ but the older I’ve got, I’ve decided if it is weird then I don’t wanna be right. I’m not hurting anyone, worst that can happen is they dump it in the bin, best is that they find it really helpful. It does me good to do random acts of fun and kindness.
Definitely get a gift!. Moving into a new house is an incredibly vulnerable experience and the early days can set the tone for the home in a big way. Leaving the house clean without any nasty surprises is a basic level of decency lots of people don’t achieve. In addition – a list of helpful house tips (all the necessary door and window keys, paint codes, info about plants in garden, friendly neighbour details, local area tips) is very kind and would be welcomed, a gift is the cherry on the cake. Go for it!!!
[edit: for clarity]
Our house is a modest Victorian Terrace from about 1890. Before we moved in, it had been passed down through the same family for three generations. They left us with a little scrapbook of pictures. I’ve always thought that was a lovely gesture.
> we rejected a couple of higher offers from potential landlords to go with them, as we liked the idea of it being a home for family just starting out.
Thank you for doing this.