In
my role as heading up our new Silver Collection Department at Jonathan Waters
Estate Agents, I am a keen reader of Country Life.
I
was intrigued to see a recent advert for the sale of a property with a guide
price of £765,000 adjacent to Sandown Castle in Deal in Kent where a 1930
Talbot 105 Speed Sports Saloon Car was included in the sale of this stunning
art deco residence located on the seafront; the car and the property both being
within the same period.
This
got my mind reminiscing as to the oddities which I have been involved in in my
25 years in estate agency in Ipswich, of strange things that had been included
in the asking price, or indeed excluded.
Whilst
I think it’s safe to say that I have never sold a stunning art deco residence
overlooking Sandown Castle, I have been lucky to have been involved in the sale
of numerous, high quality country and village homes and exclusive residences in
Ipswich and the surrounding area.
One
of the homes for sale in Ipswich that springs to mind is one that was being
sold on Grange Farm a few years ago. The
seller was emigrating and was simply taking the clothes he was wearing and
those in his wardrobe.
Literally
everything else in the property was going to remain and were included in the
asking price.
This
extended to all the furniture, all kitchen appliances, all decorative items
such as paintings, glasses, cutlery, cups, crockery – you name it – it was
included.
It
was going to have made a fantastic purchase for first time buyers without
anything, or indeed someone looking to buy to let in the Grange Farm area as a
tenant could simply move straight in and have everything on a fully furnished
basis.
There
was huge interest in the property from both profiles of buyers and we obtained
good coverage in editorial in the Ipswich Evening Star at the time.
I
remember once selling our first ever property with a piano included. We had been given the piano a couple of years
earlier by some friends of my wife to be, and I remember it had taken four of
us to hire a van and lift the piano from the van into the back dining room of
the property in Cowell Street, just off Wherstead Road in Ipswich.
This
whole exercise had taken several hours and a lot of back breaking as there was
a very narrow doorway between the lounge and dining room. The piano was so
heavy I was amazed that in those two years it hadn’t actually crashed through
the floorboards of our Victorian end
terrace house.
The
first time buyers who purchased the property were delighted and it saved me a
huge problem too.
The
property that we purchased on moving out of that south Ipswich end terrace
house was quite different. They had
taken almost everything including carpets and curtains, some light fittings
and just about everything else they
possibly could take.
I
remember living in the property for several months without any curtains or
carpets in the lounge. We got married three weeks after moving into the
property which was west of Ipswich and all our funds had been put into the
wedding.
Vendors
taking everything, including fixtures and fittings, has happened numerous times
over the years.
One
of the most extreme instances was when we received a telephone call from the
new buyers of a property. On entering their purchase, which was off Felixstowe
Road in south east Ipswich, they found that the previous owners had completely
removed an entire fitted kitchen.
I
have also had instances where not one light bulb was left in the property (this
is a legal requirement) and even a patio was removed.
Us
estate agents see all sorts in the course of our working day. I am happy to report, however, that the vast
majority of house sales in Ipswich change hands with both buyer and seller
being sensible and exercising common sense.
What’s
your story?
Have
you purchased a house where something unusual was included or left by the
vendors?
Have
you opened the front door to your new
home on moving in day to discover that something ridiculous has been taken by
the outgoing owners?
Send
us your stories. We’d love to hear about
them at Jonathan Waters Estate Agents.
To
view the current choice of homes for sale inIpswich, Martlesham, Kesgrave and surrounding
villages contact us.
625
Foxhall Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8ND
01473
721133
35
Buttermarket, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 1BH
01473
281188
Bristol
Court, Betts Avenue, Martlesham Heath Business Park, Martlesham IP5 3RY
01473
620222
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