Gift for people buying my house - ideas?

[shortbun]

When we moved in to the home we're selling, the owners left us a bottle of wine and a meal in the frig. It was so thoughtful of them! The couple we are closing with on Friday is having a baby (their first) anyday. We raised our son in that house and the family before us raised theirs from infancy too. They are seriously due in 7 days. I was thinking about a couple nice receiving blankets and a rattle or maybe a gift card to a restaurant nearby since they will not be cooking all the time for several weeks-new house, new baby, boxes to unpack, baby to look at...

Does anyone else have another idea that's particularly clever? I just can't get the creative juices going. Thanks!

 

[FireDancer]

I got a bottle of champagne from the previous owners of my home.

 

[AshleyW]

That's a really good idea, I would have never thought to get a gift for the people buying my house. All DF and I got from the previous owner of our condo were some empty paint cans in our storage room.

Since they're having a baby, I'd probably do a nice baby blanket and a gift card for dinner.

 

[Hoodie]

That's so sweet of you! I think the gift card to a restaurant would be great (as long as they do carry out!) Or maybe a restaurant that delivers?

The people we bought our house from left us a kids drum set (gee thanks - we had no kids at the time and I really didn't want a drum set) and a computer table missing a caster and too big to fit through the office door. They even very excitedly told us at closing that they left us a gift! Rather, they left us the trash that they didn't want anymore.

Well, they left us a couple of pets too. the 6 legged survive nuclear bombs pets.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I have never heard of this before, what a nice gesture.

 

[shortbun]

I should say that I've decided against alcohol because she may be nursing and who knows if they drink. So, maybe a gift card for a local, carry out restaurant and a nice blanket for the baby.

 

[ogl91]

the value of the house?

 

[golfgal]

I would leave a gift card for a restaurant that delivers with all that is going on in their lives. We got a nice plant from the previous owners of this house that my DH didn't water in the 3 weeks he was living here before the rest of us moved it so that died. We got a bottle of Champagne from the previous owners of our last house.

If they aren't from the area, leave a list of repair people, service people, etc. that you have used in the past too.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sounds good to me.

I'm not sure I'd leave anything in the fridge though as the prior owners did for you. They may not get to it in time and they could come home to a sitnky fridge.

No one is giving us anything. It's a foreclosure, so the bank already thinks they did us a favor. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

[blanq]

How thoughtful! I like the idea of dinner in the fridge. Another nice gesture would be to provide a list of neighbors and their phone numbers, and maybe some general community information (good restaurants, the best mechanic, tips, coupons for local services and restaurants) if the family buying your home is new to the community.

When I moved into my home, a neighbor came over right away to introduce herself and she had a nice list of all the surrounding neighbors and how I could reach them by phone. I so appreciated it and it made meeting my new neighbors so much easier. Also, the previous owner of my home was a gardner, and she made a list of all her plantings and how to care for them...so sweet!

Another nice thing you can do is prepare a binder with things the new owners need to know about your house and caring for it. I have started one of these that I plan to pass off to the new owners when I sell my home. My book contains information about when we replaced major items (roof, furnace, hot water heater, windows, etc...hopefully this will help them plan for future expenses and anticipate how long something might last), how to care for our soapstone and granite counters (as well as who installed them in case there are problems in the future, all of our appliance manuals, etc. I have a separate binder with local restaurant menus, phone numbers and coupons. We pull it out when we are deciding what to do for dinner sometimes, but I will definately pass that binder on to any new owener of my home.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

oops--double post. First time showed a fatal error, but I guess the post survived.

 

[dawson5]

When we left Michigan, we knew the people who bought our house were moving from PA and had two kids. We left all the school info and a local map, along with baby-sitter numbers and restaurant numbers.

 

[kpm76]

If they aren't from the area, leave a list of repair people, service people, etc. that you have used in the past too.

That is a fabulous idea!! Even if they are from the area, I would do this anyway because the people you have used know the house etc.

Our house was build in the 40's. We are only the 3rd owners. When the original owners sold, they gave the buyers a nice card detailing their memories in the house and how the neighborhood evolved. They also gave them several pictures of the house and yard, again to show the changes. One picture was the mother in front of the house with her baby in a carriage. When we bought the house, the sellers passed down the card and pictures. When I had DD, I stood in the same spot as the original owner and took the "same" picture. We framed both pictures side by side. While the structure of the house has not changed much, it's really neat to see how big the trees have gotten and the different landscape.

 

[LaurenLC]

What a nice gesture! I'm going to do this if/when we move!

 

[kpm76]

No one is giving us anything. It's a foreclosure, so the bank already thinks they did us a favor. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

That's sad Hope the previous owners are back on their feet soon.....

 

[happygirl]

I wouldn't do wine, you have no idea if they are drinkers or not. Why not do flowers. I think a flowers would add a nice touch to the new place.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That's sad Hope the previous owners are back on their feet soon.....

Keep in mind I am not laughing at their plight. This is our 4th attempt at a home purchase...and the fact that this one stuck for less than asking is a blessed miracle. So that was what I was "haha'ing" about.

I have no idea about teh prior home owners except an idea that they should not have bought it b/c the closed, lived in, redecorated and foreclosed all in less than 1 year.

 

[kpm76]

Keep in mind I am not laughing at their plight. This is our 4th attempt at a home purchase...and the fact that this one stuck for less than asking is a blessed miracle. So that was what I was "haha'ing" about.

I have no idea about teh prior home owners except an idea that they should not have bought it b/c the closed, lived in, redecorated and foreclosed all in less than 1 year.

Oh no, I am sorry, I certainly did not think you were laughing at them. I was just commenting on all the foreclosures lately. Congrats on your home purchase though

 

[RadioNate]

Can I just say how super nice you are.

We have a potential buyer for our house and by the way they are acting I just want them to give me their money and go away.

I had every intention of being 'nice' and welcoming them to their new home and now I'm not doing one thing over what is minimally required.

 

[trip]

I have never heard of this before, what a nice gesture.

In the past, (air force family) the only items I usually left were paper towels, toilet paper, and an unopened bar of soap.