We got a letter left on the kitchen counter from the previous owners adult daughter. It made me cry as she was talking about all the good times and hard times her family went through over the years in that house, and how they all loved growing up there. She told us about a few things her dad made special for the house and how her parents worked so hard to build the house in the 40's. I thought it was so nice of her to welcome us to our new house like that.

We moved this week. The special message they left behind was an ant infestation and surprise! fleas. Jerks.

So we moved in and got most of our stuff sorted and then had to move it all to the middle of the room off the floor so they could spray toxic stuff over every item we own. I hate people.

I think leaving a note is awesome! I would especially leave one if there was some heritage in the home. Usually if people see that it's important to someone else they're less likely to rip it up and put in wood paneling or something else atrocious.

I've left notes for new tenants, even in rentals. Besides tips on how to get the furnace started or how to cope with the shoebox size closets I let them know about the hummingbirds & other wildlife that frequent the feeders that I left behind with "starter" bags of seed and sugar (for the hummers). I mention the quirky floor board squeaks that are annoying at first but then are the sounds of comfort when a loved one has returned home safely in the middle of the night. Watch out for the kitchen window that has a tendency to suddenly slam shut- use the piece of broomstick handle in the sill to prop the window open! The bathroom door that slowly swings open for no apparent reason just as you sit on the toilet! The lilacs bloom like crazy every spring so make armfuls of cuttings & you will be rewarded with an even larger crop to adorn the kitchen table by the window! Enjoy the cool breeze that comes in through the front hall window. Lay out under that willow on a hot summer day with a glass of lemonade and a pile of coloring books. You will be transported back to lazy childhood summers... Of course one needs to find their own ways & joys in their new home. But I think it is nice to let them know some of the things that a former tenant enjoyed about the house. When I have left notes like that I am always happy to see later, when passing by, a few kids lazing under the front yard tree. Have caught glimpses of vases of lilacs on a window sill. Makes me feel nostalgic and happy that I could pass that on. If I know that the next family moving in has children I will also include a few coloring books & boxes of crayons, or sometimes a gift certificate to a local family restaurant. A former tenant did that for me once (when I was a young single mother) and I have never forgotten the unexpected kindness! It made move in night so much sweeter. I have since always made it a habit to pass it forward!

I think it is a lovely idea if the next owner was a lovely person who would appreciate your home's history. I often wonder about the history of everything I have that's been preowned.

But I wouldn't do it. Probably the business person in me, but you could open yourself up to some issues if the next owner is not as lovely a person as yourself. Your realtor would likely advise against it. Even as a renter, I've had nasty landlords who would search for any reason they could to withhold my deposit.

I met the prior owners of my condo at a business function with a local bank. When I saw the wife's nametag & recognized her name, I was so excited, thought it was so cool to actually meet them. They were very cool and unfriendly to my husband and I. There were some hiccups during the negotiation on closing date but nothing to cause that sort of chilliness. I always wondered why.

The people that lived in our house before us didn't leave a note, but they did leave a paint chip for each color of paint they used and made a note of which room it was used in.

We put notes in an ovaltine jar and hid them behind the cabinets before they put the new kitchen countertops on during my parent's remodel in the 1990s. That was 16 years ago and my mom says they're never leaving this ranch, so who knows if anyone will ever find it.

If you did this why on earth would you hide it or make it "hidden." It's not cute to leave "secret messages" that a new owner might find, just give them the damn info that you feel is pertinent. Like someone else said be careful what you say and protect yourself first.

If you speaking about some sort of time capsule, happy memory crap then that's a different story. However, you seem to be talking about important details on the home.

I bought my house from the original owners/builders and they were nice enough to leave the catalogues and service manuals for every electrically powered thing in that place. They also left the original building plans. All of it including the lot survey and the plumber's phone number were left neatly in a kitchen drawer.

The best part is they were nice enough to tell us this stuff was in there.

When I was a kid, my family got new carpet and let me and my brother graffiti the subfloor with permanent markers. I know there are a few tic-tac-toe games for a future owner to find, as well as plenty of doodles and random messages. I wish I could be there next time the carpet is replaced -- it would be funny to see what we wrote.

We're slowly amassing a collection of paperwork that will stay with the house when we sell. Things like appliance manuals, the warranty on the windows, etc.

Am I the only one that would be mildly skeeved out by this? I agree with others- leave a list of pertinent tips for the home and swatches/ leftover paint from the walls, but if I was rummaging around a cabinet and found a letter taped to the wall or wherever in our new home, I'd be creeped out. When you move into a home most people go out of their way to want to make it theirs and remove all feelings/traces that this was someone ELSE'S home previously. The last thing I want to do is picture the previous owners and how they loved the living room for so and so and how they loved to plant so and so outside. My home now. Move out and take the memories with you so I can make my own.

@jmorri26: after reading ecuadoriana1's comment and methods, yes I too would be totally skeeved. also would be kind of offended that this person would think i wouldn't know how to sit under a tree, open windows for a breeze, or cut flowers to put in a vase.

I don't know, maybe I live in a different world. I try to be nice to people who come after me. I assume people are nice and treat them in kind- even if I never meet them. My grandmother always had a habit of leaving a "good luck" penny on the window sill of whatever home she was moving out of. She would leave seed packets of seeds from the garden, or a little basket of goodies. Because of my grandfather's work they moved around the world a lot and so she acquired habits and customs from everywhere she lived. She was always delighted to move into a new home & find "leftover happiness" from previous tenants. And so she wanted to pass the luck and love along after she left. I got that habit from her. But, like sweet, kind, and thoughtful grandparents, being sweet, kind, and thoughtful is a dying breed. That's too bad.

I just bought my first house about a month ago. The previous homeowners had left me a note sitting on the kitchen counter when I moved in. I thought it was really sweet that they had taken the time to do that. It gave me good advice on how to clean the kitchen countertops, what not to store in the hot attic, etc... and also a little bit of info on my new neighbors. It made me feel good to know how much they loved living in the house.