Home Closing and Possession

[tenaseewalker]

Do not sign the papers until after you have walked through the house and everything is shipshape and all items not included in the sale (for example her furniture) have been removed. She has to remove the furniture (or sell it to you in writing, probably for two figures cumulatively let alone 3 or 4 figures apiece); you may not remove it to the yard or sidewalk yourself.

When I purchase my first house the previous owner never took her furniture and other belongings out of the house before the closing and it was considered mine.. I got a whole house full of furniture, 4 cars, 7 motorcycles and 10 toolboxes that I could do with I seen fit.. I sold everything without her permission.

 

[Mickey527]

My brother went through something similar a few months ago.
the people he bought from didn't get all their stuff out. He did a walk through and was told at closing that the movers would be taking everything out during the closing and he could start moving in right after the closing.
He signed all the papers and went to the house immediately. the movers were gone, the key was on the mantle....
The movers took the fridge, stove and even the built in over the stove microwave and since he had signed the papers he was out of luck.
Make sure they inspect the house and everything is cleared out and repaired BEFORE they sign anything.

 

[Jenny3]

First things first... have your daughter pull out the contract. What does it say? Every state is different, but here in PA there are a few things to look out for..

Inspections. Did your daughter elect for the home inspection contingency? If yes, did the Seller sign the Reply to Inspection addendum stating xxx amount of repairs would be done before closing? Is there a timeframe noted? In my contracts, I always request that repairs are completed at least one week prior to closing so we have time to check it before the final walk-through.

Settlement and Possession. Is the date the same for both of these? In PA it is stated that possession is to be delivered by deed, keys and physical possession of a vacant property at the date and time of settlement. If the Seller is leaving items at the property, they will become property of the Buyer.

Final Walk-Through. Your daughter and husband along with their agent should be conducting a final walk through of the home the day of closing, prior to heading to the table. If they are not satisfied with the home, DO NOT CLOSE.

It used to be that items could be credited at closing, for example if the inspection repairs were not completed, then the Seller could give the Buyer $$ as a credit. HOWEVER, mortgage laws and regulations have tightened and it is very challenging to make changes to the final HUD sheet at closing. All credits must be approved by the lender and chances are more than likely that a last minute credit will not get approved quickly and she will not be able to close anyway. This is why it is VERY important to get any issues regarding repairs or Sellers belongings resolved before you get to the table.

Agent. Do they have a Buyer Agency agreement? The agent is required by state laws to work in your daughter's best interest and to deal honestly and in good faith. If he is not doing these things, have your daughter contact his broker immediately. Her contract relationship is with the broker, with the agent as a designation. So if the agent is not doing his job, bring on the broker as that is her right.

Good luck to her!

 

[eliza61]

My daughter and son in law are closing on a home this Friday. They should be getting keys and possession at closing and set it for 10 a.m. to spend the weekend cleaning and moving.
Today she found the lady who owns it has moved out of town and will not be getting her furniture out before closing--says she will do it this weekend. It has been about 6 weeks since the contract so I don't understand why it has not been taken care of in that time.
I worry a little since she apparently is not upholding the contract will she get her stuff out this weekend. They drove by and things from the inspection have not been repaired (it was a month ago).
Our kids are using an agent who is a father of their friend. We have never seen his name in advertising and do not think he is a full time agent. We have been disappointed with his service (or lack of) and are afraid he will not protect them in getting this woman out and repairs fixed. My dad was a realtor, we have bought and sold 5 houses; we know how things should work.
The kids are very young and want to do things independently, but I see problems here. They are easy going and have talked about a double move for a few days.
What would you do? Has anyone had trouble getting a seller out?

Ok, time to be a little "buttinsky" mom. I totally understand they want to do things themselves but we are talking about the possibility of mistakes costing thousands of dollars.

first and foremost, no closing until every single thing on that inspection list is repaired. A month is more than enough time to have had made some progress.

You're right realtor is falling down on the job. Are they paying him? most relators I know work around 4-6% commission. I suspect he may feel he is doing them a "favor" so is not paying particular attention to them. Inform him that under no circumstances will you move forward until her posessions are out.

In 6 weeks she had no time to move her stuff out? Tough unless there was a medical emergency that's her problem.

I apologize for sounding so harsh but I know way to many people (from assisting my bff when she opened her own law practice) who have lost thousands and I mean thousands of bucks because they closed on property when they KNEW things were not right, only because some one "promised" to do something.

Sorry promises in real estate transactions are like pixie dust, they evaporate really quick.

 

[seashoreCM]

... A few other words of advice:

c) All personal property should be moved out prior to inspection. I don't know what they can do with it legally if left behind, but this is an unacceptable response from the seller. ...

An addendum itemizing at least the more important items and broadly referring to everything else left behind in the house at large as being included in the sale should be drawn up and signed at closing.

Note that all the real state brokers down the line, including the one who greeted the buyers walking into his office, owe their first duty and allegiance to the seller, unless the buyer specifically engaged one of them as a buyer's broker, which includes a few conditions where the buyer pays part of the commission or an hourly fee.

(In practice, brokers occasionally owe their first duty and allegiance to themselves, which may result in providing some benefits to the buyer that detract from their duty and allegiance to the seller.)

As for the furniture still inside...it's my understanding that the seller has until closing to get their stuff out. When we sold our old house the deal fell thru the night before closing. Since we had moved the week before I was then stuck with selling an empty house.

1. My present opinion is that the best of all worlds is moving out while the house is on the market. This avoids the rush an anxiety of getting the move done in a 2 or 3 day timeframe.
2. You can rent furniture, or maybe even buy some secondhand furniture, to put in a few rooms of the empty house.