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Most contracts say the premise will be left broom clean.
I've seen lawsuits over old lawn and garden chemicals and paint cans left behind...
On the other hand... I've sometimes put in my contract that the seller or estate is not required to clear the premises and twice it tipped the scale in my favor...
The 71 year old heir/executrix lived a coast away and apparently in poor health... I made a as-is offer with all the old paint cans, newspapers, furniture... etc...
- Full/half-full paint cans for paint currently on the walls on the house, as well as the name/manufacturer of any other paint on the walls.
- Owners manuals and/or warranty information (if able to be transferred to the new owners) of any appliances in the house, as well as repair and maintenance records if you have them.
- If any light fixtures need "specialty" lightbulbs, perhaps leave any extras you have or a note as to what exactly lightbulbs are needed and a good place to get them. That sounds weird, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that it's helpful.
- Specialty cleaning supplies, if needed - a granite cleaner that has worked well for the countertops, for example. As a buyer, I think I would find that helpful particularly if I was coming from a place without granite countertops.
Other than that, anything else left in the house should be cleared by the buyer well before closing. I would absolutely refuse to close if I walked through the house and noticed random furniture and other stuff in the basement.
Good list and I would only add that I would leave this stuff only after checking with the buyers first.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Our contract stipulated "broom clean". The electric range was disgusting and had old food everywhere, the kitchen itself was just gross (food splatters on walls, cabinets, etc) it definitely hadn't been swept or vacuumed, and they did leave old paint and old tiles & carpet remnants. It was a huge pain because curbside collection wouldn't take those items so I had to take them to the dump. The paint, of course, has to be specially disposed of. They left a bunch of other odds & ends, but they were trash so I just dumped it.
I did not do the final walkthrough--husband did and okayed it so we didn't have any recourse. You can bet your bottom dollar that I will make sure I do the final walkthrough on future houses and there's no way I'm dealing with that stuff again.
For another house, the previous owners left us emergency numbers (water company, power company, etc), menus from their favorite restaurants, and a diagram of all the shutoffs. The water shut-off was particularly helpful. That was awesome
Most antique stores and auction houses are full of high-priced "junk" that somebody didn't want; just sayin'...
Well, that is true.
But the person that didn't want said "junk" presumably spent the time and money to haul it away from their house, not leave it there for the next owner to deal with.
If the buyers wanted any furniture of yours, they very likely would've asked for it at some point during the negotiation process. We asked the owner of our first house to leave a very nice gas grill as part of the sale to us - he agreed and it was written into the contract.
My parents sold a house years ago to a young family who didn't have too much furniture - the buyers' agent asked my parents' agent if there was any possibility of my parents agreeing to include some of the furniture in the sale, and they negotiated those terms accordingly.
Bottom line: If you want to leave anything behind, clear it with the buyers and get it in writing. Otherwise, you run the strong risk of finding yourself with a delayed close until you get your stuff out of the house.
So IF the sale goes through, and I'm having a hard time grasping that it actually might, I'm gonna have a LOT of stuff to get rid of in a month. Seems to me every house I've ever bought has come with leftover stuff in the basement. Is there any law against just leaving it there? The new owners can use it, hold a yard sale, or just haul it to the curb or dump. What if I simply run out of time and a lot of it is still there?
I have a client who is dealing with this right now. He moved into a furnished rental with everything of the owners. He has packed it up, shipped it COD to the owner, and is crediting himself the time he spent packing from rent.
We were both appalled. This 'junk' was supposed to be removed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by otterhere
And they are a young couple just starting out without much money, from what I can discern. It's entirely possible they could use a lot of this furniture and these household items. It's a shame our attitudes towards things is so "extreme" that only scorched-earth policies apply...
I guess I'll go ahead and hire them as planned (since I'm 90 pounds soaking wet) and they can keep what they want and haul the rest, on my dime, to the landfill. Wasteful, IMHO...
Here's a thought, ask them if they want any of it.
Actually, I had already arranged to hire these people - who turned out to be the buyers - to help me empty the basement, since they have the manpower (whole family works together to do odd jobs and lawn care), muscles, and trucks, and I don't. Considering the concessions we made covering their closing costs, coming down on the price, and now making repairs...
Just curious! I didn't realize that I should've thrown a fit every time I found a paint can in the basement of a house I bought, and I've bought four of them...
Oh my you sound like me! And now I have to get rid of all the rusty cans of paint which is the least of what was left here 12 years ago when I bought the place. I just ignored most of it. Now I have the house on the market 'as is', but nevertheless I have been trashing as much as I can. It is difficult when you are alone, have health issues, and need to watch the cash flow.
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