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We have sold the house and will close the 1st week in May. All of the inspections have been done and the issues in question have been addressed/resolved.
We are now removing stuff off the walls and have patched/painted 4 good sized screw holes (maybe 1/2 inch). The paint that we had left over is now lighter than the original paint.
Our contract requires seller to "maintain the building in good condition subject to ordinary wear and tear". The premises shall be in "broom clean" condition.
Husband thinks we should paint the wall (26 ft x 14 ft).
We have a call to our agent.
Are we obligated to paint this whole wall? Or is this "ordinary wear and tear"?
I don't think you should have to paint the whole wall. If the buyer has a problem, it will be addressed during their final inspection/walkthrough prior to closing.
We have sold the house and will close the 1st week in May. All of the inspections have been done and the issues in question have been addressed/resolved.
We are now removing stuff off the walls and have patched/painted 4 good sized screw holes (maybe 1/2 inch). The paint that we had left over is now lighter than the original paint.
Our contract requires seller to "maintain the building in good condition subject to ordinary wear and tear". The premises shall be in "broom clean" condition.
Husband thinks we should paint the wall (26 ft x 14 ft).
We have a call to our agent.
Are we obligated to paint this whole wall? Or is this "ordinary wear and tear"?
many questions, and a singular point that hopefully is a happy ending...
do you mean contractual obligation, or "moral" obligation?
how does one get a 1/2" hole from a screw?
have you mixed the paint really well, applied, and allowed to dry? applied a second coat?
have you asked your new buyers what they'd like you to do?
depending on what they say - if YOU were the buyer, what would you want done (this is sometimes called the Golden Rule)?
In other words, at the end of the day, IMO, your husband is right. Why introduce the possibility that the Buyers might be upset that the walls look bad, and raise a stink within 2 days of closing?
Whether you do the right thing now, and whomever you buy your next house does or not, the only thing you can control is how YOU treat your "fellow man".
Here’s my story. We had an enormous (8’ wide) entertainment center in our family room. When we painted several years ago, we just painted behind it as far as we could reach and left the rest of the wall the original color. After we went under contract, we sold the entertainment center to our neighbors. Uh-oh, forgot about that paint situation. Mr. Dokie painted the entire wall the correct color. First thing buyers did after closing? Re-painted the whole house. Moral of story: check with buyers. See what they want.
Here’s my story. We had an enormous (8’ wide) entertainment center in our family room. When we painted several years ago, we just painted behind it as far as we could reach and left the rest of the wall the original color. After we went under contract, we sold the entertainment center to our neighbors. Uh-oh, forgot about that paint situation. Mr. Dokie painted the entire wall the correct color. First thing buyers did after closing? Re-painted the whole house. Moral of story: check with buyers. See what they want.
The absolute minimum would be to leave the paint! I agree...ask them what they would like. They may be planning to paint everything.
Here’s my story. We had an enormous (8’ wide) entertainment center in our family room. When we painted several years ago, we just painted behind it as far as we could reach and left the rest of the wall the original color. After we went under contract, we sold the entertainment center to our neighbors. Uh-oh, forgot about that paint situation. Mr. Dokie painted the entire wall the correct color. First thing buyers did after closing? Re-painted the whole house. Moral of story: check with buyers. See what they want.
Actually, Mr. D did the smart thing.
People who intend to repaint still want to see a well-maintained property.
That unpainted area would have caught attention.
And, the less they have to talk about that isn't related to "I like it!", the closer you are to contract.
Repainting that wall took one potential distraction or conversation out of the mix.
I agree. For the OP, if you're willing to paint the whole wall, ask before you do so to avoid doing unnecessary work.
Spot painting rarely looks right so I would not do that. And you are making this 'alteration' after they have viewed/inspected/decided on the house. If they are types that complain unreasonably, they might try to make a stink that you painted the spots with the "wrong color" and therefore ruined the wall/paint and it wasn't like that when they decided on the house. Yes, there are some people like this.
It's more straightforward to just carefully remove your items. A reasonable buyer should have / would have accounted for any items that would be removed and the usual impact on the wall. If they are types that complain unreasonably, the most they can accuse you of is removing your stuff (which presumably is expected and part of the agreement anyway) and you would have done that with the most amount of care to avoid further damage (e.g. unscrewing screws rather than ripping them out with a hammer claw, etc). I would probably fill any big holes but remove the excess around the hole so that the visible impact is strictly limited to what was naturally there from removing the screw. If you do a sloppy job or sand around the hole you have the potential problems described above.
In summary, absent any special agreement between you two, it's best to keep it in as close order as possible to what it was like when they viewed/inspected/decided on it. My opinion.
My two cents.... I would NOT have necessarily painted at all... picture holes are normal wear and tear.
At this point I would have your agent ask their agent if they like the current paint or if they intend to redo it anyway, and see what they say first.... At the very least, do leave the paint.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 04-04-2018 at 09:31 AM..
Actually, Mr. D did the smart thing.
People who intend to repaint still want to see a well-maintained property.
That unpainted area would have caught attention.
And, the less they have to talk about that isn't related to "I like it!", the closer you are to contract.
Repainting that wall took one potential distraction or conversation out of the mix.
I'm with Mike on this one. A large area of the wall painted a different color obviously stands out and will command the attention of the buyer during the final walk through. Painting the one wall I'm sure was a minor expense and even if the wall was then painted again by the buyer when they came to inspect your home they had the impression that it was a well maintained property.
Touching up little patches like the OP is talking about is a bit of a different situation. These are small defects and I would just check with the buyer and see what their preference is. This is what is morally right IMO. Your contract and your legal obligation may certainly diverge from this path.
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