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Definitely do a walk through. I didnt turn on faucets or flush toilets but then of course really didnt have the opportunity because my sellers thought they were being slick and stripped the house of all window treatments even though it was in the contract they stay. For whatever reason it was a huge sticking point in signing the contract from beginning. She kept changing her mind calling my realtor wanting to change the contract. I have no idea why the woman was so hell bent on wanting the stuff, she was moving to a different country and Im pretty sure the stuff wasn't gonna work.
Anyway, I just had a bad feeling about her and sure enough we did our walk through (which the seller didnt realize we were entitled to, first time seller) and sure enough she stripped every damn window. As soon as we walked in the front door, I was struck with how bright the house was. Then it registered why. Also found it interesting that the washer and dryer were pulled out and unplugged. I think they were gonna take that as well. So it was a huge ordeal, hours before closing. Her defense was that the stuff was already en-route overseas, sorry charlie was her attitude. So the realtors told her she had to replace the stuff. She ran to walmart bought various cheap blinds and curtains of no particular size and dumped them on the living room for us. We were so exhausted with her we let it go. At that point it wasnt worth fighting about it but we did tell her that if the washer and dryer were gone we would see her in court. She left the appliances.
So what happens if you turn on the AC and it doesn't work?
We could still close on time, but money would have to be put in escrow pending an inspection. I would insist on $10K to cover the unlikely event that an HVAC company would determine that the two units had to be replaced. More likely, the repairs would be much less and we would live with the current AC until it truly reached the end of its life. I wouldn't ask a seller to give me a whole new air conditioning system unless there was no other option.
Well you can take as long as you want to really. Yes check that the main things work so you can move in. But if you don't check the dishwasher and it floods the house the day after you move in, don't go complaining to the seller. :-)
Yup, as I mentioned earlier, you take some risks buying a used home. I can remember the time we closed on the sale of our home and a day later, we heard that a huge tree had fallen in the backyard. It was apparently eaten out from the inside by carpenter ants and it looked perfectly healthy on the outside. Fortunately, no one was injured, but our buyers probably paid a pretty penny to have the tree removed and replace a section of their damaged fence.
For those of you who think we might have gotten off scot-free on this episode, I should add that we probably put more than 100x the cost of the tree and fence into our next home, just in infrastructure items. There are issues with every house. My feeling is if you can't stand the heat, rent.
We could still close on time, but money would have to be put in escrow pending an inspection. I would insist on $10K to cover the unlikely event that an HVAC company would determine that the two units had to be replaced. More likely, the repairs would be much less and we would live with the current AC until it truly reached the end of its life. I wouldn't ask a seller to give me a whole new air conditioning system unless there was no other option.
I could definitely see a fight for your earnest money. How would you prove the house was not in the same condition as when you had it inspected?
I could definitely see a fight for your earnest money. How would you prove the house was not in the same condition as when you had it inspected?
Because the AC test was deliberately not part of the inspection and we all agreed it would be turned on at a later date when the weather warmed up. My contract says the AC must work at closing. It's not rocket science.
Verify anything that was supposed to be addressed in the inspection was addressed.
Verify anything that was supposed to convey (appliances, chandeliers, etc) is still there.
Verify no damage like broken windows, etc has happened since the inspection.
Clean to a reasonable standard - broom clean or similar. If the former owner has left behind big piles of trash, that's a problem.
I agree with this post.
You just want to make sure what you agreed to buy is what in fact you will soon be signing to buy at the closing table. The last thing you want is to move in and find a pile of trash in the shed or something is missing like the Fridge that was supposed to be included. At the closing table the attorneys can work out any problems which usually means holding back money to fix it.
Friends bought a house a time back adn everything looked good at inspection but on walk through they found a hole that had bee nkicked in the wall which was concealed by a couch. They got some money held back to repair it.
The walk through is designed to find problems before not after the closing.
Because the AC test was deliberately not part of the inspection and we all agreed it would be turned on at a later date when the weather warmed up. My contract says the AC must work at closing. It's not rocket science.
And of course you failed to mention those facts in your first post. I guess some things are rocket science.
I'm sorry if it sound weird, but it is advice to change the locks of entrance doors after taking possession of the new house? I don't want sound extreme,but we don't live in alice in wonderland, unfortunately.
Yes, it is. You don't know who had a spare set of keys to the house.
If you're handy, you can install new knobs yourself; if not, a locksmith will re-key the locks for you.
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