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I have always put in the contract that nothing be left behind. I don't care about small things although 10 gallons of old paint is annoying because it is a hassle to get rid of but most have complied just fine. I have not left anything behind when I was a seller, so I don't think it is an unreasonable request.
Two of the homes I bought the sellers didn't comply. One house was a rental and the garage was stuffed with junk. Old windows, doors, etc. It was packed to the rafters. I had a bad feeling the garage would not be cleared out (since the house had been empty for a year) so we put in the contract if the garage wasn't cleared out we would be compensated. Sure enough we closed and the garage wasn't touched. In hindsight, I think by putting a specific amount for cleanup pretty much gave the seller the release of not having to deal with it. After we closed there was a check waiting for us.
Our current home the sellers left behind a extremely large desk in the finished basement. I knew they were going to leave it. It was obvious the desk had been assembled in the basement due to its massive size. There is no way it would have fit through any of the doors or made it up the staircase. The only option was to basically smash it up and haul it out. They knew it too and left it behind. So that is exactly what I ended up doing a weekend after we moved in. The desk was so much pressed wood that it took me a few weeks to get rid it through our trash service.
I understand the desire to leave tons of junk.... in retrospect we probably should have rented a dumpster, as we don't have any curbside trash pick-up and our trips to our local "transfer station" literally were more than 30 in number, and we probably spent a couple hundred dollars disposing of wood, paint, fertilizer, TVs, computer components, furniture, etc..
Yes, it's a HUGE pain. Really, one of the most exhausting and unpleasant things we've had to do, and all on top of moving the things we wanted to take with us. BUT, the standard P&S agreement in our state explicitly says that at the final walk-through, the house must be empty of everything other than fixtures and anything else agreed upon in the contract, and in "broom-clean" condition. Yes, one person's idea of "broom-clean" may be different from another's, but "empty" isn't really open to interpretation, and there is no law/policy which says that paint can be left behind as long as it matches what is currently on the walls. Do other standard contracts really not have any default wording to this effect? I am amazed at the junk people are apparently leaving behind.
I understand the desire to leave tons of junk.... in retrospect we probably should have rented a dumpster, as we don't have any curbside trash pick-up and our trips to our local "transfer station" literally were more than 30 in number, and we probably spent a couple hundred dollars disposing of wood, paint, fertilizer, TVs, computer components, furniture, etc..
Yes, it's a HUGE pain. Really, one of the most exhausting and unpleasant things we've had to do, and all on top of moving the things we wanted to take with us. BUT, the standard P&S agreement in our state explicitly says that at the final walk-through, the house must be empty of everything other than fixtures and anything else agreed upon in the contract, and in "broom-clean" condition. Yes, one person's idea of "broom-clean" may be different from another's, but "empty" isn't really open to interpretation, and there is no law/policy which says that paint can be left behind as long as it matches what is currently on the walls. Do other standard contracts really not have any default wording to this effect? I am amazed at the junk people are apparently leaving behind.
I think part of the issue is that one person's junk is another person's treasure. Even with the paint, my buyer seemed happy about the paint cans I left behind because he planned to use them to do some additional retouching. If he had been planning on repainting the whole house, they would have been junk to him.
I actually tossed some things as I was cleaning out that had been left by the previous owner, so I guess for me they were junk but the place was big enough that they mostly sat undisturbed until I tried to make it as empty as possible, which was emptier than when I took possession.
Both when I moved in and moved out, there was no furniture or anything like that left behind, just things that were more specifically related to the care and maintenance of the house itself (I also left furnace filters, specialty light bulbs, etc)
Anything important must be in the contract... if it is really important... either the deal doesn't close or a provision for a holdback in escrow the dollar amount needed to remedy the situation.
The last sale with a $2500 play structure was a problem for the buyers... the property was advertised with the play structure in pictures and description...
Sellers thought it had to stay because it was bolted to concrete piers...
Anyway, the sellers were able to get $800 for it from Craigslist... so a win/win brought about be explicit communication.
A recent sale had a pickup load of junk to the seller left behind... an old BBQ, broken shovels, dried paint... the buyers raised Holy H*ll and the agents split the cost of $350 to have it hauled away....
A few years ago when I was selling real estate, I had some VERY difficult sellers. They were ornery, but I'll them credit where credit is due - they kept their house in impeccable condition and spotlessly clean at all times.
The buyers were represented by another realtor, who happened to be a friend of mine, and an excellent realtor. The buyers were also extremely difficult. The offer started off badly, with the buyers insulting the sellers immediately with a very low ball offer in a pretty hot market. The negotiations alone left the other realtor and me nearly exhausted. The crazy thing was - the sellers really wanted to sell the house and the buyers really wanted to buy it, and they were within 1 percent of the sale price at the end and still...if they'd been in the same room, I swear there would have been blood drawn!
Long story short - we FINALLY got them on paper and tracking toward closing. And then...the day before closing, the buyers popped up with a crazy condition - and actually said they would walk from the closing if it wasn't done:
They wanted the floors professionally cleaned. The hardwood and tile floors. The floors that were in fabulous condition and that you could sit down on and eat off them - and then lick them, they were so clean. The buyers' agent actually prefaced this bizarre request by saying, "I begged them not to make a big deal out of this, but..." I told her, "I promise you - my sellers are about to renig on this contract themselves. If I tell them this, I am afraid it will be the last straw." We both thought for a minute and then I said, "Hey. They said they wanted the floors professionally cleaned, right?" "Yes," she said and sighed. I said, "Well, I'm a professional. Aren't you?" She grinned and said, "Let's go clean some floors."
The house was already vacant, so we both went over with a broom and a mop and some cleaning supplies, and we cleaned those already spotless floors..and then shared a bottle of wine. Then we had separate closings...and she was able to tell her buyers with a very straight face, "Yes, the floors were professionally cleaned yesterday."
Last summer we bought our house from an elderly, blind woman. Her daughter was dealing with the details of move out. We lived out of state and were not able to attend the walk thru and asked our agent to attend on our behalf. He assured us it was "clean and in agreed upon condition". A week later, after driving for 1700 miles with 2 kids, 2 dogs, a cat and everything we own we pulled up in our new driveway. When I opened the door, I seriously thought a squatter or someone had been living in the house while we were gone! There was trash everywhere, lawn chairs set up in the living room, dishes in the sink, small appliances on the kitchen counter, patio furniture out back, a ping pong table in the basement ect. I stood outside with the kids while my husband took the dogs in and did a sweep of the house looking for people!! We filled up 2 pickup trucks with the crap that was left behind. I called my realtor, he never called me back btw. That had never occurred in our previous homes, and being a military family, there have been MANY!
I use to get the 11th hour calls from my Broker brothers...
On one closing the day the buyers wanted to postpone... the Bay Area had a hard freeze... happens maybe every 25 years... they went to the home and turned on the hose bib and nothing... thought for sure the pipes had to be replaced...
Seems with the freeze the water company had not got around to turning on the water... so I did it at the street and then checked everything which was OK...
Have lots of similar stories as when the the buyer's movers bumped the gas meter and tripped the earthquake valve... no hot water or heat... called their lawyer... a big deal for a totally innocent seller and brokers...
I went out and as diplomatic as possible explained what had happened... told them I would gladly remove the $400 valve so it would never happen again if they put it in writing... buyers decided all was OK...
Buying, let alone moving is highly emotional for just about everyone... some otherwise normal people can get a little kooky... this is where professionals keep the process on track...
I've picked up a few good tools over the years that sellers left behind... best was a very nice older table saw the only needed the cord to be replaced... other times it was garden tools... even an complete stainless BBQ the buyers had a fit over since they already had one...
Last summer we bought our house from an elderly, blind woman. Her daughter was dealing with the details of move out. We lived out of state and were not able to attend the walk thru and asked our agent to attend on our behalf. He assured us it was "clean and in agreed upon condition". A week later, after driving for 1700 miles with 2 kids, 2 dogs, a cat and everything we own we pulled up in our new driveway. When I opened the door, I seriously thought a squatter or someone had been living in the house while we were gone! There was trash everywhere, lawn chairs set up in the living room, dishes in the sink, small appliances on the kitchen counter, patio furniture out back, a ping pong table in the basement ect. I stood outside with the kids while my husband took the dogs in and did a sweep of the house looking for people!! We filled up 2 pickup trucks with the crap that was left behind. I called my realtor, he never called me back btw. That had never occurred in our previous homes, and being a military family, there have been MANY!
You should have gone after your realtor. Unforgivably rotten of him.
You should have gone after your realtor. Unforgivably rotten of him.
Well, I did indirectly. I got my real estate license But you are right, I should have really gone after him; too emotionally exhausted to fight.
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But you are right, I should have really gone after him; too emotionally exhausted to fight.
