closing on house tomorrow. seller left it dirty?

Question

I'm closing on a house tomorrow and today I did the final walk thru. They sort of cleaned out the fridge, microwave dirty, and floors are not vacuumed.
In my contract, the seller is supposed to clean before closing. I asked my agent what can be done and she basically said not much but she will ask.

I don't want to clean up with what they left behind. it's almost like cleaning up after children. I intend to clean anyway but I don't feel I should close on a house that was dirty after they moved out their furniture. can someone give me advice? Closing is set for tomorrow afternoon.

Answer 1

Refuse to sign off on the closing until the sellers abide by the terms of the sale and have it thoroughly cleaned

Answer 2

It really depends on how badly you feel about this.

You can refuse to approve the walkthrough, and delay the closing until the cleaning is done. But that means that all of the closing documents have to be redone, all of the closing costs have to be refigured, and if it takes more than 2-3 days to get the cleaning to your satisfaction, that could well mean that the time period allowed by the lender to close the loan expires, which then could mean saveral days or weeks in delay while that is redone, and your interest rate and payments can change.

So refusing to close is a big deal, for all parties. If you think the cleaning is a big deal, and you want to seriously complicate the sale because it is worth it to you, then notify your agent you are not approving the walk through until it is cleaned.

Otherwise, realize hiring a cleaning crew is a few hundred dollars which you will barley remember years later when you get around to selling the house.

Answer 3

Unfortunately there is not going to be a whole lot that you can do. If you decide you don't want to sign over and close on the home over this, you will be out the money it cost you for the appraisal and possibly a few other fees. Most likely these fees that you have already paid will be more money than it would have cost for you to get the place cleaned yourself. Therefore, this would be a losing situation for you. Also, even stating in your contract that the seller is supposed to clean before they move out, it is going to be hard to determine what is truly clean per the contract and what is not. What is clean to one person may not be clean to another. Therefore, unless the place is absolutely trashed, which from what you are saying does not seem to be the case there will not be much that you can do. You can try to play hardball about it at first, but in the end if you want the home and they will not clean, you are going to have to do it yourself.

Answer 4

Your agent should immediately contact the sellers and inform them that the property is not in the condition indicated in the offer to purchase.

You still have time to insist on an escrow account, in which monies will be withheld from the seller to pay for the needed cleaning. No escrow agreed upon, and no closing. Time to play hardball here.

When the sellers are informed that they won't close unless they clean, or monies will be withheld, you'd be amazed at how quickly they will get out the elbow grease.

Hold firm on this with your agent. She ought to know better.

If the sellers indicate they will comply, do another 'final walkthrough within hours of the stated closing time, to insure that they have complied.

Answer 5

Maybe they are going to clean - the closing isn't unitl today right? I'm pretty much going to have to do all my moving and cleaning the day before my closing, so when the walk thru happens, I probably won't be done, because i'll be cleaning well into the night.

Answer 6

This is a job for your attorney. Most real estate contracts will state that the property is to be "broom swept" clean prior to the closing. The phrasing can get a bit fuzzy when dealing with different perspectives. I've seen credits given at closing for between 250.00-350.00. Just make sure that both the attorney and you Realtor know about the problem and see what they suggest.

Answer 7

Call your agent and tell her you are not going to sign unless the house is clean before the closing. I guarantee if she can't get the seller to clean she will be there cleaning it herself...she isn't going to risk her commssion on some dirty floors. If she isn't willing to work this out for you it would personally make me wonder what else is not happening with the house that you requested.

Answer 8

call your real estate attorney, not your agent (don't know how you found that one). tell your attorney that due to the seller's negligence to fulfill what he agreed to, in the contract, that you will not close until he does what he so said.

they want DA MONEY. they will clean the house.

after your attorney talks to his attorney to delay the closing, i am certain you will hear, from your agent that does not know what she can do, WHEN the house will be clean, ready for the next walk through. (look at the wording in reference to walk through...i would think it says within x hours prior to CLOSING).

in this case, the seller is in breach of contract.

EDIT: rllydollens (? spelling ?) is incorrect: closing documents are files in folders on the computer network. it does not take days or weeks to get the figures amended. it would take, at maximum, one day. don't pay for the cleaning yourself, just see that it is what they said it would be when then made the deal to sell to you.

Answer 9

Simply have your agent tell their agent that you're not closing until something is done. Let them know immediately. Have a dollar figure in mind that will make it worthwhile then stick to it.

The sellers need to close and both brokers want to get paid so they'll lean on the seller and if the seller refuses to do anything they'll probably pay for it themselves.

Answer 10

If you were my client, and I have had clients in this position, I would inform the Seller's attorney that they will hold $500 in Escrow for the final cleanup that was required under the Contract but not performed. If they come clean it up, they get the money. If they don't, my client gets the money and either cleans it or hires someone. I'd let their attorney talk me down as far as $250.