Questions regarding Georgia Real Estate Law?

Question

I am interested in buying a house. However, I have been presented with two issues that I have a quesiton about:

1. Is there such a thing as a traditional 48 hour period for allowing a person to leave a house after closing? This just seems like it would open the property to possible problems.

2. What is the law regarding a seller offering to give a buyer money for repairs outside of contract? Someone said it is illegal for a seller to say "Yeah, we will sell you the house and here is $3,000 for fixing and repairing things as you see fit." Basically I am being told I have to have a contractor do the work when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. :(

Any help would be great. Thanks!

Thanks for the answers.

Why the heck would it be illegal for a seller to want to give me $3000 cash to make repairs as I see fit? That's odd. It isn't a kickback because I am not getting anything out of the deal. I am fixing the house. Now I am at the mercy of contractors. The law is bogus and protects nobody but contractors.

As far as the 48 hours thing. That is what I was thinking. Thanks for clarity. I will leave the question for a bit in case someone else has something to add.

Oh, and a quick extra question. Who is actually breaking the law in that case? How can either the buyer or the seller be convicted of anything when one is just giving a gift to another?

Answer 1

In Georgia, there is a place on the contract which give three options for possession:

A. At time of close,

B. ___ hours after the closing, or

C.___ days after the closing at ___ o'clock_.m.

Tradition does not come in to play. If none of these options are selected, possession takes place at close.

This choice is a condition of the contract and must be agreed upon at contract acceptance. If, as I suspect, the sellers are insisting that they want the house to close before they are required to move, you can agree to this. If you are not comfortable with that arrangement, you can insist that they must be out by close. If the contract has already been accepted, the terms of the contract will control, and if it is not indicated, it is entirely up to you if you want to let them stay for two extra days.

If you do agree to let them move out after closing, make sure that the closing attorney ensures that the taxes and HOA fees are prorated properly.

I hope this helps. Please contact me if I can be of any more assistance. [e-mail]

ADDED

Sorry, forgot to answer part two of your question.


A decorating or repair allowance is legal in Georgia, however, the check must be made out to a vendor. If you agree in the contract that the carpet allowance is going to be offered, you decide what carpet company you want and have the check made out to them. While I am not officially reccomending this action, if you have a 'friend' who is a 'contractor', the attorney will usually agree to make the check out to them.
Any money that is refunded the buyer outside of closing is technically mortgage fraud, but it is difficult for that information to become known. If your Realtor or the closing attorney knows about it, he is supposed to report it.

Answer 2

The property is expected to be vacated at the time of closing or before. If you allow the owner to stay past closing, you have a de facto tenant, and if they don't leave as agreed, you will need to evict them.

As far as the $3,000 outside of contract goes, yes, that is illegal.
Any monies which are tendered by the seller for repairs must be INSIDE of the contract, and listed on the HUD settlement form.