We’ve already talked about what needs to be included when you are selling a home. Today let’s discuss what can’t remain behind. Your buyer will have the right to do a walk through the house prior to the closing. As the seller, it’s your responsibility to have the house empty before the walk through. There are 3 things the buyer will check during the walk through:
- that no damage was done to the house while furniture was moved out
- that everything that was supposed to remain in the house is still there and everything else is gone
- that the house is in the same condition “reasonable wear and use excepted”. (This is a standard phrase found in many Purchase and Sale Agreements.)
So what exactly does it mean that the house needs to be empty? It might sound like a silly question but this comes up often in real estate sales. It literally means that nothing should still be in the house that isn’t either permanently attached to the house or that the buyer expressly wants included in the sale. Some buyers want the scraps of paint or matching floor tiles you have left over from projects around the house while some buyers consider this trash. The best thing to do is ask.
Some sellers have told me “We’re leaving _______ because the previous owners left it behind when we moved in.” I wish I could tell you that that argument works but if your buyer doesn’t want it, you’ll have to remove it.
The walk through is the last step before the closing. Make sure yours goes smoothly by removing everything from the house that your buyer doesn’t expressly want.
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