Any Recourse?

Hi Hope,

Man, what a mess!  Do you have any documentation in the contract about what condition the property must be in when the sellers vacate?  Here in WV, sellers generally are out of the house by the time of settlement, but if for some reason they aren't, often we will have a "post-settlement occupancy" addendum and some amount of money escrowed for clean-up, trash removal, etc.  Once the sellers have moved, the buyer signs off on the addendum and any monies left are returned to the seller. 

Good luck!

Amy Salisbury

Take lots of pictures and have an attorney write a well worded letter.  Contractually in Washington the sellers can not do this.  Even leaving the lawn not mowed is against the contract.  I had a seller leave one time by simply walking out of the house food in fridge and clothes in closet  The listing agane t and I chipped in together and cleaned it up for my buyer, but it was highly against the contract and my buyer wa spretty mad at me - not my fault of course, but do we really need to be standing watching the seller move out?

Hope, Hopefully your seller stayed in California as it makes recourse easier. People do stupid things and sometimes they are not aware that there are legal consequences.  Iwould have your clients start off with that letter seeking damages in violation of the written contract.  

As far as how to avoid this situation in the future is to have some of these points clarified in writing on your walkthrough form and have it signed by the sellers.  Shouldn't be necessary but we do have to hold hands and educate our clients.

Most sellers go beyond the norm to leave their property in tip top shape fo rhte buyers.

For the one like you have.....the mirrors probably got broken in the move and the window treaments probably won't fit any window in their new place.  We hope!!!! 

With the time factor.....and the buyer wanting to move into their new place and wanting it perfect...guess who their looking at....you babe!

Just not fair, is it?

Here in Florida the home is vacated before closing unless otherwise spelled out and covered with the contract. I couldnt imagine extending trust to a seller to take care of something that was not theirs anymore. I know from experiance that when in a hurry to move there are extra damages done, but in this case it sounds extreme. I guess in the future you could make sure that you escrow funds to cover clean up and other incidentals as a result of the seller moving. How much you would escrow is up to your negotiations, but in past contracts I have had funds set aside with as much as 3% of contract value just for incidental damages.

Technically, they have violated the contract where it says basically that it is to be "broom clean".  I would call the listing agent and demand that they take care of it all.  I don't think you have any legal recourse other than small claims court but an attorney could answer that question best.

Hope, I too would encourage room and exterior photos at the walk through and then if the deviation is severe as you mentioned, then legal action could be taken against the Seller. Although sometimes when you net that out it is not worth it. Why people act this way who knows?

Next time insist that the sellers move out before closing.... like after final loan approval.  Or withhold funds for cleaning.

I would have them talk to a lawyer as I would say it depends what is in the contract. The window coverings could be considered personally property, but I'm guessing the mirrors in the bathroom can't be.