What is it with Sellers that think it is OK to leave all kinds of garbage behind for their Buyers to deal with? We’ve seen it all, from engine blocks to garbage bags filled with used diapers. A favorite is old paint cans with colors that haven’t been used in the house in 20 years, or old broken hollow-core doors that have been replaced. Stacks of ancient, rotting, insect infested firewood are truly a treasure every home buyer covets.
Wake up! Nobody wants your junk! Pardon me if I offend anyone, but selling a house is NOT the same as vacating a rental without a damage deposit.
There is a nice little provision in a Northwest Multiple Listing Service Form that is part of nearly every Purchase and Sale Agreement: Form 22D, Paragraph 5 states:
Items Left By Seller. Any personal property, fixtures or other items remaining on the Property when possession is transferred to the Buyer shall thereupon become the property of the Buyer, and may be retained or disposed of as Buyer determines. However, Seller agrees to clean the interiors of any structures and remove all trash, debris and rubbish on the Property prior to Buyer taking possession.
I bring this up because we had an issue….again….last week when our Client, the Buyer, arrived at his house with the keys in anticipation of a clean house. What he found was a garage full of JUNK! and the both dumpsters were packed to the brim. We notified the Listing Agent of this little problem and were ignored. We advised them that unless the Seller was going to clean out the garage, we would hire a company to take care of it. Still no response. We hired a trash hauling company. The total bill, which we paid as required by the vendor, was almost $500. We faxed the invoice to the Listing Agent who promptly handed it to the Seller. The next morning Diana received a screaming earful from the Seller over the phone: “How dare you blah blah blah…..”
I sent an email to the Listing Agent. [This is a guy that always wears a suit, never gets his hands dirty, and found this garbage issue well beneath him.] His response was that “he has no control over what his Seller chooses to do”. I replied that that was not a good answer, along with a few other sternly stated facts. An hour later I received his phone call and he agreed that a reimbursement check would be sent out right away.
So Sellers, be mindful that you are legally bound to remove ALL trash from the property, even the trash that was there when you bought the place.
Agents, if your Seller is too pressed for time to take care of it, the right thing to do is to take care of it yourself, at your expense! You make enough, unless you are a Redfin agent or a member of some other low hanging fruit company, so take the initiative, demonstrate some professionalism, and take of it for your Seller.
Every Buyer has the right to expect a clean property upon their arrival. It is the reponsibility of all Sellers and their respective Listing Agents to make certain it is so.
Share this Post