Taking Possession
Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
- Kirkland Weekend Events and Open Houses, Sunday, December 16th
- Bainbridge Island: A Look at Indianola
- Latest Eastside Price Reductions
Finally! It’s yours! Yours! All yours! Muahahahahaaa! You’ve signed on the dotted line throughout the 3 inch stack of boring loan mumbo jumbo papers at the Escrow office and now it’s finally time to get the keys to your new home sweet home. Now what surprises await?
When I sold my first place, the possession date for the new owners was on a Monday, I was moving out over the weekend. The buyers asked if I could get my stuff out a day early so they would have a weekend day to move their stuff in. In a lapse of judgment I agreed to this arrangement and of course good ol’ Murphy had his way with me. The move took longer than expected and I was up until wee hours in the morning vacating. By Sunday morning I was so pooped out I was approaching delirium. Everything was out except one last box of some Mescal from Oaxaca, aged 10 years in American Oak barrels, $75 a bottle (in Oaxaca!). I called the new owners and let them know they could move their stuff in and that I’d just be back for the one box. When I showed up to the house, there was a glass half full of my precious Mescal sitting on the counter next to the box! Rude!! I was mortified. So much for trying to be an accommodating person! Rule 157 of taking possession of a home is don’t drink the seller’s good booze after they let you move in a day early! Duh.
And for every such unpleasant tale there’s the inverse. My loan guy Sam at Wells Fargo is not only a financial genius but also a heckuva nice guy. When he sold his last two homes he left a bottle of wine and a card for the new owners. The card said something sweet along the lines of “I’ve had a lot of great memories in this house and it’s brought me much good luck, I hope it does the same for you. Moving sucks so enjoy this wine!”. When he did this at the second home he actually hand delivered it to the buyers and the lady started crying.
Most people usually only have to deal with a few old paint cans and maybe a little extra cleaning when taking possession of their new home. Make sure you know how to properly dispose of any hazardous chemicals like weed killer that might be in the basement or shed.
eastside roger said:
If you let the new owners move in before they actually own it MAKE SURE you “RENT” it to them for however many days they get in early, AND their insurance company says (in writing) that they will cover any liabilities during early possession.
Why? What if they or whoever is helping them move hurts themselvers or there is damage to the house, who is responsible? You are since you technically still own it.
The people who bought our first home had their bro-in-law do the financing. He screwed it up so it was going to be a few days later that they could move it. They insisted on moving in that weekend so we came up with the above scenario to protect ourselves.
December 14, 2007 8:26 AM
Marie said:
You’re definitely right about that, I should have charged them for getting in a day early and also billed them for the booze!
Thanks for the tip.
December 14, 2007 9:07 PM
jgirl said:
I have also had problems on the buy side of taking possession. Sometimes agents put into the contract (without telling you and you don’t notice it) that possession will change hands 3 days after closing. Don’t do it! If there’s anything amiss, you have absolutely no leverage to cause the sellers to make it right. You’re stuck with cleaning their disgusting filth, taking a load of paint and hazardous stuff to the haz-mat site, hauling away their remaining junk, etc. I find that agents don’t care either. Selling agents don’t educate their sellers that they have to get rid of all their stuff and clean. At least that’s the decent way to do it. Buyer agents just want the sale to close, so they just kind of shrug their shoulders and say that’s the way it is. I now put my foot down. I will only agree to possession at closing. I will only close if the seller has taken all of their junk and cleaned the house. I basically say that I’m not closing unless the seller does the right thing. And why don’t agents get more involved in this part of the deal to make sure that things go smoothly???? They’re off counting their money, that’s why.
December 17, 2007 9:54 AM
thomas said:
This was a case of the glass being half-full. But, a nice bottle of something is not a strange gift for someone who just bought a house, especially if it is yours. Now if it was half of a tall glass, then you should have revoked the deal completely with those philistines. I am assuming this was Los Danzantes.
TR
December 17, 2007 11:29 AM
marie.hagman said:
jgirl - that’s great advice! I know that no matter how much the seller tries to clean, I will disinfect from top to bottom anyway. I definitely don’t want to have to dispose of the previous owner’s trash though. I always get to know all my neighbors and end up coming back to visit. As a seller, I would hate to have new owners of my house tell my friends that I left the house a dump.
December 17, 2007 9:30 PM