Follow up on Photo Finish

The final walkthrough on a property prior to closing is the time for the buyer to see the house as it will be when he moves in. According to our contracts, as I said previously, the property must be in substantially the same condition as it was at the time the contract was ratified (final signatures were all in place, earnest money changed hands), utilities must be on and the house must be broom clean. An agent should instruct his sellers, at the very least, on these basics, however, a good agent will go beyond the basics. It's not a good idea to plan your move the day of the closing, you should give yourself time to fix any "surprises" - you move the dresser and there's a large crack in the wall you didn't know was there, a window is broken by a careless mover, the carpet is rolled up and there's a great big stain right smack in the middle of the floor (all of these things and more have recently happened). Believe me, it will be a lot cheaper to fix these surprises yourself prior to the walkthrough than to have the buyer's agent insist on holding back money from closing (escrow) to have the problem resolved. You'd better prepare youself to kiss that escrow goodbye or forfeit a much larger sum than it should have taken to remedy the problem.

One giant surprise came into play on a move - there was a free-standing corner cabinet in the dining room that the buyer did not want left in the house. When the seller had the cabinet moved, the beautiful hardwood flooring that had been installed by the previous owner didn't extend under the cabinet - something our seller never knew, they had bought the house with the cabinet in place! Of course, the buyer's wanted enough money held out to replace the flooring in the whole room, and of course the company they called quoted a price big enough to build an addition! At this point, the sellers are in a total panic. This unfortunate situation was remedied by a flooring company we rely on to do fair and reasonable work. They stepped in the same day, laid flooring that was a very close match, then lightly stained the whole floor - it came out great, everyone was happy and the final cost? $500! We were lucky here with our connections - this could have potentially cost a lot more and held up the closing for days (if not longer)

On the buyer's side we did a walkthrough prior to closing where the utilities had been turned off. Of course, a walkthrough with a flashlight is a far cry from ideal, but although everything looked fine, we couldn't try appliances, heat, ac, hot water, etc. At closing we asked for a $1,500 escrow to be held for one week, enough time to get the utilities turned back on a do a thorough walkthrough. Good thing we got the money, it cost the seller over $1,400 (he did get back a little bit), as the refrigerator that was less than 2 years old wouldn't get cold and the water wouldn't get hot. He could not have the refrigerator serviced for 10 days (unacceptable), and the hot water tank was aging and it was recommended it be replaced. There is no doubt that had he checked these things out himself and made sure the utilities were on, he could have save himself about $1,000.

So, as a seller - make sure everything is in as good condition and in working order BEFORE the buyer does his walkthrough. If you have touchup paint stored, ASK if the buyer wants it left (it cost one seller $150 at closing because paint cans were left the buyer didn't want and the garage door opener was lost - easily remedied by a trip to the dump and a Home Depot type store). Make sure the utilities are left on and make sure EVERYTHING is gone, from attics, basements, crawl spaces, sheds, garages, all those places where the things we thought were lost are hiding.

As a buyer - if you've chosen a competent realtor, they will know what to look for, they will know how to negotiate in your best interest if there is something amiss. Remember, check EVERYTHING, run all the appliances, run the heat and ac (if possible), plug something into sockets, trip GFCI plugs. Check empty closets, cabinets and crawl spaces for signs of leaking or damage or mold that was not apparent when they were full. Give youself enough time to do a thorough job of it - don't do a quick pass through 1/2 hour prior to settlement, and don't schedule the movers if at all possible the same day as closing - give yourself enough time to right anything that needs righting. Remember our photo finish, the buyer wound up paying for the movers for several hours while they sat around waiting for the sellers to finish cleaning off the walls!

That's it for now, hope this was at least a little enlightening.... remember,

CHECK BACK HERE OFTEN, WE'VE JUST SCRATCHED THE SURFACE!

Your comments, suggestions, gripes, cudos are encourated!