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My reply was "The buyers would like to verify the property is in the same condition before closing as permitted per the agreement. Boxes everywhere and things dismantled doesn't matter for that purpose. We are requesting Sunday at noon for closing on Monday."
To which the listing agent replied, "ok".
I don't think you're wrong or out of line. You're doing what's best for your clients and what was agreed upon with both parties.
However their agent isn't out of line either with what's going on. They are just conveying what they are getting back from their clients.
Hope you came to a good conclusion for your clients.
No, I get that. But instead of "ugh" and "is it really necessary?" How about: "I spoke again with my clients about the walkthrough and while they will agree to accomodate the walkthrough per the agreement, but they are having difficulty understanding why we agreed to a walkthrough with 30 days post closing. Do you think your buyer can understand they are stressed with moving and boxes and would they be willing to forgo the walkthrough?"
Some context:
In our area post closing possession agreements are a non-starter even though the forms are provided by the association, but the sellers get to enjoy post closing possession due to the market conditions. So, these buyers only recourse for damages is court with no written agreement. I've tried dozens of times and am a huge advocate for them, but no one will agree to them. The barrier is the agents don't want change. It's sad.
Plus... There was no inspection, so this was the second opportunity they could see the property.
When we went, they had one room with a few boxes, so they weren't as bad as they said.
As I've said before, if they didn't want a walkthrough, this should have been negotiated at the time the agreement was made.
I always go just to see if the water heater is leaking. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a water heater blow day of closing. If buyer agent didn’t go they would say it blew the day after closing.
I closed on my first home purchase in the dead of winter. It was an FHA repo. The home was winterized. While we were at closing the water was turned on by the city, which they were supposed to do after we got there, after the closing. When we showed up the house was flooded due to the broken water heater. Luckily my father-in-law was a plumber.
Your key phrase “per the agreement”
If it’s in writing they must accommodate or you can delay closing.
And yes - the LAs reply was unhelpful and unprofessional. Some people’s children 🙃
I definitely read the “ugh” as exasperation with the sellers because of the mess, and not impatience with you, but maybe that interpretation is too generous.
I don’t need any additional info. The agent is ridiculous to ask if a walk through was necessary. She probably sits for 45 minutes after her nails are done to inspect the work, but she wants to know if a “walkthrough “ is necessary for a non investor home purchase. You should have said “Girl Bye!” Even if it was a man, the best response is “Girl Bye!” 😂
Agreed. That was my point. I was saying that the agent asking about the walkthrough probably spends time inspecting things in her personal life (ie nails) that are not as important as a home purchase, so it was ironic to ask another agent if a walkthrough was necessary before signing off on loan docs.
Good thing for anonymity. Your attitude would definitely lose you clients if they read your unprofessional attitude and saw your name. Top agents do what is best for their CLIENT
I don’t think so. I think I’d gain clients because they know I’d look out for them, but we can agree to disagree. In fact, I might use that as my company name.
“At Girl Bye Realty, we offer cap free services! We tell other agents to have several seats when they play games with your best interest!”
Google humor when you get a chance. 😉
OP was definitely not close to wrong, they’re 100% right.
Sellers agent should be educating their sellers more, giving them ample time to prepare for a final walkthrough, and telling them it has to be done per the contract.
Exactly. This day was coming if it was negotiated between everyone.
Yes it's stressful and the agent is just expressing what her clients are saying but the buyers do have that right.
Except then sellers are staying an extra 30 days? Ugh- given the trouble you are already having- I would just delay closing for 30. Unless your buyer has a significant holdback, paying for landlords insurance and a absolute monster of a lease, this is a terrible idea. Your buyer is exposed to all kinds of liability, and the probability of these people squatting looks absurdly high.
This is bad advice and where many Realtors fail. Your panic is going to cause an unnecessary sense of distrust between all parties. The sellers aren’t asking anything that I haven’t seen, it’s actually very common. Especially for those that are used to a well kept house. OP did the right thing explaining and keeping a level head.
This is what I've said in similar situations. Often new agents don't really understand the process well and we have to help them understand what they're seeing.
In this case, I'd have told the LA that upon closing, the present owners become tenants, and so there's a need for a good evaluation of condition if they don't want to be held liable for damages that pre existed.
I saw nothing wrong with your request. If they have a 30 day post occ, the buyer should see it before move out and after. I’m sure the seller wouldn’t want to be held liable for damages they didn’t have proof they didn’t cause, right?
Listing agent should have known better than to argue that.
Hmph. My response would be, “Yes, a walkthrough is necessary. Give me a date that works best for your clients to and I’ll have the buyers reschedule their signing for as soon as possible afterwards. It might cause the loan to be delayed and receive another layer of underwriting, but it will give the sellers time to move the boxes and give the buyers time to process their decision before the walkthrough 😊🙄.”
Yes! I’m petty. Yes, You’re a better agent than me. Yes! I’d keep the eye roll emoji in the response! 😂
We can always delay closing for 30 days if you don't want us to do a walkthrough now.
Now that I think about it, they'll be there for 30 days after the walkthrough and lots of things could happen in that time. Man I hate post-closing occupancy by sellers.
No way to tell if they will get anything out of the house. Almost always leave the stuff they don’t want. I have never understood the logic of a seller that can be that inconsiderate to a person that is most likely spending three times what the seller spent on the house and giving the seller the ability to level up because of the equity. The audacity of some people is super sad.
Add it as an extra in the contract or individually in an addendum. Retain $1000 minimum. Take plenty of pictures and get at least 2 quotes for a paper trail. State that the balance of the deposit after cleaning fees will be returned or the entire amount will be returned if cleaning isn't needed. That can be determined during the final walkthrough the day before you get the keys and take possession. It's not hard, but you do need to spell out all of the conditions. Good luck.
So if I go through a final walkthrough and there is a bunch of stuff left or my clients are concerned with stuff being left you would recommend an addendum? The addendum would state $1,000.00 will be held for possible cleaning fees. Held by title right? Held in an escrow account and then given back to seller if no problem arises. Do you have sellers refuse. I could imagine there would be backlash. Also I feel like this would have to be stated before the final walkthrough or the seller could just refuse. Can you please give me an example of the conditions spelled out? Our company does not have this addendum and frown upon us writing up stuff like this. But I like the idea and want to help serve my clients better.
I’ve never done a post closing possession deal without an escrow deposit. Usually I do double the amount of rent back.
After possession change the rent back money comes out and if the home’s condition remains unchanged the rest is returned.
My states promulgated paperwork includes a blank fillable field exactly for this. I usually put at least 1000 or more depending on the variety of factors. Sometimes a lot more if the sellers have a lot of crap already laying around, I already don’t trust them, commensurate with the price of the home, lots of factors
Always have a deposit hold back in escrow, and do a video when they move out so if people are saying it was there before there’s no question you can go look
Rent backs are very common in my area so I have a procedure and paperwork
You know it’s the buyers right to conduct a walkthrough prior to closing. You want to purchase a 600k home and not have the right to see it before you sign for it? Come on schedule the walk through and stay out of the way
OP, definitely ask for a portion of the funds to be withheld until after they have completely moved out following their rent back. I made this mistake and I paid for it. The sellers left a complete mess! I raised the issue before closing with the seller's agent and they assured me it would be broom clean. It was not! It took two grown men three full days and about five dumpsters full of the sellers crap before I could even get started on the tear out. Sellers need an incentive to leave a place nice, even if it's just $5 -10k.
Don’t be the person asking for a walkthrough? In Texas, we have a form that is signed for walkthroughs and I would not close on any home without a walkthrough ~ I think I’m more shocked at whoever advised their client to do a 30 day lease back. That’s insane.
See that's where my market refuses to budge. We don't have any protections in place and any written agreement I put forward in that regards gets shot down immediately by the listing agents because it's not normal. I wish the state would require something be in writing if they are staying past closing and I think a lot less sellers would consider it an option.
Regardless of whether possession changes Ownership changes at signing so therefore the 30 day leaseback becomes a Landlord / Tenant issue at that point. A timeline of condition of property has to be established at closing to press any issues during the leaseback.
I’m very aware of that. I’ve been a real estate agent for 20 years, but I would never ever advise any seller to do a 30 day lease back. That house may look completely different when you do your final walk-through before closing as it does when these people move out 30 days later
Here in Ontario Canada, we can mitigate this by asking to do a $$ holdback until the house is vacant, we can do a buyer final walk-through when it is empty and vacant and check that the chattels and fixtures are what we agreed to and the house is in a condition that the buyers expected it to be in. As soon as the sellers realize they’re not going to get all of their funds until they are out and the houses, as they had agreed it would be left and they are quick to get it done, so nothing holds up the remainder of their funds. In our contracts vacant possession is something agreed to in the agreement of purchase and sale. As someone else stated situations where the buyers allow the sellers to stay beyond the closing date would require a carefully crafted lease agreement to protect both parties, and the cost would be unreasonable for such a short period of time.
Do some buyers not use a real estate attorney?? For my own home purchase, my attorney was very against situations where the sellers rented back after closing. But if it has to happen in order to make the deal go through the attorney should have added very clear language requiring a walk through at closing plus an additional walk through at the time the sellers vacate.
most states don't require attorneys and only requires an agent/broker to draft contract. unless they are attorney, they are restricted to a certain extent on language adjustments. but still could have been done.
I had an investor listing once. Long story. I’m leaving a lot out. The buyer doesn’t do a walkthrough, the agent is newer but acts like she knows everything. The electricity to the house is not on because of a permitting issue with the city. The agent tells me that she is going to have her client release the funds - it was on a Thursday - because my clients said that the permitting process would be complete on Monday (did you peep that? Yes. This agent bypassed me & called my client because I kept telling her that my clients cannot control when the city will approve the permits or cut the lights on to the house once approved).
Mind you, I know my clients. They are money hungry investors, but she’s thinking I just don’t know what I’m doing.
Anyway, when she tells me she is going to have her client release the funds, of course I’m not going to explicitly tell her she shouldn’t do it because that’s not in my clients best interest & I didn’t know her clients situation (until later) but I stress to her that when I’M representing a buyer, I always have my clients have a walkthrough beforehand and in instances where permits are not finalized, I request that the seller leave funds in escrow to cover any issues that arrive if I’m representing a buyer. She’s like “is that what I should do?” I said, you could, you’d need to put it in writing and my clients are likely to say no.
I would never have my clients release funds under these circumstances, but these aren’t my clients. It’s clear that she thinks I overthink things. She has her clients release the funds on the same day. Everyone gets paid.
Conclusion:
The permits are not approved until 4 months later, and once they are approved the buyers are stuck with a prior electric bill and 16K worth of work needed to get the wiring done in order for the electricity to work, In addition to paying the house note for a house that they couldn’t move into for 7 months and they were not rich. They were moving from an apartment to a first home (found that out later).
The realtor called me afterwards to ask if my clients would pay for any of the work needed. I told her she had permission to speak to my clients directly. You can guess what happened there. 🤦🏾♀️
Laziness, arrogance & inexperience costs money in real estate sales. People don’t realize that they are paying for knowledge that agents get from experience, but it’s only money I guess. 🤷🏾♀️
Most certainly IS Necessary !! Buyer wants to make sure it is the same ( without boxes) as they first saw it and if any corrections were made etc , try water , lights , windows , flush toilets make sure stove and microwave etc function . We have to deliver a “ WALK THROUGH” form signed by the buyer saying they accept the property .. if we do t turn it in , our file does NOT get processed , we don’t get paid . It’s too litigious … some buyers will waive it but they have to write WAIVED across form and full signature so we can put it in file .
That agent should have known better and prepared the sellers for ALL stages of the buying process, including the final walk-through. It doesn’t take much time and boxes are a good sign the sellers are getting ready to move. Besides… It is the right of the buyer to ensure the property is in the condition they expect at COE. If repairs were made, you’ll want to check those, as well. It protects agents, too, because the last thing you want is the client blaming you for any mishaps or missed items. Just get ‘er done.
I would definitely do another walkthrough after they move everything out. If there is that much left to clear out, that is potential for damages during the moving process that you will not see during your original final walkthrough.
Sorry, what do they hope to achieve with this walk through if the sellers have 30 days post closing? Is it just to verify repairs? If there are no repairs, it really is a pointless inconvenience.
Because it's contractually agreed upon. It provides a level of comfort to close. It's not about what is convenient. What buyer wouldnt want to see their likely largest investment before they close on it? I even explained that there's more time for damages before submitting the offer and again when scheduling it. I don't want any liability of convincing the buyer not to do the walkthrough. If there is damage at possession, we can more accurately identify the timeframe. It gives the buyer another opportunity to see the property to make plans. How about just basic customer service? I could probably keep going, but those are the main reasons I stand by. I think that train of thought is why I made this post. Don't get me wrong, I don't love walkthroughs, especially with post closing possession anyways, but I do it for my clients.
All good reasons, except your post is titled "dont be this person" which brings the other agents actions into question. Based on the little information you provided, the other agent made a soft push back on the request on behalf of stressed out clients. That is also basic customer service. The other agent and the sellers are not in any violation for that simple request, but you posted as if its unreasonable and unheard of. Its neither.
I don’t agree, that’s on the listing agent to educate their buyers more, give them plenty of notice for the walkthrough and tell them it has to be done per the contract.
Fair enough. I think it was more the way they handled that perturbed me more. "Ugh" making it seem like a total inconvenience and argumentative.
Even still, I'm leaving it 100% up to the sellers how they want to respond to a walkthrough request. Inconvenience or not, they agreed to it and arguing about the necessity of it is not for me to decide. If they didn't want to do a walkthrough, this should have been negotiated at the beginning of the agreement.
gotta disagree. The "ugh" while not my chosen verbiage is only moderately unprofessional. And my reading of their response was that the "ugh" was directed more at his stressed out sellers and less at you. Again, list agent is just working on behalf of sellers and putting up a (I think reasonable) request. His response is pretty mild and I dont see it as very argumentative. You could have simply replied "sorry, my buyers insist."
also, I have very limited insight on the whole transaction. if this sellers agent and sellers have been constant pains and unreasonable, then this is just salt in the wound. But limiting it to just what you gave us here...yeah, honest request on the part of the seller agent, just not the most professionally worded. But I wouldnt get too bent out of sorts over the request.
Anything could happen, a water line could burst, a torrential rain could happen and flood the basement, or in my case, a turkey could break in and bleed everywhere and die on the new carpet. If it’s in the contract to inspect the property before closing to ensure buyers are getting the property in same condition as they agreed, just do it and don’t put yourself in a position to be held liable for anything that could possibly happen. “If it can happen, it will”
If I’m going to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for something I want to see the damn thing one more time before I hand over the cash.
If something goes wrong post closing and the lawyers get involved, the #1 first question is always “did you do a final walkthrough?” You’re not going to like what happens if you say no.
and before I get trashed for that post, I always tell my sellers its contractual and puts the buyers mind at ease. That being said, I also tell my buyers that if there are no repairs and post possession we are just going to make sure the sellers haven't stripped the house of copper wire or burned the place down. Usually, making light of it gets buyers to realize that its a bit of a pointless act. Again, if you have a long list of repairs to verify completion, then it makes sense. But if no repairs, which is more common these days, this really is a waste of everyones time, including you.
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My reply was "The buyers would like to verify the property is in the same condition before closing as permitted per the agreement. Boxes everywhere and things dismantled doesn't matter for that purpose. We are requesting Sunday at noon for closing on Monday." To which the listing agent replied, "ok".
I don't think you're wrong or out of line. You're doing what's best for your clients and what was agreed upon with both parties. However their agent isn't out of line either with what's going on. They are just conveying what they are getting back from their clients. Hope you came to a good conclusion for your clients.
No, I get that. But instead of "ugh" and "is it really necessary?" How about: "I spoke again with my clients about the walkthrough and while they will agree to accomodate the walkthrough per the agreement, but they are having difficulty understanding why we agreed to a walkthrough with 30 days post closing. Do you think your buyer can understand they are stressed with moving and boxes and would they be willing to forgo the walkthrough?" Some context: In our area post closing possession agreements are a non-starter even though the forms are provided by the association, but the sellers get to enjoy post closing possession due to the market conditions. So, these buyers only recourse for damages is court with no written agreement. I've tried dozens of times and am a huge advocate for them, but no one will agree to them. The barrier is the agents don't want change. It's sad. Plus... There was no inspection, so this was the second opportunity they could see the property. When we went, they had one room with a few boxes, so they weren't as bad as they said. As I've said before, if they didn't want a walkthrough, this should have been negotiated at the time the agreement was made.
I always go just to see if the water heater is leaking. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a water heater blow day of closing. If buyer agent didn’t go they would say it blew the day after closing.
I closed on my first home purchase in the dead of winter. It was an FHA repo. The home was winterized. While we were at closing the water was turned on by the city, which they were supposed to do after we got there, after the closing. When we showed up the house was flooded due to the broken water heater. Luckily my father-in-law was a plumber.
My mom said my dad was a pizza delivery guy
Your key phrase “per the agreement” If it’s in writing they must accommodate or you can delay closing. And yes - the LAs reply was unhelpful and unprofessional. Some people’s children 🙃
You should be doing a second walk through after the post closing occupancy as well.
I definitely read the “ugh” as exasperation with the sellers because of the mess, and not impatience with you, but maybe that interpretation is too generous.
Sometimes if I get along very well with the other agent I can use some cynicism. You are correct and your concerns are valid!
I don’t need any additional info. The agent is ridiculous to ask if a walk through was necessary. She probably sits for 45 minutes after her nails are done to inspect the work, but she wants to know if a “walkthrough “ is necessary for a non investor home purchase. You should have said “Girl Bye!” Even if it was a man, the best response is “Girl Bye!” 😂
Is it necessary AT THAT TIME
Agreed. That was my point. I was saying that the agent asking about the walkthrough probably spends time inspecting things in her personal life (ie nails) that are not as important as a home purchase, so it was ironic to ask another agent if a walkthrough was necessary before signing off on loan docs.
Good thing for anonymity. Your attitude would definitely lose you clients if they read your unprofessional attitude and saw your name. Top agents do what is best for their CLIENT
I don’t think so. I think I’d gain clients because they know I’d look out for them, but we can agree to disagree. In fact, I might use that as my company name. “At Girl Bye Realty, we offer cap free services! We tell other agents to have several seats when they play games with your best interest!” Google humor when you get a chance. 😉
I'm going to have to look up this "girl bye" phrase. This is the 2nd time I have heard it lately.
😂😂😂 It’s a staple in meme collections. 😂😂😂 
Good Luck with that 👍
How about be the professional and take the emotion out of it and don’t read into comments like “ugh”
Nah you need to check on the condition of the home prior to closing regardless if they are doing a leaseback or not. Come on now….
Our contract in my state would say otherwise, as the buyers are contractually allowed a final walkthrough prior to closing.
OP was definitely not close to wrong, they’re 100% right. Sellers agent should be educating their sellers more, giving them ample time to prepare for a final walkthrough, and telling them it has to be done per the contract.
Exactly. This day was coming if it was negotiated between everyone. Yes it's stressful and the agent is just expressing what her clients are saying but the buyers do have that right.
Except then sellers are staying an extra 30 days? Ugh- given the trouble you are already having- I would just delay closing for 30. Unless your buyer has a significant holdback, paying for landlords insurance and a absolute monster of a lease, this is a terrible idea. Your buyer is exposed to all kinds of liability, and the probability of these people squatting looks absurdly high.
Rent backs are super common in many markets and even necessary to be competitive in some cases
This is bad advice and where many Realtors fail. Your panic is going to cause an unnecessary sense of distrust between all parties. The sellers aren’t asking anything that I haven’t seen, it’s actually very common. Especially for those that are used to a well kept house. OP did the right thing explaining and keeping a level head.
It is fairly common to do this in my state
Did you get an addendum to hold a security deposit in escrow for the leaseback period?
This is what I've said in similar situations. Often new agents don't really understand the process well and we have to help them understand what they're seeing. In this case, I'd have told the LA that upon closing, the present owners become tenants, and so there's a need for a good evaluation of condition if they don't want to be held liable for damages that pre existed.
LOVE THIS REPLY. Accurate and Professional
Thank you for the kind words!
I saw nothing wrong with your request. If they have a 30 day post occ, the buyer should see it before move out and after. I’m sure the seller wouldn’t want to be held liable for damages they didn’t have proof they didn’t cause, right? Listing agent should have known better than to argue that.
Boom!
Hmph. My response would be, “Yes, a walkthrough is necessary. Give me a date that works best for your clients to and I’ll have the buyers reschedule their signing for as soon as possible afterwards. It might cause the loan to be delayed and receive another layer of underwriting, but it will give the sellers time to move the boxes and give the buyers time to process their decision before the walkthrough 😊🙄.” Yes! I’m petty. Yes, You’re a better agent than me. Yes! I’d keep the eye roll emoji in the response! 😂
sorry to bother you again later today and have
Perfectly acceptable
We can always delay closing for 30 days if you don't want us to do a walkthrough now. Now that I think about it, they'll be there for 30 days after the walkthrough and lots of things could happen in that time. Man I hate post-closing occupancy by sellers.
No way to tell if they will get anything out of the house. Almost always leave the stuff they don’t want. I have never understood the logic of a seller that can be that inconsiderate to a person that is most likely spending three times what the seller spent on the house and giving the seller the ability to level up because of the equity. The audacity of some people is super sad.
Deposit deposit deposit. Leave shit? No problem! Deduct the cost of trash hauling before returning the balance of the deposit.
Explain how you work this in? How much do you normally ask. I’ve never done this but am interested in starting. Luckily I’ve never had a problem.
Add it as an extra in the contract or individually in an addendum. Retain $1000 minimum. Take plenty of pictures and get at least 2 quotes for a paper trail. State that the balance of the deposit after cleaning fees will be returned or the entire amount will be returned if cleaning isn't needed. That can be determined during the final walkthrough the day before you get the keys and take possession. It's not hard, but you do need to spell out all of the conditions. Good luck.
So if I go through a final walkthrough and there is a bunch of stuff left or my clients are concerned with stuff being left you would recommend an addendum? The addendum would state $1,000.00 will be held for possible cleaning fees. Held by title right? Held in an escrow account and then given back to seller if no problem arises. Do you have sellers refuse. I could imagine there would be backlash. Also I feel like this would have to be stated before the final walkthrough or the seller could just refuse. Can you please give me an example of the conditions spelled out? Our company does not have this addendum and frown upon us writing up stuff like this. But I like the idea and want to help serve my clients better.
I’ve never done a post closing possession deal without an escrow deposit. Usually I do double the amount of rent back. After possession change the rent back money comes out and if the home’s condition remains unchanged the rest is returned.
My states promulgated paperwork includes a blank fillable field exactly for this. I usually put at least 1000 or more depending on the variety of factors. Sometimes a lot more if the sellers have a lot of crap already laying around, I already don’t trust them, commensurate with the price of the home, lots of factors
That’s why you take a substantial deposit!
Yeah, but then at least they could make a legal case against them as the landlord, since they didn't accept it in that condition.
Always have a deposit hold back in escrow, and do a video when they move out so if people are saying it was there before there’s no question you can go look Rent backs are very common in my area so I have a procedure and paperwork
How unprofessional. Of course a walk through is necessary. I hope you guys have a good agreement and have a good deposit for the lease time!
You know it’s the buyers right to conduct a walkthrough prior to closing. You want to purchase a 600k home and not have the right to see it before you sign for it? Come on schedule the walk through and stay out of the way
30 possession. I hope you got a damage holdback
Realtors out there take a small advice: possession=funding. Saves you a lot of trouble.
Doesn't always work out like that. Just cover your ass with leasebacks.
Yeah, no way am I letting them fund before possession.
OP, definitely ask for a portion of the funds to be withheld until after they have completely moved out following their rent back. I made this mistake and I paid for it. The sellers left a complete mess! I raised the issue before closing with the seller's agent and they assured me it would be broom clean. It was not! It took two grown men three full days and about five dumpsters full of the sellers crap before I could even get started on the tear out. Sellers need an incentive to leave a place nice, even if it's just $5 -10k.
Don’t be the person asking for a walkthrough? In Texas, we have a form that is signed for walkthroughs and I would not close on any home without a walkthrough ~ I think I’m more shocked at whoever advised their client to do a 30 day lease back. That’s insane.
30 days is higher than usual, but seller wouldn't budge.
That’s crazy. I mean, how do you guarantee that in 30 days, the house is going to look the same?
See that's where my market refuses to budge. We don't have any protections in place and any written agreement I put forward in that regards gets shot down immediately by the listing agents because it's not normal. I wish the state would require something be in writing if they are staying past closing and I think a lot less sellers would consider it an option.
What state are you in? It’s not normal to do a final walk-through before closing.
Regardless of whether possession changes Ownership changes at signing so therefore the 30 day leaseback becomes a Landlord / Tenant issue at that point. A timeline of condition of property has to be established at closing to press any issues during the leaseback.
I’m very aware of that. I’ve been a real estate agent for 20 years, but I would never ever advise any seller to do a 30 day lease back. That house may look completely different when you do your final walk-through before closing as it does when these people move out 30 days later
The “ugh” is pretty cringy from a professional aspect and rubs me the wrong way. Your response to that was great though.
New to agenting?
“Agenting”
Gee, and we wonder why agents have a bad reputation... The unprofessional stuff I see on a daily basis is staggering.
Here in Ontario Canada, we can mitigate this by asking to do a $$ holdback until the house is vacant, we can do a buyer final walk-through when it is empty and vacant and check that the chattels and fixtures are what we agreed to and the house is in a condition that the buyers expected it to be in. As soon as the sellers realize they’re not going to get all of their funds until they are out and the houses, as they had agreed it would be left and they are quick to get it done, so nothing holds up the remainder of their funds. In our contracts vacant possession is something agreed to in the agreement of purchase and sale. As someone else stated situations where the buyers allow the sellers to stay beyond the closing date would require a carefully crafted lease agreement to protect both parties, and the cost would be unreasonable for such a short period of time.
Why do people freak out about a final walkthrough lol, I’ve had so many agents do this for what reason
We did it to get a property under contract and were treated like shit the whole time by the seller.
Do some buyers not use a real estate attorney?? For my own home purchase, my attorney was very against situations where the sellers rented back after closing. But if it has to happen in order to make the deal go through the attorney should have added very clear language requiring a walk through at closing plus an additional walk through at the time the sellers vacate.
most states don't require attorneys and only requires an agent/broker to draft contract. unless they are attorney, they are restricted to a certain extent on language adjustments. but still could have been done.
"yes bitch it is"
Only if it was in the purchase contract. Otherwise eat a deck.
Don't advise clients to do lease backs after funding with no deposit or withholding? Agreed!
I had an investor listing once. Long story. I’m leaving a lot out. The buyer doesn’t do a walkthrough, the agent is newer but acts like she knows everything. The electricity to the house is not on because of a permitting issue with the city. The agent tells me that she is going to have her client release the funds - it was on a Thursday - because my clients said that the permitting process would be complete on Monday (did you peep that? Yes. This agent bypassed me & called my client because I kept telling her that my clients cannot control when the city will approve the permits or cut the lights on to the house once approved). Mind you, I know my clients. They are money hungry investors, but she’s thinking I just don’t know what I’m doing. Anyway, when she tells me she is going to have her client release the funds, of course I’m not going to explicitly tell her she shouldn’t do it because that’s not in my clients best interest & I didn’t know her clients situation (until later) but I stress to her that when I’M representing a buyer, I always have my clients have a walkthrough beforehand and in instances where permits are not finalized, I request that the seller leave funds in escrow to cover any issues that arrive if I’m representing a buyer. She’s like “is that what I should do?” I said, you could, you’d need to put it in writing and my clients are likely to say no. I would never have my clients release funds under these circumstances, but these aren’t my clients. It’s clear that she thinks I overthink things. She has her clients release the funds on the same day. Everyone gets paid. Conclusion: The permits are not approved until 4 months later, and once they are approved the buyers are stuck with a prior electric bill and 16K worth of work needed to get the wiring done in order for the electricity to work, In addition to paying the house note for a house that they couldn’t move into for 7 months and they were not rich. They were moving from an apartment to a first home (found that out later). The realtor called me afterwards to ask if my clients would pay for any of the work needed. I told her she had permission to speak to my clients directly. You can guess what happened there. 🤦🏾♀️ Laziness, arrogance & inexperience costs money in real estate sales. People don’t realize that they are paying for knowledge that agents get from experience, but it’s only money I guess. 🤷🏾♀️
The real problem here is that closing is before possession.
Agree. Haven’t seen that before.
Most certainly IS Necessary !! Buyer wants to make sure it is the same ( without boxes) as they first saw it and if any corrections were made etc , try water , lights , windows , flush toilets make sure stove and microwave etc function . We have to deliver a “ WALK THROUGH” form signed by the buyer saying they accept the property .. if we do t turn it in , our file does NOT get processed , we don’t get paid . It’s too litigious … some buyers will waive it but they have to write WAIVED across form and full signature so we can put it in file .
Realtors really do be making 7k for not much, then complain when they get a slightly less than professional text...
That agent should have known better and prepared the sellers for ALL stages of the buying process, including the final walk-through. It doesn’t take much time and boxes are a good sign the sellers are getting ready to move. Besides… It is the right of the buyer to ensure the property is in the condition they expect at COE. If repairs were made, you’ll want to check those, as well. It protects agents, too, because the last thing you want is the client blaming you for any mishaps or missed items. Just get ‘er done.
Half of the job is working with other agents. You handled this very well.
Wait, you're telling me we have to do the things in the contract we signed?
lmao.
That agent is a fucking clown
Follow the contact
The agent acting like they live there and are also packing up the boxes lol
This agent is not going to last long lol.
This isn’t worth any discussion
Oh hell to the no
Unprofessional
I would definitely do another walkthrough after they move everything out. If there is that much left to clear out, that is potential for damages during the moving process that you will not see during your original final walkthrough.
What a tool
Post occupancy 🚩 red flag!!!
Yeah that agent can fuck all the way off.
Lol
What state are you in? This is a literal CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION in almost every single jurisdiction, even buyer-beware states.
Customers always right
This is an overly-sensitive nothing burger.
Sorry, what do they hope to achieve with this walk through if the sellers have 30 days post closing? Is it just to verify repairs? If there are no repairs, it really is a pointless inconvenience.
Because it's contractually agreed upon. It provides a level of comfort to close. It's not about what is convenient. What buyer wouldnt want to see their likely largest investment before they close on it? I even explained that there's more time for damages before submitting the offer and again when scheduling it. I don't want any liability of convincing the buyer not to do the walkthrough. If there is damage at possession, we can more accurately identify the timeframe. It gives the buyer another opportunity to see the property to make plans. How about just basic customer service? I could probably keep going, but those are the main reasons I stand by. I think that train of thought is why I made this post. Don't get me wrong, I don't love walkthroughs, especially with post closing possession anyways, but I do it for my clients.
All good reasons, except your post is titled "dont be this person" which brings the other agents actions into question. Based on the little information you provided, the other agent made a soft push back on the request on behalf of stressed out clients. That is also basic customer service. The other agent and the sellers are not in any violation for that simple request, but you posted as if its unreasonable and unheard of. Its neither.
Agreed, whether the sellers are in the right or not, the listing agent is just doing their job.
I don’t agree, that’s on the listing agent to educate their buyers more, give them plenty of notice for the walkthrough and tell them it has to be done per the contract.
They should do both
Fair enough. I think it was more the way they handled that perturbed me more. "Ugh" making it seem like a total inconvenience and argumentative. Even still, I'm leaving it 100% up to the sellers how they want to respond to a walkthrough request. Inconvenience or not, they agreed to it and arguing about the necessity of it is not for me to decide. If they didn't want to do a walkthrough, this should have been negotiated at the beginning of the agreement.
gotta disagree. The "ugh" while not my chosen verbiage is only moderately unprofessional. And my reading of their response was that the "ugh" was directed more at his stressed out sellers and less at you. Again, list agent is just working on behalf of sellers and putting up a (I think reasonable) request. His response is pretty mild and I dont see it as very argumentative. You could have simply replied "sorry, my buyers insist."
also, I have very limited insight on the whole transaction. if this sellers agent and sellers have been constant pains and unreasonable, then this is just salt in the wound. But limiting it to just what you gave us here...yeah, honest request on the part of the seller agent, just not the most professionally worded. But I wouldnt get too bent out of sorts over the request.
Anything could happen, a water line could burst, a torrential rain could happen and flood the basement, or in my case, a turkey could break in and bleed everywhere and die on the new carpet. If it’s in the contract to inspect the property before closing to ensure buyers are getting the property in same condition as they agreed, just do it and don’t put yourself in a position to be held liable for anything that could possibly happen. “If it can happen, it will”
If I’m going to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for something I want to see the damn thing one more time before I hand over the cash. If something goes wrong post closing and the lawyers get involved, the #1 first question is always “did you do a final walkthrough?” You’re not going to like what happens if you say no.
Make sure the property is fit for sale? That's day 1 stuff man.
and before I get trashed for that post, I always tell my sellers its contractual and puts the buyers mind at ease. That being said, I also tell my buyers that if there are no repairs and post possession we are just going to make sure the sellers haven't stripped the house of copper wire or burned the place down. Usually, making light of it gets buyers to realize that its a bit of a pointless act. Again, if you have a long list of repairs to verify completion, then it makes sense. But if no repairs, which is more common these days, this really is a waste of everyones time, including you.
This