starting renovations before closing

[Yocheved Beer]

Hi all,

I have a property which is under contract! The closing that they want is in at least 70 days though. Since the house is vacant can I request to do the renovations now?

[Charlie MacPherson]

You can request it, but why on earth would you invest in or work on a property that you do not yet own?

Sure, it's under contract, but there are tons of things that can go wrong between now and closing.  Seller gets sick.  Seller dies.  You lose your job.  Fire damage to the property.  Interest rates spike making a good deal not so good anymore.  Flood damage.  A tree falls and wrecks the roof.

That list goes on and on ad nauseam. 

If something happens and makes the closing either impossible or undesirable, you lose whatever time and money you've put into that property.

Worse, if damage or loss to the property can somehow be traced back to work you or your contractors did, guess who is getting sued.  Yep.  You are.

I hope that's enough to convince you that working on a property before you own it is a HORRIBLE idea.