House contract issue

[Joel Owens]

Okay so nothing exciting. I am helping my brother-in-law buy a house. I haven't looked at residential in almost a decade ! LOL

I only do the commercial side of apartments and triple net. Wow have so many things changed since then.

Anyways we are almost about to go under contract on a house for them. We are down to the last detail to work out. Listing broker is very nice and experienced. The issue is she always recommends to her sellers to move items days after closing so possession is 4 days after our scheduled closing date.

She says many times she has had listings where the closing didn't happen and seller moved out and then were stuck. I understand that but at the same time it presents a bunch of risk for my buyer. The sellers could take weeks longer to move after closing than anticipated. Meanwhile my buyer has paid taxes and other pro-rated fees based on owning the property that length of time. If the seller doesn't get out it can also create a holdover tenant issue where you have to evict.

The other fact is that the sellers furniture etc. will not be moved out so on walk out inspection there could be holes in walls or stains in carpet you can't see right now that cost money to repair. They could also scratch hardwood floors when moving or bang up walls getting furniture especially if a moving company does it or leave trash behind. I am just not comfortable at all with the situation.

I was thinking of adding a clause where the sellers do not get all proceeds from closing and a certain amount was held back in escrow for any default damages that occurred or extra days needed before they moved out. I mentioned maybe the sellers could move all their stuff to the garage days before closing so the buyers could see everything moved out to inspect before closing.

I know you can also charge the sellers rent etc. past the closing date but it's the condition and damages I am worried about.

Looking for ideas.

[Jon Holdman]

I don't like it. I want possession at closing. And I agree with a final walk though just before closing. Can you just push back and see if they back down? Yeah, closings get delayed, but usually not at the very last minute (unless dealing with a bank on a REO.)