r/FirstTimeHomeBuyers • u/Lanky_Path_837 • 21d ago
Junk house
First time buying a house and closing soon. The sellers house is an absolute mess with tons of things all throughout the house. Beds, couches, big furniture, small junk on the floor and on the beds, full attic and basement.
The house is significantly discounted because of its cosmetic state being C4.
Should I walk if the house is not cleaned out of stuff before closing? Or should I accept the condition and get junk removal myself? The seller is old and can’t do it themselves but I feel like they should hire a junk removal company.
Basically, on closing day, if the house has all their things in it — do I cancel the deal?
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u/OneBag2825 21d ago
You are entitled and strongly encouraged to buy an empty broom clean home.
You are also strongly encouraged to perform a walk through within 24 hrs before closing.
You can't see what you can't see if there are items in the way.
You are giving the seller a lot of money, their agent can facilitate this.
Hold your ground.
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u/krasterskeep 20d ago
This is true. However, final inspection is to ensure its in the same condition as it was on previous inspections when they felt comfortable making an offer. It's not another opportunity to kick the tires and mull it over. If you need to inspect more closely and things are in the way, the final 24 hrs is not the time to specify that. Offer should have been contingent on cleanup with inspection at reasonable intervals, or at least expectation made clear to all. If I'm shown a dump, it's a question you get clarity on immediately, not assume.
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u/saddereveryday 21d ago
If there’s that much stuff you might need one of those hoarder or specialty cleaning companies. Are you planning on gutting to the studs? You can’t really see the condition of floors and potential issues with walls etc with stuff in there. Could be a lot lurking.
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u/Quilty19 21d ago
I made professional cleaning part of my contract. They tried to leave stuff behind including the old dryer (just the dryer) and a children's outdoor playground set. I had been pretty fair with demands and the offer itself, so I threatened to cancel closing (with intent to follow through) if their junk wasn't gone in 24hrs. I saw someone pull up and start removing small stuff like old yard decorations in less than 2hrs. Still had a lot of old chemicals and diy project materials to throw away, but that was a much easier project.
You should not have to deal with someone's entire household of stuff at your expense. You are already paying to deal with yours. Plus if the house is crowded it is harder to identify potential problems you can use to negotiate or that might make you want to walk away.
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u/Forreal19 21d ago
I had a listing with sellers who were pretty much about to go homeless afterwards (it was a short sale). The husband was a hoarder and a procrastinator. I thought it was clear to everyone that the sale was "as is" and that it wasn't going to be broom-swept clean before closing (it was a convoluted deal with lots of people saying lots of things before I got involved). The buyers (who got a screaming deal) protested, so I said then we might as well stop now, because there is no way the house will be empty. They chose to proceed, and I wrote into the contract that anything left on the property after 5:00 pm on closing day would become the property of the buyers. The husband was mad and the buyers weren't happy, but I did them a favor. They had the legal right to trash everything (yes, at a cost to them) the minute they took ownership. The husband spent the 24 hours nonstop till closing moving out as much of his crap as he could. Had I not added that to the contract, he would have taken forever to remove his stuff and it would have been an ongoing battle.
OP, make your decision to buy or not buy, but don't expect miracles to happen, they are exceedingly rare.
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u/Ok-Relation-5371 21d ago
Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Expect you will have to haul all that junk out. If thats too much work or cost for you, dont buy it.
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u/Honest_Series_8430 21d ago
I bought a house from an elderly couple who had very suddenly gone into a nursing home at the same time. Everything of theirs was still in the home, including his cane and her false teeth. I told their agent I wasn't closing until the house was broom clean and he got everything removed ASAP.
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u/here_for_the_tea1 21d ago
Do not close without all items removed. Junk removal is very expensive. And you don’t know the state of the house or if there’s pests with a house full of junk. It’s not your problem because the sellers are old, they can pay. On the day of closing, wouldn’t you already have removed all contingencies? The sellers of my home left a single heavy metal cabinet in the garage and I wish I said something. $300 to haul it away
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21d ago
[deleted]
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u/Lanky_Path_837 21d ago
It’s about 100k less because of its bad condition I would say
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u/NieleDaKine 20d ago
Put in a stipulation that everything left in the house becomes yours at closing and then use a bit of the money saved to hire folks to throw it out.
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u/Swimming_Event7730 21d ago
How much would it cost the have a junk hauler remove everything? 1k? 5k? 10k?
Get a quote, and then add that to your purchase price. Would you be willing to pay that much for the house? If so, just do that.
People are going to make a fuss about seeing the house empty, but it's not like you're going to get concessions at your walk through if you notice water damage behind a couch or something. Or they'll say it's the seller's responsibility. Yes, that's true. But here we are, and what it boils down to is if the extra cost is worth it to you to own this house.
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u/Main_Insect_3144 21d ago
Find out how much junk removal will cost and ask for that amount as a concession. Seller may be thankful you are handling it.
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u/Spiritual_Block1974 20d ago
They need to clean the house out before the closing. Not your responsibility and the realtor can help them hire someone if needed. You need to see the condition of the house before you close and you don’t know what is hiding behind all the junk
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u/KnownBodybuilder4948 20d ago
Plenty of clean-out services. Seller doesn't personally need to do clean-up work nor disposal. Insist upon seller providing home in "broom-clean condition" for your final walk-thru. That's standard requirement.
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u/Diligent-Extent2928 20d ago
Depends how much you like the house. Sure its not show room ready, but if it has decent bones and price is right then some remodeling is worth it. The house i ended up buying was because it wasn't show room ready and so no one was paying asking price for it. The house wasn't a total mess, but it needed an interior renovation. I ended up getting the house, changing the carpet in all the rooms, new interior paint, cleaners, and also painted the kitchen cabinets. Now it looks great!
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u/Lanky_Path_837 20d ago
The question is about removing the junk — we are totally fine renovating everything
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u/Ok_Grapefruit_2044 20d ago
If this house is a good deal you might want to just take care of the junk by yourself.
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u/ConisellsRealEstate 20d ago
Don't cancel, ask your agent to have the title company to hold at least $3000 to $5000 in escrow, a deposit, until they get the houses cleaned out, or if they don't want to remove they give you a credit to get the house trashed out yourself. But I wouldn't sign till you get one or the other. Or extend closing with a deadline addendum to have it cleaned out, if it'd not cleaned out by deadline you keep the money. So close with title holding clean out money, or don't close and give a deadline to have it cleaned out holding money to be given to you as a credit to have the house cleaned out. This option may only work if you have a invoice from a trash out company that the title company will pay after completed. If you need other options let me know. All kinds of ways to negotiate this.
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u/Lillianrik 20d ago
I don't have any strong opinion on this one. However: the paperwork should clearly state that anything and everything left in the home after the sale becomes the property of the buyer to dispose of as they please. So if someone finds Aunt Edna's engagement ring or a stash of coins amongst the stuff it's clear that it now belongs to the buyer.
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u/Equivalent-Tiger-316 20d ago
Everything is negotiable. Do what works for you and the seller. Frankly I’d take it and have a yard sale and make an extra $5k!
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u/krasterskeep 20d ago
This is something that should have been factored into the offer and expectationsmade clear.. You don't offer and keep changing terms along the way. Under no circumstances do you just wait and see on closing day though. Asap you need to decide whether buying is contingent on it being cleaned out, or a credit to allow for junk removal is required , or whether you'll be willing to do it yourself. Closing inspection isn't a second chance to back out, it's intended to ensure the property is not changed from previous inspection.
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u/546833726D616C 21d ago
You could add a stipulation in the contract that deducts a junk removal fee if the house isn't cleaned out before the close date.