One of the Most Important Aspects of Buying a House
The final walk through is easily one of the most important and all too often overlooked tasks of purchasing a home.
I can recount horror stories. Water pouring down a staircase leaps to mind. We walked to the front door of that townhouse, noticed it was open and then realized there was literally water pouring down the steps, out the door. That was horrifying. We got it all corrected by the Seller and closed the deal.
Another time, I discovered a broken window hidden behind a closed window blind. It caught my attention because the blinds had never been closed in this particular property. The occupants had lived with blinds up and stuff everywhere and never worried about closing a blind. And yet, at the walk through the blinds were suddenly all closed. That seemed fishy.
Sure enough, one of the blinds hid a broken window. Shot a photo over to the listing agent and it was immediately addressed with cash at closing from the seller.
Prior to Closing We Perform An Oft Overlooked Pre Closing Task
Recently, while performing a quick walk through of a custom home, I caught another issue for my buyer clients. Wouldn’t you know, it also involved water. In this case, an unfilled hot tub out back.
This particular hot tub is one of a kind. All wood, circular, built into the deck. It is really inviting, although devoid of water from the day we first viewed it to closing. The sellers insisted it would work, just needed a part. So we wrote into the contract for it to be operating at time of closing.
And there it was, the night before closing, empty. Not up and running. A red flag to be sure.
Last Minute Flurry of Calls
So begins a last minute flurry of phone calls. I’m calling and texting the listing agent. He’s calling his clients. I’m relaying all he says to my buyers.
“Oh, the part is here” he says. It’s to be installed 1st thing in the morning. “That’s nice” I reply, “but we are scheduled to close first thing in the morning.”
The Negotiator
I have to say, in this transaction the listing agent really was a negotiator. He negotiated everything. Little things, like the start time of the home inspection had been a negotiation. I mean, it was endless. Little or big, always a negotiation.
So I knew, starting this conversation on the hot tub, this was going to be a negotiation.
Just Negotiating The Important Things
I also believed in my heart, this would be one of the important ones.
Previously, I had done my best to get a significant price reduction at the time we wrote our contract to purchase. The house, btw, appraised for full price. At this price point, that tells me a lot – very good value for clients. I had done my job well then and and now I needed to come through big time once more.
Why A Part Is Such A Big Deal
You might be wondering, why is a part such a big deal. Well, this isn’t your standard, out of the box hot tub. It is a one of a kind custom build. The hardware to run it is 40 feet away, in a special cabinet. Pipes run underground ferrying hot water to and fro. The tub is built into the decking.
Quite simply, its not something we can just replace.
So having the right part and the hot tub up and running is important.
I’m going to also add, the Sellers are really good people. They have opened their house and hearts to us. Walked my clients through the various systems (there is way more to this house than your average place). We like them. But the tub wasn’t working like the contract stipulated.
And, no one took 30 seconds to point out the discrepancy before the walk through. So, it feels a little off. you know what I mean?
A Gentleman’s Agreement
We arrive at a two part solution. We will amend the contract to have the hot tub up and running by the date of possession. Since the part is now in and a technician is all lined up, this sounds good to all parties.
And the listing agent will place some of his commission on hold and agree to cover the cost of necessary repairs if the hot tub isn’t working.
Now, would that side-agreement necessarily hold up in court? Maybe, maybe not. But it puts more weight into the scenario than just everyone saying the hot tub will be fixed.
Getting to Yes on that gentleman’s agreement was an all-nighter.
We talked about our concerns from the walk through to evening. Everyone was involved. Before we actually closed, there were pow wows between the other agent and I, as well as me and my clients. And even as we all agreed verbally, there was a last minute typing of the acknowledgement, to have it hold everyone on target.
It took some doing to get to yes.
And we closed on time, which was of paramount importance to all parties. When it comes to your next house, especially if I’m not your Realtor, just remember, do your final walk through before you close.
It can save clients a lot of hassle and heart ache when you should be enjoying your new home!
About the author. Bob Gordon is a Realtor with twenty plus years experience. Blogging since 2012. Passionate about assisting clients and providing great communication and solid negotiation skills. Which, really, is what An Oft Overlooked Pre Closing Task is all about. Hear what my clients are saying about their experiences with me now.