fix it list after escrow closed

[nightvision]

Hi all,
I just want to take this moment and vent a little. Ok, on Dec. 10, 2008 we sold mom's 50 years old house. Escrow was closed and everyone was happy. Today, Dec. 15, 2008, the realtor called us and said that the buyer complained that we did not clean the oven and there was no mail box. I thought to myself, this should have been included in the fix it list that we have completed before we closed escrow. We did have a fix it/clean it list before we turned over the keys, which we completed. My brother and sisters spent two entire months to clean up the house and remodel the house. Yes, we probably did not clean the oven as an oversight. We did not put up a new mail box b/c I figure the new owner could pick one of his likings and put in a location that he wishes.

I told the realtor, I want to do the right thing, so I told the realtor that I'll send my sister over and she can clean the oven to their satisfaction. The buyer can pick out a mail box and we will pay for it (say below $50) and I'll put it up. Well, the realtor told me that we should get a cleaning service to clean the oven and a handiman to put up the mail box (instead of me) to avoid any future problems/liablities. This sounds so crazy, but I guess I'll just do what she say to keep the peace. My 70 years old mother moved in with me and I don't want this issues to be be a problem for us. What do you folks think? What would you do? I wonder if the fix it list after escrow closed is common?

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Sounds like some major nitpicking to me .... go clean the oven and put a $25 mailbox on the exterior wall next to the front door. Done. Bye, bye house. Bye, bye problems.

 

[mlukich]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Personally, if it wasn't on the original fix-it list I wouldn't do a darn thing... If you take responsibility for this, then you've set precedence and they may want even more stuff taken care of later - even stuff that they break!

I had a buyer close on my house in Florida after we took care of all things he and home inspection wanted taken care of. About 3 months later my realtor calls and says the buyer had a tree guy come and tell him the oak tree in the front yard was diseased and had to come down. The buyer wanted ME to pay for it to the tune of several hundred dollars. I said NO and he threatened to sue... I said go ahead if you think you can win... I guess he talked to his realtor or a lawyer because I never heard from him again. (And no, I did not know the tree had problems when we sold the house...)

Maybe I'm just an insensitive b00b but that's the way I see it...

Mark

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Cheapest mailbox and quick clean on the oven....... then NO MORE. It is a 50 yo house and the oven is used.

I would not do a thing more.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

having been a Realtor/Broker. if it was not on the to do list, you are not obligated to do anything. the buyer should have done a preclosing inspection, to make sure everything was done, prior to closing. if it was not, then an escrow account should have been set up, to take care of the undone items. it has closed, and it is now theirs. if nothing else give them $50.00 and tell them they are lucky to get that.

 

[rwise]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

I'd tell them I am doing nothing more, buy it or I'll sell it to someone else! But thats me,,,,

 

[Bondo]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Escrow was closed and everyone was happy.
Well, the realtor told me that we should get a cleaning service to clean the oven and a handiman to put up the mail box (instead of me) to avoid any future problems/liablities.

having been a Realtor/Broker. if it was not on the to do list, you are not obligated to do anything. the buyer should have done a preclosing inspection, to make sure everything was done, prior to closing. if it was not, then an escrow account should have been set up, to take care of the undone items. it has closed, and it is now theirs. if nothing else give them $50.00 and tell them they are lucky to get that.

Ayuh,....

I Completely Agree......

Personally,.... I'd tell both the Realtor,+ the New Owner to Go Pound Salt......

 

[gonefishie]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Sounded like the buyer is a major winer. When I bought my first house there was a to do list and it was completed except for one thing. I inspected the more important items to make sure they got done and done properly, which they were. The one thing the contractor didn't get done was an open junction box in the attic. I didn't care, signed the paper, bought a new box cap and put it in myself.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

actually many times the Broker, will have these little things done, to keep their buyer happy, so they use the Broker, when they sell. I've paid for many petty items, to keep a buyer happy. the broker made plenty of $$$, with the present commission rates.

 

[Beefer]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

After closing, the transaction is, well... CLOSED. 'nuff said.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Am I remembering right but the term is broom clean when a house is sold.

 

[DJ]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Stay out of it. If you do what they want, you set a precedent and they will come back for more.

It's done.

 

[eaglejim]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

The is not yours anymore why should you have to fix or clean anything? And what did they do eat out from the 10th to the 15th,and what if you did not live nearby? cut them loose of course in a nice way

 

[mthieme]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

I agree with the majority.
Sounds like a done deal already.

Went through this when we sold the wife's house.
New buyer kept asking for more.
"No" worked out well.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Did they identify this during the pre-close walkthrough??

If they didn't have one, they should have.

If not, then sorry. Thats what it is for..

 

[UnregisteredUser]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

Having bought a 80+ year old home from the adult offspring of the last owner, I wished I had made a fix it/clean it list for them. I was trucking at the time and my wife picked out the home, she and her father did the final inspection, and he also helped her move in. Like I said, I was on the road trucking long haul between North Eastern Canada and Mexico, so I had very little home time back then.

To make a long story short,,, we had no mailbox, the stove did not work, neither did the hot water heater, and there was about 12 tons of trash and scrap steel scattered over the 17 acres we bought with the house.

Wanna guess what kind of Honey Do list I had when I got home from nearly a month on the road.

Let them fix/clean and post mailboxes till their little hearts are content.

 

[roscoe]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

You all do thing a little different out in CA. The whole escrow mess and all.

Around here, if it isn't in the original offer/contract, or part of an inspection contingency, it doesn't get done.

Certainly NOTHING gets done after the closing.

Time for them to find a new tune to whistle, and a new audience.

 

[salty87]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

the joy's of owning a home....'bout time they started learning them.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: fix it list after escrow closed

actually many times the Broker, will have these little things done, to keep their buyer happy, so they use the Broker, when they sell. I've paid for many petty items, to keep a buyer happy. the broker made plenty of $$$, with the present commission rates.

Good point td, he should throw it in the agents lap at this point. He should be bending backward to make this deal stick as deals are pretty far and few between these days.

I think the buyer is playing games in recognition of the market situation, it's your turn to return the ball.