Closing day walk through
 

How important is closing day walk through on resale house? What can you do if you can’t be there for some reason?

I would be there, if possible. Especially, if there was furniture in the house when you decided to buy it. You may see defects that were hidden by the furniture, pictures, rugs, etc. Also, you need to check to see if items that were supposed to remain are gone or replaced with inferior items. It happens.

Have someone do it on your behalf. No idea if this has EVER happened in the Villages, or to anyone that anyone on this forum has ever met, or known about. But it did happen to my cousin-in-law:

He closed on a house across the street from where he was already living; the new property was more suitable for his disabled son, easier parking, and better view of the beach half a block away. He closed without a final walk-through.

They went that evening to change the locks, and the previous owners had gutted it. Completely. No toilets, no sinks, the carpeting had been ripped up, the counter torn apart, the pipes sawed out of the walls. It took them over $50,000 and a month to fix it. They had already sold their old house and had to pay for a rental for a month while their new house was being repaired.

Caveat emptor, always. Always, always do a final walk-through on the day of sale. If you can't do it personally, arrange (or hire) for someone else to do it on YOUR behalf.

It’s very important. Is the house in the same condition as when you signed the contract. Has any damage occurred. If you cant attend the walk thru, can the agent who represented you on the buyers side attend the walk thru. Is everything in the same condition. Your agent owes you a fudicary duty to represent your best interest. Good luck.

Real estate agents DO NOT represent buyers. They only represent sellers. They may have a fiduciary duty, but they do not represent you as a buyer. I would not rely on a real estate agent to conduct a walk through on your behalf, as a buyer. Attend yourself, or get someone else to do it.

I have only a listing agent and the house is vacant.

I once had AC go out during walkthrough, I was told to watch for it from inspection report. Rather than repair, had seller pay for 1/2 of new AC.
Last closing here in TV, we found that the old furniture that was supposed to be removed, was not, and that the place was not close to being live-in cleanable. Had furniture removed and cleaning service called in from money withheld at closing. PS furniture was so bad that Salvation Army would not take it.

Getting a home inspector is a good idea. Or, if the house is vacant, you may want to get someone you know to go through the house and take detailed photos, several days before the closing, if possible.

I would go with the home inspector, you can call and discuss what was agreed to between you and the seller. The inspector can take pictures of any questionable items, probably $300 to $500 very well spent, if you cannot make it to closing.

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In that case I would do my best to attend. Retiredguy is incorrect, I’m as active real estate agent. There are sellers agents who listed the house and represents the sellers. there are buyers agents who took you to the house and represents the buyers. It would have cost you nothing to have been represents by your own agent. In your case the selling agent made the entire 6% commission, instead do splitting the commission with a buyers agent who incidentally would owe you a fudicary duty and would have been at the walk thru. I suggest that you have a conversation with the sellers agent and explain your situation, and inform her/him that should there be an issue if the condition of the house they would be dragged into a lawsuit. Back up the conversation with an email.

I would think that, if you paid for a professional inspection after signing the sales contract, that the same inspector would attend the walk through for a nominal fee.

I was hoping the original inspectors would do it, but they made it clear that they didn’t want to do the walk through.

There was no buying agent.

Sorry, but I am not incorrect. Real estate agents do not have a contractual agency relationship with buyers. A fiduciary duty is totally different from a legally binding agency contract. The only legally binding agency contract is between the real estate company and the seller. If the buyer does not pay any money to the real estate agent, then there cannot be a contract. Basic contract law. If a buyer tried to sue a real estate agent for improper representation, the case would be thrown out of court because they do not have a contract for representation. Sellers do have a contract. That is the difference.

I think I understand, I am not paying the listing agent and therefore they have no obligation to me. If the contract is not filled to the letter by the seller, do I have recourse? I can delay closing or walk away, but if I find that the seller did not do as promised after closing?

Unfortunately, the problem is that once you sign the closing papers, it is over, you own the house, and everybody goes home. The only recourse would be to hire a lawyer and sue the seller. Not a good option.

It would be difficult to sue, easier to check that everything is in order before closing. I am dealing with a very reputable real estate firm. But I do not have representation.

You could call Frank D'Angelo, the best home inspector in The Villages, and ask him to attend the walk through. His number is 352-250-7818. Just a thought. He often comments on this site. Another idea would be to ask for a video walk through where the agent takes a live video while you watch.

Thank you, I just sent him a message.

That really is the best thing to do. Frank D'Angelo is highly respected in TV. In our case, we purchased a new home that had been built by a company called West. When we arrived for our final walk through there was a rep from West here in the house, he walked through with us and picked up on several things we would have missed. For instance, our home came with blinds and there were no blinds, there was a chip on the back edge of the gas stove, I would never have seen it. The house had not been vacuumed. He made just one call and everything was done.

Wishing you much happiness in your new home and here in TV:icon_wink:

They did it because of the copper piping. Worth a small fortune at the time. They absolutely gutted the place to get the metal.

That’s one scary story about the home being stripped. We closed on the home we purchased long distance, we did hire a home inspector, then the morning of the closing our realtor Leigh Ebersole did a walk thru for us. Leigh was great and she had our trust so her word was as good as if we had been town to do the walk thru.

You were lucky.

Jazuela I just reread your post and it happened to your relative. I’m sorry he had to go through that. It is horrible. A good warning.

Finally, my husband and I are official Villagers.:):):):):):):):):)

Congratulations..

Congrats Velvet. You made it across the line a few days ahead of us. We are also excited about our upcoming change... but we still have a lot of moving to do ... ugh:faint:

Congrats!

Sorry, but you are wrong -- dead wrong!

Some agents DO represent the buyer and that's why they are called a "Buyer's Agent."

Then there are "Transaction Brokers" who show no fiduciary to either the buyer or the seller, but must, by law, handle the transaction fairly for both parties.

An agent can also represent the seller. You really need to know what the differences are before you give out erroneous information.

In the last section of your link, it says that the buyer pays no money to the buyer's agent. My point is that, if the buyer pays nothing to be represented, then he/she has no legal representation or the right to take any action against the agent for misrepresentation because there is no legal contract. Also, I have not seen any of the buyer's agency agreements, referred to in the link, ever offered or used in The Villages. I know several real estate agents, and they all say that they represent the seller. Has anyone ever signed a buyer's agent agreement?

Walk through...
 

Always do a walk through. It protects you from any surprises, as other posters have mentioned. You can have your Real Estate agent do it for you, as long as they know what to expect to see. You would need to take your agent on a walk through, prior to closing, so that they can see the property in the condition that you expect to receive it.

Please understand that there are 3 "types" of agents.

Sellers Agent: They represent the best interest of the Seller. Their fiduciary requirement is to the Seller. The will assist you, the Buyer, with the purchase, in the Sellers best interest. This is usually the agent you meet at an Open House. They are paid by the Seller.

Buyers Agent: They represent the best interest of the Buyer. Their fiduciary requirement is to you, the Buyer. The will assist you with the purchase, operating on your behalf. This is usually the agent you call and ask them to show you various homes. They are paid by the Sellers Brokerage Agency.

Dual Agency: In some states, if the agent represents both the Buyer and Seller, it is known as Dual Agency. The agent now has to be fair to both sides, but the fiduciary requirement is now towards the legal fulfillment of the sales contract. Personal interest or requirements of either the Buyer or Seller may, or may not, always be considered. They are paid by the Seller.

Many states require the agent to disclose to you, in writing, an Agency Disclosure that tells you who they represent. You should get this up front, before starting any transaction.


You can chose how you wish to go forward. Most transactions go smoothly with the Sellers agent assisting the Buyer. People usually only post the bad ones. You have the freedom to make you own choice. Just know your options.

Cheers!

Hire Frank DiAngelo to inspect the property. He found 9 items for the builder to fix on my New house. Best $300 I ever spent.

Re: Copper stripped from a home
 

I am a pack rat. When we got ready to sell our previous home, I had significant qualities of copper etc. If, I recall scrap copper was like $3,00 a pound. Our home had copper leaders and gutters on it. Frankly we recently looked at pictures on Zillow of our home we sold five years ago. The people who bought is obviously have put a lot of money into it. They must have hired someone to put new leaders and gutters on the home. They are now the thin aluminum that we all have here. I doubt the contractor told them what the scrap value was for the copper leaders and gutters.

I used the advice given in these threads at TOTV. DiAngelo told me how to proceed, the listing agent did the walk through and she FaceTimed me. I looked for what the home inspector told me to. I could see for myself everything I wanted to. The listing agent, realizing I was new to buying a house in Florida also suggested and put in a warranty clause for one year for me. The escrow company, Freedom Title, was beyond professional. To avoid email scam I asked them to mail me all documents to my current house. They were also picked up at my house and returned to escrow. I could not be happier with how the remote closing went through.

Well stated
 

I expect the author is a broker or sales agent.

As a buyer, most of us are way outclassed. Most of us do not buy and sell anything in the price range of a home on a regular basis.

Add to that that you are riding around with an agent who works for the seller. You are lulled into forgetting that the person driving the car is working for the seller. Usually you do not make the decision alone. Your significant other is there, your kids etc. You see a house. You say, forgetting it is NOT PRIVATE.
Lets offer xxxxxx if we have to we can go up from there. Of course the agent, who works for the SELLER would never say to the seller they are offering xxxxxxx but I think they will go up from there.

Experience years ago-not in Florida. At the time, the resale market stunk. We made a written offer on a home. We later discovered that the home was sold for less than our offer.
I called the ETHICS board for brokers. They wanted ME to appear for a hearing. Fines damages etc. I asked and was shocked by the answer as to who gets any fines, damages etc.
It goes to their group. Not to the buyer, the damaged party.

I agree

Good to hear
 

As someone else said with most things people tend to report bad. Most things go well and people being people do not report it.
HAPPY DAYS

Who pays has nothing to do with it. Actually, an agent's earnings normally come out of the proceeds from the sale. This is the case for sellers' agents, buyers' agents and transactional agents. If a buyer has a buyer's agency contract with a real estate agent that agent works for the buyer and is legally obligated to represent the buyer, not the seller. A buyer may of course separately hire and pay an agent.