Question: How Sterile is a Seller Asked to Leave the House After Moving Out?

A reader questions: “I just sold my house on a short sale instead of let the banking company take it in foreclosure. I don’t know who bought it, and I don’t care; we’re just glad to be rid of it. My broker says the home must be “broom swept.” What does that mean? Am I expected to clean it up after moving out? How clean am I supposed to leave the house for the new home buyers?”

Answer: That’s a hot question. Stop for a minute to consider the status of many bank-owned homes. Dirt, filth and mold are often the least of buyers’ interests when they find all the conveniences are ripped out, the water heater has been stolen and the front doorway is boarded up.

Some banks don’t complete anything, and they assert that home is sold in “as is” shape. Homes in a seller’s ownership that are released over to a new buyer are different. It doesn’t count if that home is a short sale or a regular sale, sellers may have responsibilities to clean the house.

Legal Responsibilities for Cleaning a Home After a Sale In some states, real estate purchase contracts stipulate that the home is to be “broom clean,” meaning the seller should at least sweep the floor, the walls and ceiling. The language in some of these contracts is ambiguous.

General contracts don’t address the condition of the home apart from telling that the home should be left in essentially the same condition as it was when the offer was accepted. The Residential Purchase Agreement says the prop is sold in its present physical condition as of the date of acceptance, and the seller is to remove all individual property and junk.

To determine the extent of cleaning that you are contractually held to do upon abandoning, you should study your purchase contract.

Conventional Means to Exit a House After Moving In the absence of a legal necessity to clean the home before moving out, most sellers take particular steps on their own to present the home in an suitable shape to buyers. It’s understandable that after moving all day, sellers may be too tired to spend a lot of time cleaning.

Renting a cleaning help can be an excellent solution. Sometimes, listing brokers will pay to have the home professionally cleaned.

When purchasers bought a Boise home in a solid neighborhood, the listing broker inspected the home upon closing. He determined the carpet wasn’t good enough, so he hired carpet cleaners to shampoo the carpeting before the buyers moved in. He paid for the cleaning as a courtesy, not because he was obligated.

While most buyers will clean the home to their own standards before moving in, regardless of a sellers’ efforts, following is a list of things a seller can do to leave a home sensibly clean and produce goodwill:

Cleaning Inside the Home Before Moving Away * Get Rid Of all individual property. * Vacuum the carpets. * Clean kitchen appliances, inmost the icebox and oven, and wipe down counters. * Scrub sinks and baths. * Rub down interior cabinets and shelving units. * Wash tile and vinyl / linoleum flooring.

Cleaning the Garage * Move Out personal belongings. * Throw out scrap. * Properly dispose of toxicant chemical substances. * Sweep the flooring. * Stack items concerning to the home such as paint pots, roofing stuffs or extra flooring.

In sum, leave the home in the condition that you would like to find your new home. Recollect, the new home owners might acquire some of your mail by error or packages over the holidays. It’s a good idea to stay on nice terms with the new buyers. And it’s also the right thing to do.