Seller belongings still in the house during final walk-through
Sellers leaving belongings or junk behind prevents buyers from verifying the actual condition of the property and inspecting for hidden damage before closing. This leaves buyers vulnerable to property damage or having to deal with unwanted items themselves.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Delaying the closing date until the property is completely emptyDid this help you?
- 2Requiring the seller to leave a large financial deposit in escrow to cover potential damages or cleaning costsDid this help you?
- 3Drafting a rent-back agreement with strict clauses and deadlinesDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I just found out that our sellers won’t have their belongings moved out in time for our final walk-through and agent has told us that this is really our only option.”source ↗
“What if damage occurs when things are moved out? What if they take appliances?”source ↗
“When I did my walk through the day before the closing I found that the sellers had left junk everywhere for me to clean out.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 12How to fix laminate floor damage before moving out without losing deposit
- 3How do you stop losing things during a cross-country move?
- 4Why do visitors leave product pages without buying?
- 4How to clean an empty house quickly before moving in
- 10How to liquidate unsold physical inventory without massive losses
- 2Found roach bait and droppings in new apartment