A few weeks ago, I was scheduled to have a listing of mine close at 12pm on a Thursday. The buyer’s agent called me from the final walk-through inspection the day before – with his buyers frantic.
“It’s completely dirty!” he exclaimed. “It looks like a bank owned home. The cabinets and floors have not been swept, there’s dirt and dust everywhere, and there are personal belongings left behind and the oven looks like it wasn’t EVER cleaned.
And they took EVERY LIGHTBULB OUT OF THE HOUSE!”
YIKES.
I had discussed common courtesy with my clients – about how to leave a home for possession – vacant of all belongings inside and out + clean. *To be fair – a professional cleaning was not written into offer on buyer’s side…but I believe its hard to define “professional” clean from a legal standpoint anyways! Turns out my sellers had a personal emergency to manage – that affected their move out (which they did not share with me!)
In this case, I profusely apologized. Contacted my sellers and they went back to the home to clean it immediately and remove the rest of their items, some of which they thought they were just leaving for the new Buyers!
**But again, these items were not confirmed or requested by the buyers.
It can be confusing when you move out. What stays…what goes? If you have paint, flooring, tile, lightbulbs!!!!!, flower pots that match deck etc. – is it courtesy to leave – or is it going to cause an issue!
I always say ask first – on both buyer and seller side – do NOT assume!
Customary Ways to Leave a Home After Moving
Most Sellers are good about leaving a home in presentable condition for the new Buyer. It’s understandable that after moving all day, sellers may be too tired to spend a lot of time cleaning, so it’s a good idea to plan to move one day and clean the next so you don’t feel rushed on possession date. An alternative would be to hire a cleaning service to do a thorough deep cleaning – after you move out!
Many Sellers ask me “So how clean is clean enough?”
Best advice is leave the home in the condition you’d want to find it in – if you were the buyer. Pretty darn spic-n-span! If you look at the rule’s renters have to follow when vacating their rental to get their damage deposit back – it is very specific and intense!
While many Buyers will clean the home to their own standards before moving in, regardless of a Sellers’ own cleaning efforts (everyone’s opinion of clean is just different!) here is a list of things a Seller can do to leave a home clean and create goodwill with the Buyer:
Cleaning Inside the Home Before Moving Out
- Remove all personal property.
- Vacuum the carpets & floors, mop tiled areas.
- Clean kitchen appliances, inside the refrigerator and oven, and wipe down counters.
- Scour sinks and tubs.
- Wipe down interior cabinets and shelves.
- Clean out the garage.
- Remove ALL personal belongings.
- Throw away trash.
- Don’t forget your patio/lawn furniture, gas grill, etc.
- Stack items pertaining to the home such as paint cans, roofing materials or extra flooring and leave them for the new buyer, if they want them!!!!
Leave the home in the condition you would hope to find it in if you were moving in. Keep in mind, some of your mail might come to the Buyers after you leave, and you want them to forward it on or allow you to pick it up. Besides the fact that you will create goodwill, it is the right thing to do.
Don’t Forget…
Lastly – a nice note telling buyers about things like garbage day, where the mailbox is, details about plants in garden, local services available for lawn cutting/snow removal – plus anything else home related – is such a nice touch!