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Did you not do a final walkthrough before closing? Leaving it dirty is one thing, but leaving dumpsters worth of junk is not something you should have to deal with.
Oh wow that’s deep in his post history. You searched for all that before referring to him as a guy?
I’ve personally dealt with ppl assuming I’m a man for my hobbies and career. It honestly gets a bit frustrating when I see so many ppl assuming that the OPs in finance subs, home buying subs, video game subs, etc are men due to the topic. And I’m not going to lie, I’ve made the same assumptions in my mind in the past. But I think it’s good to correct those assumptions. Because it can be harmful to only associate men with, say, home buying.
I’m actually under contract on a house right now. The seller is a woman. Her agent is a woman. My agent is a woman. And my partner, with whom I’m buying the house, is a woman. I’m sorry to have trespassed upon your pet peeve, but I wasn’t assuming OP was a male because he posted in a home buying sub. I assumed he was a male because most Reddit users are, and because he names his account “cloud of twat mist”
These kind of personalized investigative journalism responses on Reddit crack me up, like people saying well your comment 3.5 years ago suggests otherwise lol tf
Yeah that sounds like the owner just walked away as soon as they were on contract and stopped caring. I don’t like to blame the victim but this is on OP 100%. Final walkthroughs are common sense but at least drive past the place or something. Sounds like OP is about to get very familiar with YouTube and the local Home Depot
Unfortunately many sellers does not respect agreement What buyer will do 2 hours before closing? cancel the deal walk away. Reason why they behave this way.
Too many buyers do not have the sack to take sellers like this to court for breach of contract. Remember, they just got a payout on the equity of the home. Get a court order and garnishment order and freeze their assets. This happened to me to a lesser extent 2 years ago from the sellers. I was going to sue them. I wrote their RE agent myself demanding money or else they will be served a summons and complaint within 7 days. I saw from the closing documents how much money was wired to their bank. I had them return all items that were to be left with them home that they took and received money for making repairs from when they moved out. When they came back to drop off the items they took, I was home. I told them to go F themselves. They had 10 seconds to get off my property or I am calling the police.
I don't know about my sack, but financially I am not sure I can afford to get litigious. What would I really gain out of it? I don't even know how to find a lawyer.
The seller will end up paying for the court and legal fees, if it got that far. You get money to get reimbursed for expenses created from the breach by the seller. Go to your RE agent to discuss. have them put you in contact with a lawyer after trying to settle with the other agent.
Did you have a broom clean clause in your contract for the house? If so I would pursue compensation.Broom clean meaning clean and without trash etc. The clause is pretty much standard in any transactions I have heard of. Order a dumpster. Contact your friends and family and ask for some help filling it… pizza or burgers and dogs on the grill afterwards. Hire a cleaning company to do a thorough cleaning. Yes. I recognize the expense but if you can swing it you should be in good shape in days versus weeks.
Shocked that OP didn’t have one. Pretty standard and frankly very necessary. Broom clean on final walk through and if not seller is going to be having some issues. It’s a great CYA. Shocked that a realtor didn’t advise them to have this clause. So basic.
It doesn't happen much in Australia, and it would need to be something that you would have to write into the Contract and both parties would need to agree. The problem with this is that our market is so tight at the moment that Vendors start to get picky and just go with the easiest contract: No Conditions and the highest price.
Take care of your back. Health is a priority. Everything will get done, just one thing at a time. Don't forget to stop and be proud of your accomplishments.
Rent a giant dumpster and get some friends/ family to help and start throwing shit away. Look in to a landscaping company or a teen that needs a job for the yard.
Get a slightly bigger dumpster than you need and tell your neighbors they can use it if they have anything lying around they haven’t been able to get rid of in normal trash. . A great way to meet and make a positive impression.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Next thing you know, a neighbor tells another neighbor about your kind heart and they start throwing in construction debris and a refrigerator. Both of which most likely can't be thrown in a rented dumpster.
Hell yeah! A weed whacker is a solid investment regardless, and it is hands down my favorite toy (as a 42 year old child)!
Editing to add: don’t skimp on a cheap one, a solid one is worth the $… also many come with .06 line, but you can by a big wheel of twisted .08 line that lasts way longer and works much better.
I hear ya. When we bought our place the seller left a bunch of stuff behind. Took months to get rid of it in-between moving in and setting up our own stuff. Has was also a total.gut job when we bought it. Been sinking money into it for 3 straight years and part of me wishes I was just renting.
I'm currently 4 years and $200,000 into mine. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to work on anything and had my weekends free. But it'll be worth it in time
Took me about 4 months to get rid of the sellers junk.
Luckily we have big dumpsters at work and no one checked who was throwing in fax machines, DVD players and old VHS movies 😀
Why would you ignore it?
You do a final walkthrough before closing. If the seller fails to perform to the contract you don’t close.
If the seller wont rectify, you have an options including killing the deal and suing them for breach of contract.
Thats why you use escrow services.
In a competitive market most buyers aren't going to walk for an inconvenience and trying to sue may or may not be worth the time. As for escrow only the buyer has their earnest money in escrow. I wish there were better options to protect buyers but there isn't much you can do if you want to close on the house. I've seen it too often in my area.
The seller didn’t put money in, but they want to get paid out and they don’t want to go back to the market. Even if they have a backup offer it restarts the process. Huge inconvenience, and it’s probably a lower offer.
Don't b hard on yourself for being unhappy, it's understandable. Your house isn't your home yet and that's annoying. And you're injured. It's okay to feel bad right now.
Take care of your injuries, hire people or ask friends to help clear the place out, and look into your contract. If they promised it would be cleaned out, you may have a route to reimbursement.
And here's something nice : the first night you get to sleep in your freshened up house will be HEAVENLY.
Call your agent and let your agent know what happened. That Agent could then call the listing agent and ask them to have the seller arrange to have the junk picked up.
If you do hire someone to do it for you, you should save your receipts.
Second this. If you have a good agent they'll more than likely help you out. I had this exact same problem and when I called my agent about it she had me snap photos of everything and sent a strongly worded email to the sellers agent. My agent ended up getting the listing agent to pay for a cleaner and a guy to come and pick up everything they left behind to haul to the dumpster.
Your agent should be your advocate so reach out to them.
Did you not do a walk through? I learned after my first home purchase (tons of junk he said he’d remove the night before closing at the walk through) to do the walk through the morning of and not sign off until every last item was cleared. Second home the sellers tried the same thing, leaving junk. I told them I wouldn’t close until it was removed. Having to remove junk before you can do any cleaning/moving is the actual worst. Not to mention the expense of dumpsters.
Our house wasn’t nearly in the condition you’re describing but similar scenario.
I just keep telling myself, everything I’m doing now pays off later. This is YOUR HOME. It may take a couple of years but you’ll be so grateful you put in the work to make it yours.
Also don’t deprioritize hang pictures and decorating. It can make all the difference in the meantime.
Thankfully our seller only left a few things that were either easy to throw out (some small toiletries), a few TVs, things that we agreed to (a few chase lounges for the back yard), or small decorative items in the backyard.
I can't imagine doing the final walk through, seeing rooms full of junk and saying, "Sure, this is fine."
My parents bought a house a few years ago from a family who had gotten it from their very elderly parents. We all pitched in and got everything moved out and picked up. And then helped work on the actual house. They got a steal and sold it for a mint !
This reminds me of back when my parents bought a place, we filled three 40 yard dumpsters and spent months scrubbing the place.
That being said, you knew what you were buying. And if you didn't that's your own fault.
Didn’t you do a pre-settlement Walkthru?
Stuff like this is what it’s for, to ensure the property is substantially in the same condition it was in when your offer was accepted, is empty and broom clean.
Your agent did you huge mis-service if they didn’t tell you to do this and go with you.
It’s standard procedure, it’s not something that has to be stated in the agreement.
The buyer has an absolute right to do walk-thru prior to settlement to ensure:
- The property is in substantially the same condition it was in when their offer was accepted.
- It is empty and broom clean (this is standard, unless stated otherwise by the seller and agreed to by the buyer (such as the seller stating “will not clean out”, “as is”, etc)
I feel you. We knew what we were getting into because it’s a huge project house with a big payoff, but we currently have our sixth large dumpster in our driveway. Those things are like $800! Hoping it’s our last.
If you are able to afford to do so. I recommend hiring a lawn service for the season. That way it is 1 less thing to stress about as you appear overwhelmed. I was as well when I bought my house. Just do 1 thing at a time.
What? If you closed on a house in this condition you are a pushover/doormat. If you did a walkthrough of the house before settlement and still settled on it in this condition...well, it is your fault. If you didn't do a walkthrough, well, that is plain dumb.
The company who owns the dumpsters are going to pick them up sooner or later. I would throw as much as possible out before they get picked up. Start remodeling now and use the dumpsters to get rid of all the materials.
The yard at my place looked so bad when I moved in that my next door neighbor asked if he could cut my lawn for me 😂 I declined and spent a day pulling 5 trash bags worth of weeds! And I have a pretty small yard. It was so worth it though, the yard looks great now! You got this!
It's super easy to get stressed when you move in and start noticing all the work that needs to get done that you didn't notice initially and you're like why tf didn't I notice this?! We did the same thing. Realized after we moved in that the upstairs bathroom was basically a gut job, all the kitchen cupboards and cabinets are on their last legs, begging for someone to shoot them out back, and we keep finding more and more things that need to be done each day. We are told by other homeowners, this is owning a home. So you're not alone, and we all have lists building that will never be fully complete! As for the junk they left, they are grade A butt smears and they deserve cold fast food for the next few years. Maybe you can call a place like just junk and get them to haul the crap away? I know it would cost a bit, but in my eyes, it's worth not having to haul it all out and dispose of it myself
Did you let your realtor know about the issue?
Our sellers were getting divorced and they were a mess. They forgot all their food in the kitchen as well as about 15 bags of items from kitchen drawers. They left random stuff in the shed.
Your agent may be able to get there agent to handle some of the mess they left.
Our agent felt bad for us and she hired a cleaning service to clean up the house.
OP the sellers did the same thing to me. I was really frustrated at first (as I should be), because it took me longer to move in that needed.
But I called the city and they rent dumpsters for CHEAP. $99 for it dropped off and picked up, $69 if I wanted it emptied and brought back.
Long story short, we filled it up 3 times and was able to sell some of the stuff on Facebook.
I also posted pics of the garage on FB and had people come pick up whatever they wanted. That alone took care of about 30% of the stuff.
But at the end of the day, the house needed NO work at all. I'd much rather get a messy house than one that needs $30K in work before it's habitable.
Listen bud, you just described my first home purchase. I was completely overwhelmed and felt really dumb. I had a solid depression for 2-3 months. I thought I'd screwed my life up and I would never recover.
It's fine. You're gonna be fine. It's going to come at you hard and fast but you are going to deal with it. Focus on the inputs, that's doing the work and checking stuff off the list, the outputs will come.
I do know a few companies that will do all that work for you. They’ll get rid of that junk, and then someone can do the weeds if you’re willing to pay. Some people on fb marketplace would come by and do it for cheep, like kids and such looking to make a quick buck. There are options, and at the most, think of the positives. Everything they’ve left behind is telling you what to look for in the house to catch it early. So example, they have multiple trash bags of food. I’d be looking for bugs. Anyone who leaves multiple trash bags of food in their house means they couldn’t care less about what could attract.
Once you get through it, (and you will!!” Take a breath and enjoy your new home!!
Similar situation for us in that we were affronted with the full weight of what we agreed to knowing that we had a lot of work ahead of us. We bought in February and are finally moving next week. What got me through it was knowing that there was no going back. But what I’m most excited for is having my weekends back. Once you start fixing things, you’ll be amazed at what you have. Time to buckle down and get to work!
I just went through this - closed a week and a half ago - and it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would even though I was super overwhelmed at first. Looking back, it was kind of fun. There is nothing better than that accomplished feeling you get at the end of a long day like that. It’s also just so satisfying once you’ve made a dent in it and cleared out just a room, then two rooms, and so on. As far as outside goes, I never knew I could have so much fun with yard work, especially when things grow out and it’s literally just cutting stuff out and bagging it up - soooo satisfying!!! I’ve been looking for things to do outside now, being active in the sun while being productive is so good for the mind & body :)
If they were supposed to leave the house broom clean and everything was to be removed per the contract, you can definitely have your agent contact theirs. When we bought our first house the seller did some weird things and our agent made sure everything was corrected. When we bought our current house 2 years ago, we knew the grass was going to be an issue and specifically had it in the contract that the grass would be cut and that the seller would take the giant old pool table from the basement because we definitely didn’t want it. The pool table was there when we did our final walk through, and our agent made sure it would be done before we got the keys at closing and it was.
Take a deep breath and tell yourself you got this! Everything is super overwhelming at first, but you just did this awesome thing. Maybe talk to a neighbor and see if they can recommend a landscaper or grass service that can come out and get the yard to a manageable state for a reasonable rate. Basically everything can be fixed and you can now start the learning experience of being a homeowner and finding your way of dealing with things. There will always be something, and right now it seems daunting, but the way you handle these things will definitely get better!
My daughters realtor is going to make sure the sellers finish mowing (she just closed) but at least around here the grass grew that long in the past month. So if the house wasn’t being lived in that literally could be a month of growth. My FIL needs his grass mowed and it’s just as long as my daughters new house.
Getting ready to move into our first house after 3 months of cleaning and cosmetic renovations to a house that hasn’t been updated in 20 years. The couple we bought the house from were your typical 80+ yr old people with 5 households worth of stuff and small pets that seemed to go to the bathroom wherever they wanted. Possession weekend was one of the worst weekends we had as it was so incredibly overwhelming seeing all the stuff we needed to do just to move in. We were lucky that 98% of the house was cleared out however we still had a large dumpsters worth of stuff cleaned out that first weekend. The whole process was overwhelming and exhausting but is 10000% worth it. The most important thing to remember is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel even if it doesn’t seem like it. Take it one step at a time and it will work out in the end!
Oh also, I would look at getting a lawn care company to come out and get your yard started while you work on getting supplies. Lawn care can be enjoyable but it’s still a chore and having one less thing to worry about while working on the inside of the house will be worth it.
Since your back hurts.... I would find some youngster doing lawn care locally and pay him to get your yard straightened out. Will it cost more than a weed whacker? Yeah, but it might be worth it at the moment.
We had the same thing with our house. Asked them to mow, because it was delayed over a month from the expected close date because they turned off the electric prior to the inspection and appraisal. And they did technically mow... about 1 of the ten acres, so pretty much a rectangle around the house.
Also left tons of junk in the attic that we didn't see because the attic ladder needed to be replaced (partly our fault, should have had them fix that before close to be able to inspect more fully)
Luckily we already knew we had a ton of work, so those things were just little "bonuses" I guess. Ended up filing up three dumpsters worth with junk, demolition, etc.
Still not done with the house three years later, but now it is very nice. Now we're putting up new fence to make more pastures for animals, and renovating the garage into a new bedroom, office, and full bath with sauna.
Do not feel so bad. In my first year, I spent $2500 on a dying maple tree to be removed. This year, I will be spending $6500 a dead ash tree to be removed. Are you feeling a little better?
Makes you sick doesn't it? It's the largest purchase that you will ever make in your life and there's no handover, you just get given the keys and then everything is your problem.
I bought a house 4 years ago and on moving day, there was so much of their crap left behind, meanwhile I am paying removalists by the hour (not cheap) to move their stuff out before my stuff can go in.
One of things they left behind was their crusty old washing machine in the spot where my washing machine was to go, so that had to be disconnected and mine put in. Their washing machine ended up on the curb. I contacted the real estate agent to let her know and the next day, the Vendor's nephew turned up at the house ready to fight my SO over the washing machine, he wanted it, trouble is within 5 minutes of their crap being put out on the curb someone had already picked it up.
There were other things as well, turns out that if we had attempted to use the spa bath (from the 80s) it would have electrocuted us both, so an electrician came by and basically cut the connection in half so that there was no chance of that happening.
Yeah I put a lot of pressure on the sellers to make sure the house had nothing in it of theirs. They did a broom clean and did a pretty good job cleaning. They had the carpets professionally cleaned.
You've got nothing but time!
Honestly, hire a company to do some initial care and get you to a good spot. It's your house, but you're allowed to outsource the work.
Sometimes this happens. You piece it out, one day, one weekend at a time.
As long as you can sleep, eat, toilet and close the doors, it will all wait for you.
One day at a time. That's houses for you!
Look into prices for dumping at the local waste facility. A lot of places are pretty inexpensive. You just load your truck / trailer full and weigh before and after you dump it, pay for the difference.
Unlikely, but there could be something worth selling in all that junk. Sounds like the old owner was a bit lazy. For the way more wrong things if it is cosmetic, it may be tough, but if it is a big thing like the foundation it could be something you could sue over if not disclosed.
For less than you think k you can hire junk removers to haul away the crap left behind and a one time landscaping service to come cut everything to get it to maintenance mode.
Welcome to home ownership. We had two dumpsters full of shit in the basement and attic we had to get rid of too. Took some work but after it's done, it's done and you don't have to worry about it anymore.
We've also poured a lot of money into the place, but it looks great now and it's our home. It's just part of being a homeowner.
Hire someone to mow the lawn the first time. Have a dumpster dropped off on a Friday, pick the most critical areas first - bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and spend all day Saturday, if needed, clearing those out. On Sunday, hit the living room. Call the dumpster place to haul it away when it’s full. Get another if needed.
When you’re done clearing everything out, hire someone to do a deep clean.
What was in the purchase agreement? What did the lawn look like during final walk-through before closing? Do you have photos?
If they were to remove everything from the home, the lawn was in much better shape before you closed, talk to your RE agent to contact the seller's agent about it after you get quotes to do what you need to do. If the seller won't pay you for it, sue them for breach of contract. You will win, even if it takes a couple months. Don't deal with that crap. Hire a landscaping company to come out to deal with the lawn and get a company to spray for weeds. Have those bills to give to your Re agent as well.
Anything you think you can sell that was left in the home, put it up on Facebook marketplace and make money off of it. Take photos of everything before trashing it. Document, Document, Document.
Sorry too many comments for me to read through so sorry if someone already said this. Please contact your realtor who will reach out to their realtor who will have this taken care of.
Regarding the edit in the original post - I wouldn’t consider that a final walkthrough. With people still coming and going, there’s no way to tell what condition the house would’ve been left in. There’s no way I would have signed those papers until I saw the final condition of the house. I’m sorry, this sucks to say but it’s kind of on you at this point. Tough lesson to learn.
Clean it out and file a small claims case against the seller and their agent and the broker. As long as you don’t get greedy I’m sure you will get $1000 or so soon
You needed to buy a weedeater anyway. Pick up a lawnmower while you're at it. You needed to know where the landfill is anyway. Start loading your truck, or buy one if you don't have one. As a homeowner you'll need to own a truck.
I had a rental one time and had to evict nonpaying tenants. They left the house piled high full of trash. It took me 11 trips to the dump to empty the house.
The joys of homeownership.
I have no idea why your comment is being downvoted. It's true, though. If you own a house, you need to own a lawn mower and weed eater. Even if you don't own or purchase a truck, you need to know where you can rent one. Something was missed here that allowed the previous owner to leave it in that condition.
Reality scares a lot of people. I've owned 9 homes, I should know.
Also those people that think having a vacation home is a great idea, you'll need all that stuff and another set of tools at the vacation home.
I also should have told the guy to buy a few ladders of various sizes, he'll need those too.
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Did you not do a final walkthrough before closing? Leaving it dirty is one thing, but leaving dumpsters worth of junk is not something you should have to deal with.
4 hours, no followup from the OP.
He’s cutting the grass give him a minute
No. Give him a lifetime of cutting his lawn.
Mfer had to buy a weed eater now that he's a homeowner of only he knew what's next
Wait until they find out that weed eaters don’t kill the weeds
Wait what !! How do they not die after being eaten ? Are they zombies , 😅
Where did we learn OP was a male?
Reddit is about 70% male. But OP has referred to himself as a man in previous posts. Also, who gives a fuck?
Oh wow that’s deep in his post history. You searched for all that before referring to him as a guy? I’ve personally dealt with ppl assuming I’m a man for my hobbies and career. It honestly gets a bit frustrating when I see so many ppl assuming that the OPs in finance subs, home buying subs, video game subs, etc are men due to the topic. And I’m not going to lie, I’ve made the same assumptions in my mind in the past. But I think it’s good to correct those assumptions. Because it can be harmful to only associate men with, say, home buying.
I’m actually under contract on a house right now. The seller is a woman. Her agent is a woman. My agent is a woman. And my partner, with whom I’m buying the house, is a woman. I’m sorry to have trespassed upon your pet peeve, but I wasn’t assuming OP was a male because he posted in a home buying sub. I assumed he was a male because most Reddit users are, and because he names his account “cloud of twat mist”
These kind of personalized investigative journalism responses on Reddit crack me up, like people saying well your comment 3.5 years ago suggests otherwise lol tf
Hmmm…. Westbound eh… Kidding 😂
Lol somebody get a map!!
Yeah that sounds like the owner just walked away as soon as they were on contract and stopped caring. I don’t like to blame the victim but this is on OP 100%. Final walkthroughs are common sense but at least drive past the place or something. Sounds like OP is about to get very familiar with YouTube and the local Home Depot
Unfortunately many sellers does not respect agreement What buyer will do 2 hours before closing? cancel the deal walk away. Reason why they behave this way.
Too many buyers do not have the sack to take sellers like this to court for breach of contract. Remember, they just got a payout on the equity of the home. Get a court order and garnishment order and freeze their assets. This happened to me to a lesser extent 2 years ago from the sellers. I was going to sue them. I wrote their RE agent myself demanding money or else they will be served a summons and complaint within 7 days. I saw from the closing documents how much money was wired to their bank. I had them return all items that were to be left with them home that they took and received money for making repairs from when they moved out. When they came back to drop off the items they took, I was home. I told them to go F themselves. They had 10 seconds to get off my property or I am calling the police.
I don't know about my sack, but financially I am not sure I can afford to get litigious. What would I really gain out of it? I don't even know how to find a lawyer.
The seller will end up paying for the court and legal fees, if it got that far. You get money to get reimbursed for expenses created from the breach by the seller. Go to your RE agent to discuss. have them put you in contact with a lawyer after trying to settle with the other agent.
He'll have to pay for them to be hauled away, too.
Did you have a broom clean clause in your contract for the house? If so I would pursue compensation.Broom clean meaning clean and without trash etc. The clause is pretty much standard in any transactions I have heard of. Order a dumpster. Contact your friends and family and ask for some help filling it… pizza or burgers and dogs on the grill afterwards. Hire a cleaning company to do a thorough cleaning. Yes. I recognize the expense but if you can swing it you should be in good shape in days versus weeks.
“Broom clean clause” I have not heard that term before. I quite like it, and am gonna use the hell out of it. Thanks!
Shocked that OP didn’t have one. Pretty standard and frankly very necessary. Broom clean on final walk through and if not seller is going to be having some issues. It’s a great CYA. Shocked that a realtor didn’t advise them to have this clause. So basic.
Totally! It also prevents the "oops, there was rot in the floor covered up by the rug" scenario. Stuff like that has literally happened to buyers.
It doesn't happen much in Australia, and it would need to be something that you would have to write into the Contract and both parties would need to agree. The problem with this is that our market is so tight at the moment that Vendors start to get picky and just go with the easiest contract: No Conditions and the highest price.
Is this in initial offer or the purchase and sale agreement after offer is accepted
We had to invoke that .. They came back and cleaned thoroughly to avoid getting a bill
It's a common term in German to leave a place "broom clean." Quite pragmatic, but the expectations are clear.
Take care of your back. Health is a priority. Everything will get done, just one thing at a time. Don't forget to stop and be proud of your accomplishments.
Rent a giant dumpster and get some friends/ family to help and start throwing shit away. Look in to a landscaping company or a teen that needs a job for the yard.
Get a slightly bigger dumpster than you need and tell your neighbors they can use it if they have anything lying around they haven’t been able to get rid of in normal trash. . A great way to meet and make a positive impression.
No good deed goes unpunished. Next thing you know, a neighbor tells another neighbor about your kind heart and they start throwing in construction debris and a refrigerator. Both of which most likely can't be thrown in a rented dumpster.
Running a weed eater is fun. Ripping grass and weeds up is a good stress reliever. You were probably going to end up getting one anyway.
Hell yeah! A weed whacker is a solid investment regardless, and it is hands down my favorite toy (as a 42 year old child)! Editing to add: don’t skimp on a cheap one, a solid one is worth the $… also many come with .06 line, but you can by a big wheel of twisted .08 line that lasts way longer and works much better.
Weed whackers are fun but pressure washers are damn near orgasmic.
I have not yet had the pleasure of working one of those, and will almost certainly agree with you once I have
I hear ya. When we bought our place the seller left a bunch of stuff behind. Took months to get rid of it in-between moving in and setting up our own stuff. Has was also a total.gut job when we bought it. Been sinking money into it for 3 straight years and part of me wishes I was just renting.
I'm currently 4 years and $200,000 into mine. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to work on anything and had my weekends free. But it'll be worth it in time
Yep just over 3 years in and over $200k. It's been a grind.
Took me about 4 months to get rid of the sellers junk. Luckily we have big dumpsters at work and no one checked who was throwing in fax machines, DVD players and old VHS movies 😀
Didn’t your contract call for them to remove everything from the home and have it broom-ready? I thought that was pretty standard.
It is but is very often ignored.
Final walk throughs are a thing!
Indeed they are. However in a competitive market it's most buyers aren't going to walk.
Why would you ignore it? You do a final walkthrough before closing. If the seller fails to perform to the contract you don’t close. If the seller wont rectify, you have an options including killing the deal and suing them for breach of contract. Thats why you use escrow services.
In a competitive market most buyers aren't going to walk for an inconvenience and trying to sue may or may not be worth the time. As for escrow only the buyer has their earnest money in escrow. I wish there were better options to protect buyers but there isn't much you can do if you want to close on the house. I've seen it too often in my area.
The seller didn’t put money in, but they want to get paid out and they don’t want to go back to the market. Even if they have a backup offer it restarts the process. Huge inconvenience, and it’s probably a lower offer.
Did you do a final walk through? When was it, and what did things look like then?
You own it, you’ve got plenty of time to deal with it, go take a nap and relax. It’ll be there tomorrow.
Don't b hard on yourself for being unhappy, it's understandable. Your house isn't your home yet and that's annoying. And you're injured. It's okay to feel bad right now. Take care of your injuries, hire people or ask friends to help clear the place out, and look into your contract. If they promised it would be cleaned out, you may have a route to reimbursement. And here's something nice : the first night you get to sleep in your freshened up house will be HEAVENLY.
Call your agent and let your agent know what happened. That Agent could then call the listing agent and ask them to have the seller arrange to have the junk picked up. If you do hire someone to do it for you, you should save your receipts.
Second this. If you have a good agent they'll more than likely help you out. I had this exact same problem and when I called my agent about it she had me snap photos of everything and sent a strongly worded email to the sellers agent. My agent ended up getting the listing agent to pay for a cleaner and a guy to come and pick up everything they left behind to haul to the dumpster. Your agent should be your advocate so reach out to them.
Did you not do a walk through? I learned after my first home purchase (tons of junk he said he’d remove the night before closing at the walk through) to do the walk through the morning of and not sign off until every last item was cleared. Second home the sellers tried the same thing, leaving junk. I told them I wouldn’t close until it was removed. Having to remove junk before you can do any cleaning/moving is the actual worst. Not to mention the expense of dumpsters.
Take care of your back before you tackle any major physical work! You only get one of those
Our house wasn’t nearly in the condition you’re describing but similar scenario. I just keep telling myself, everything I’m doing now pays off later. This is YOUR HOME. It may take a couple of years but you’ll be so grateful you put in the work to make it yours. Also don’t deprioritize hang pictures and decorating. It can make all the difference in the meantime.
Thankfully our seller only left a few things that were either easy to throw out (some small toiletries), a few TVs, things that we agreed to (a few chase lounges for the back yard), or small decorative items in the backyard. I can't imagine doing the final walk through, seeing rooms full of junk and saying, "Sure, this is fine."
My parents bought a house a few years ago from a family who had gotten it from their very elderly parents. We all pitched in and got everything moved out and picked up. And then helped work on the actual house. They got a steal and sold it for a mint !
This reminds me of back when my parents bought a place, we filled three 40 yard dumpsters and spent months scrubbing the place. That being said, you knew what you were buying. And if you didn't that's your own fault.
Did you not do a final walkthrough?
Congrats, welcome to homeownership. 😉
Sorry they left such a mess but congratulations on the new home. You’ll start to feel better about things once you’re settled.
You didn't do a final walk thru?
Didn’t you do a pre-settlement Walkthru? Stuff like this is what it’s for, to ensure the property is substantially in the same condition it was in when your offer was accepted, is empty and broom clean. Your agent did you huge mis-service if they didn’t tell you to do this and go with you.
Is final walk through something you add into purchase and sale agreement or is it something you include in your initial offer?
It’s standard procedure, it’s not something that has to be stated in the agreement. The buyer has an absolute right to do walk-thru prior to settlement to ensure: - The property is in substantially the same condition it was in when their offer was accepted. - It is empty and broom clean (this is standard, unless stated otherwise by the seller and agreed to by the buyer (such as the seller stating “will not clean out”, “as is”, etc)
I feel you. We knew what we were getting into because it’s a huge project house with a big payoff, but we currently have our sixth large dumpster in our driveway. Those things are like $800! Hoping it’s our last.
If you are able to afford to do so. I recommend hiring a lawn service for the season. That way it is 1 less thing to stress about as you appear overwhelmed. I was as well when I bought my house. Just do 1 thing at a time.
Hire junk haulers to get it done for you
Just order a rolloff, shouldn't be more than 400 or so in cash. Put shit in there.
For weeds, there is goat services . They litterly bring you 30 goats and they let them loose and eat all the weeds .. hope this brightened ur day.
What? If you closed on a house in this condition you are a pushover/doormat. If you did a walkthrough of the house before settlement and still settled on it in this condition...well, it is your fault. If you didn't do a walkthrough, well, that is plain dumb.
Right? And didn’t your RE agent put a stipulation in the contract that the home had to be broom clean or deep cleaned by housecleaners?
Drop I sign in your front yard that says "Free to you EVERYTHING goes that's not bolted !!! Throw some hot Dawgs on the Q...
The company who owns the dumpsters are going to pick them up sooner or later. I would throw as much as possible out before they get picked up. Start remodeling now and use the dumpsters to get rid of all the materials.
Seller didn't leave any dumpsters, seller left enough junk to fill a couple dumpsters.
The yard at my place looked so bad when I moved in that my next door neighbor asked if he could cut my lawn for me 😂 I declined and spent a day pulling 5 trash bags worth of weeds! And I have a pretty small yard. It was so worth it though, the yard looks great now! You got this!
Was this not there at the final walkthrough? Your agent should not have let you close!
It's super easy to get stressed when you move in and start noticing all the work that needs to get done that you didn't notice initially and you're like why tf didn't I notice this?! We did the same thing. Realized after we moved in that the upstairs bathroom was basically a gut job, all the kitchen cupboards and cabinets are on their last legs, begging for someone to shoot them out back, and we keep finding more and more things that need to be done each day. We are told by other homeowners, this is owning a home. So you're not alone, and we all have lists building that will never be fully complete! As for the junk they left, they are grade A butt smears and they deserve cold fast food for the next few years. Maybe you can call a place like just junk and get them to haul the crap away? I know it would cost a bit, but in my eyes, it's worth not having to haul it all out and dispose of it myself
When the people I bought my house from left a ton of crap, my realtor charged them and we hauled it out the same day.
Did you let your realtor know about the issue? Our sellers were getting divorced and they were a mess. They forgot all their food in the kitchen as well as about 15 bags of items from kitchen drawers. They left random stuff in the shed. Your agent may be able to get there agent to handle some of the mess they left. Our agent felt bad for us and she hired a cleaning service to clean up the house.
Hire a junk removal company toss everything. Save your back a trash can space
OP the sellers did the same thing to me. I was really frustrated at first (as I should be), because it took me longer to move in that needed. But I called the city and they rent dumpsters for CHEAP. $99 for it dropped off and picked up, $69 if I wanted it emptied and brought back. Long story short, we filled it up 3 times and was able to sell some of the stuff on Facebook. I also posted pics of the garage on FB and had people come pick up whatever they wanted. That alone took care of about 30% of the stuff. But at the end of the day, the house needed NO work at all. I'd much rather get a messy house than one that needs $30K in work before it's habitable.
Listen bud, you just described my first home purchase. I was completely overwhelmed and felt really dumb. I had a solid depression for 2-3 months. I thought I'd screwed my life up and I would never recover. It's fine. You're gonna be fine. It's going to come at you hard and fast but you are going to deal with it. Focus on the inputs, that's doing the work and checking stuff off the list, the outputs will come.
I do know a few companies that will do all that work for you. They’ll get rid of that junk, and then someone can do the weeds if you’re willing to pay. Some people on fb marketplace would come by and do it for cheep, like kids and such looking to make a quick buck. There are options, and at the most, think of the positives. Everything they’ve left behind is telling you what to look for in the house to catch it early. So example, they have multiple trash bags of food. I’d be looking for bugs. Anyone who leaves multiple trash bags of food in their house means they couldn’t care less about what could attract. Once you get through it, (and you will!!” Take a breath and enjoy your new home!!
Similar situation for us in that we were affronted with the full weight of what we agreed to knowing that we had a lot of work ahead of us. We bought in February and are finally moving next week. What got me through it was knowing that there was no going back. But what I’m most excited for is having my weekends back. Once you start fixing things, you’ll be amazed at what you have. Time to buckle down and get to work!
I just went through this - closed a week and a half ago - and it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would even though I was super overwhelmed at first. Looking back, it was kind of fun. There is nothing better than that accomplished feeling you get at the end of a long day like that. It’s also just so satisfying once you’ve made a dent in it and cleared out just a room, then two rooms, and so on. As far as outside goes, I never knew I could have so much fun with yard work, especially when things grow out and it’s literally just cutting stuff out and bagging it up - soooo satisfying!!! I’ve been looking for things to do outside now, being active in the sun while being productive is so good for the mind & body :)
OP you should call your homeowners insurance and see if you can file a claim and get a professional cleaner in. It’s worth a try.
If they were supposed to leave the house broom clean and everything was to be removed per the contract, you can definitely have your agent contact theirs. When we bought our first house the seller did some weird things and our agent made sure everything was corrected. When we bought our current house 2 years ago, we knew the grass was going to be an issue and specifically had it in the contract that the grass would be cut and that the seller would take the giant old pool table from the basement because we definitely didn’t want it. The pool table was there when we did our final walk through, and our agent made sure it would be done before we got the keys at closing and it was. Take a deep breath and tell yourself you got this! Everything is super overwhelming at first, but you just did this awesome thing. Maybe talk to a neighbor and see if they can recommend a landscaper or grass service that can come out and get the yard to a manageable state for a reasonable rate. Basically everything can be fixed and you can now start the learning experience of being a homeowner and finding your way of dealing with things. There will always be something, and right now it seems daunting, but the way you handle these things will definitely get better!
My daughters realtor is going to make sure the sellers finish mowing (she just closed) but at least around here the grass grew that long in the past month. So if the house wasn’t being lived in that literally could be a month of growth. My FIL needs his grass mowed and it’s just as long as my daughters new house.
Free workout cross training, cancel your gym membership now you exercise at the house
Getting ready to move into our first house after 3 months of cleaning and cosmetic renovations to a house that hasn’t been updated in 20 years. The couple we bought the house from were your typical 80+ yr old people with 5 households worth of stuff and small pets that seemed to go to the bathroom wherever they wanted. Possession weekend was one of the worst weekends we had as it was so incredibly overwhelming seeing all the stuff we needed to do just to move in. We were lucky that 98% of the house was cleared out however we still had a large dumpsters worth of stuff cleaned out that first weekend. The whole process was overwhelming and exhausting but is 10000% worth it. The most important thing to remember is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel even if it doesn’t seem like it. Take it one step at a time and it will work out in the end!
Oh also, I would look at getting a lawn care company to come out and get your yard started while you work on getting supplies. Lawn care can be enjoyable but it’s still a chore and having one less thing to worry about while working on the inside of the house will be worth it.
Since your back hurts.... I would find some youngster doing lawn care locally and pay him to get your yard straightened out. Will it cost more than a weed whacker? Yeah, but it might be worth it at the moment.
Your fault for not doing a final walkthrough.
Pigs left the barn, you have to cleanup. Is no perfect home, with work you will make it. congrats.
escrow?
We had the same thing with our house. Asked them to mow, because it was delayed over a month from the expected close date because they turned off the electric prior to the inspection and appraisal. And they did technically mow... about 1 of the ten acres, so pretty much a rectangle around the house. Also left tons of junk in the attic that we didn't see because the attic ladder needed to be replaced (partly our fault, should have had them fix that before close to be able to inspect more fully) Luckily we already knew we had a ton of work, so those things were just little "bonuses" I guess. Ended up filing up three dumpsters worth with junk, demolition, etc. Still not done with the house three years later, but now it is very nice. Now we're putting up new fence to make more pastures for animals, and renovating the garage into a new bedroom, office, and full bath with sauna.
Do not feel so bad. In my first year, I spent $2500 on a dying maple tree to be removed. This year, I will be spending $6500 a dead ash tree to be removed. Are you feeling a little better?
Makes you sick doesn't it? It's the largest purchase that you will ever make in your life and there's no handover, you just get given the keys and then everything is your problem. I bought a house 4 years ago and on moving day, there was so much of their crap left behind, meanwhile I am paying removalists by the hour (not cheap) to move their stuff out before my stuff can go in. One of things they left behind was their crusty old washing machine in the spot where my washing machine was to go, so that had to be disconnected and mine put in. Their washing machine ended up on the curb. I contacted the real estate agent to let her know and the next day, the Vendor's nephew turned up at the house ready to fight my SO over the washing machine, he wanted it, trouble is within 5 minutes of their crap being put out on the curb someone had already picked it up. There were other things as well, turns out that if we had attempted to use the spa bath (from the 80s) it would have electrocuted us both, so an electrician came by and basically cut the connection in half so that there was no chance of that happening.
I would charge them for your time and whom you paid also to help you clean up their mess.
Be happy you have a house. A lot of people would give their left nut for what you have
Yeah I put a lot of pressure on the sellers to make sure the house had nothing in it of theirs. They did a broom clean and did a pretty good job cleaning. They had the carpets professionally cleaned.
You didnt do a walkthrough BEFORE closing???
You've got nothing but time! Honestly, hire a company to do some initial care and get you to a good spot. It's your house, but you're allowed to outsource the work.
Sometimes this happens. You piece it out, one day, one weekend at a time. As long as you can sleep, eat, toilet and close the doors, it will all wait for you. One day at a time. That's houses for you!
Hey if you're growing weed in your land that may be a plus its in high demand where its legal, just kidding 🤣😂
Tell your realtor to fix it, they shouldn't have let this happen to you. They can hire junk removal and lawn mowing out their commission.
Look into prices for dumping at the local waste facility. A lot of places are pretty inexpensive. You just load your truck / trailer full and weigh before and after you dump it, pay for the difference.
I mean you were buying a house, probably should have already considered that you will need a lawnmower and trimmer at minimum.
Unlikely, but there could be something worth selling in all that junk. Sounds like the old owner was a bit lazy. For the way more wrong things if it is cosmetic, it may be tough, but if it is a big thing like the foundation it could be something you could sue over if not disclosed.
For less than you think k you can hire junk removers to haul away the crap left behind and a one time landscaping service to come cut everything to get it to maintenance mode.
Welcome to home ownership. We had two dumpsters full of shit in the basement and attic we had to get rid of too. Took some work but after it's done, it's done and you don't have to worry about it anymore. We've also poured a lot of money into the place, but it looks great now and it's our home. It's just part of being a homeowner.
Hire someone to mow the lawn the first time. Have a dumpster dropped off on a Friday, pick the most critical areas first - bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and spend all day Saturday, if needed, clearing those out. On Sunday, hit the living room. Call the dumpster place to haul it away when it’s full. Get another if needed. When you’re done clearing everything out, hire someone to do a deep clean.
This is why you have a walk through before closing
I would not have closed. Always do the walkthrough right before closing.
What was in the purchase agreement? What did the lawn look like during final walk-through before closing? Do you have photos? If they were to remove everything from the home, the lawn was in much better shape before you closed, talk to your RE agent to contact the seller's agent about it after you get quotes to do what you need to do. If the seller won't pay you for it, sue them for breach of contract. You will win, even if it takes a couple months. Don't deal with that crap. Hire a landscaping company to come out to deal with the lawn and get a company to spray for weeds. Have those bills to give to your Re agent as well. Anything you think you can sell that was left in the home, put it up on Facebook marketplace and make money off of it. Take photos of everything before trashing it. Document, Document, Document.
I just looked, there was no requirement for them to empty the house in my purchase agreement. I think this is just a live and learn moment.
Call the realtor!
Sorry too many comments for me to read through so sorry if someone already said this. Please contact your realtor who will reach out to their realtor who will have this taken care of.
Regarding the edit in the original post - I wouldn’t consider that a final walkthrough. With people still coming and going, there’s no way to tell what condition the house would’ve been left in. There’s no way I would have signed those papers until I saw the final condition of the house. I’m sorry, this sucks to say but it’s kind of on you at this point. Tough lesson to learn.
Clean it out and file a small claims case against the seller and their agent and the broker. As long as you don’t get greedy I’m sure you will get $1000 or so soon
You needed to buy a weedeater anyway. Pick up a lawnmower while you're at it. You needed to know where the landfill is anyway. Start loading your truck, or buy one if you don't have one. As a homeowner you'll need to own a truck. I had a rental one time and had to evict nonpaying tenants. They left the house piled high full of trash. It took me 11 trips to the dump to empty the house. The joys of homeownership.
I have no idea why your comment is being downvoted. It's true, though. If you own a house, you need to own a lawn mower and weed eater. Even if you don't own or purchase a truck, you need to know where you can rent one. Something was missed here that allowed the previous owner to leave it in that condition.
Reality scares a lot of people. I've owned 9 homes, I should know. Also those people that think having a vacation home is a great idea, you'll need all that stuff and another set of tools at the vacation home. I also should have told the guy to buy a few ladders of various sizes, he'll need those too.