Well, I’m off to close on our new house. The final walkthrough was relatively uneventful, although a couple of items that the inspector found were still unattended to. While this was a bit annoying, it’s nothing that can’t be worked out in short order. I’m going to drop by the house on the way to the closing, and if these things still haven’t been put to rest, we’re going to put them in writing. Then it’s a mad dash back home (a bit over 300 miles) so we can turn around and come back for good with all of our stuff on Thursday. Thankfully, it’s a full service move.
For more information on moving, check out my Roadmap for a Successful Relocation.
Congrats – must be a good feeling having this all come to a close soon. Then there is the unpacking to do…
Blaine: Getting it in writing makes sure that it ‘survives’ the closing, and that they are still legally obligated to take care of it.
Yes, getting the lawyer to hold back funds would be an option, and a good one at that if the work was that big of a deal. As of this morning, just prior to the closing, one issue had been taken care of and the workmen were en route to handle the other. I was more annoyed with it than anything, and am confident that it’ll be resolved (I left town immediately after the closing, but will find out for sure in a day). The ‘getting it in writing’ thing gives me a bit of peace of mind without the headache of arranging for money to be held back — it really wouldn’t be worth the trouble in this case.
Another option is to have your lawyer hold back the funds to complete the work in escrow. Set a date to have the work completed and if it is not completed by that date you get the money. I just had to do this with a property I bought. Doing it this way, the seller is still responsible for the repair and you are protected should the repairs not be done.
I’d estimate what you think the fixes will cost, add a bit for safety, and take it off the selling price. Then you can fix them how you want to without having to deal with the sellers again.
Good Luck! I am going through the same process right now, closing in a few weeks. New home construction is great fun let me tell you – always some sort of glitch, but oh well, it will be completed soon. Good luck again – great blog, I just added your site to my blogroll. If you like mine you can add me too 🙂
If you have them in writing, what are you going to do with that? Get a credit, or what?