Possession day
At the time of acceptance, you and the buyer agreed that possession would occur on a specific date. The standard offer to purchase states that the time of possession is noon, but it can occur earlier that day provided that your lawyer gives us the appropriate authorization to release of keys. It’s always best if you can arrange your move so that you’ve left the home for the last time on the day before possession. Once you’ve left the home for the last time, please contact us and we will arrange to pick up the balance of the keys from you.
You’ve sold your house, you’ve moved, and chances are that you’re very tired, and you just want to be done. On the other hand, the buyer has just made one of their largest investments and chances are, they’re very excited about moving into their new home. Although the law is sketchy on what obligations a seller has in delivering a property to a buyer, here are some good guidelines that should provide for a pleasant experience for all concerned.
- Residential real estate should be delivered to the buyer in a “rent ready” condition, clean, and free of refuse.
- Once the home is empty, give it a top to bottom cleaning wiping all flat surfaces including cupboards and drawers, inside and out.
- Give bathrooms a thorough cleaning.
- Quickly wipe doorknobs and switch plates.
- Wash hard flooring surfaces and vacuum carpets. Heavily soiled carpets should be professionally cleaned.
- Ensure that each lock on the property is functional, and has a working key. If it doesn’t, please replace it prior to possession.
- Remove all “junk” from the yard, the garden shed, the garage and the house. A buyer may appreciate having left over paint, and perhaps some spare linoleum, carpet, or floor tiles but they never want old pieces of lumber, tires, broken tools, exercise equipment, cardboard boxes, bags of trash, recyclables, etc. Chances are if you don’t want it at your new place, your buyer won’t want it at their new place. We’d be pleased to provide a suggestion of someone who can haul that stuff away for you.
- Don’t remove attached fixtures, garage door opener controls, mailbox keys, manuals for built-in appliances, or central vacuum attachments.
