Selling: 9. Move Out & Walkthrough

Almost there . . .

Once the home inspection, appraisal and amendments are completed, much of the work will now be done by the buyer with their own lender(s). The buyer, or their lender, may provide you with a commitment document which outlines what the buyer must still provide to the lender to complete the sale. Often it consists of the lender getting complete copies of the buyer's paperwork that the lender's underwriting department will review. You will notify your own lender about the commitment document and where you are in the process.

Moving Out
Remember that personal stuff you put in storage before showing? It's either now going to get company or come with you. You will now be arranging your next place to stay - whether it's another home, with family, a temporary rental or hotel. As you near your closing date and no delays or problems are encountered, you will need to move everything out of your home and property - and then have your home and property cleaned. You can probably save yourself time, money and frustration by considering hiring a moving company and cleaning service.

Walkthrough
You will need to arrange with the buyer to have a walkthrough on the day of their closing or possibly the day before. The purpose of the walkthrough includes verification that any repairs as agreed upon in the amendments have been completed, and that the property is empty of all belongings, clean and in reasonably good condition.

If you have not completed all agreed upon repairs, the buyer has a number of options open to them, including cancelling their closing. Do what you've agreed upon. If you can't get it done, then the best option to stay on schedule for closing will probably involve you delivering a cashier's check to the buyer before they will close. If a settlement isn't agreed upon, be aware that some buyers will consider suing. Sometimes the closing will have to be postponed if you haven't performed all agreed upon repairs. Other times, the buyer may be able to act on these items even after the sale of the house has been completed..

Remember that the buyer and the seller do not attend the same closing. The seller's closing occurs before the buyer's - either earlier on the same day or on the day before.