Dumb Things to Put in Contracts
1. "Dining room light fixture to be replaced". Who's going to replace it? With what? Who pays and how much? Like to guess how many versions of what "everybody understood" there will be when you get to closing? BE SPECIFIC!
2. "Refrigerator to remain" Did anybody bother to look and see if there might be more than one? I once had a long drawn out closing because the buyer had asked for the refrigerator but in this case the seller had a covered pool area with a very nice recreation area complete with pool and snack area. The seller thought, as did I that the refrigerator the buyer wanted was the one in the recreation area which was a much more expensive model. In reality the buyer wanted the one in the main house. Make sure everyone understands exactly what the buyer is talking about. SPELL IT OUT IN THE OFFER TO PURCHASE
3. "Closing to take place in 60 days". That's nice...so why did you apply for a mortgage lender who would only lock your interest rate and points for 45 days? And why did you sign a contract to buy in 90 days and your house has sold and is scheduled to close in 60 days? Planning to live in a tent for a while? Look at a calendar...see how easy it is to schedule everything to time our perfectly.
4. "Washer and Dryer included". Sounds harmless enough doesn't it? Would have been except the property was a condo unit in a complex that had laundry rooms and prohibited washers and dryers in the units. The agent who drew the contract knew that but added the provision because "the Buyers wanted it". Guess who got to pay the $500.00 adjustment when the Buyers were ordered to remove the washer and dryer by the Condo Association?
5. "Seller to repair (Blank) prior to closing." Think about this. As a Buyer, you want all repairs to be of the highest quality because you are going to have to live with them. As a Seller you want repairs to be fast and cheap. In legal language this is called a conflict of interest.
Avoid it. If repairs are necessary a contractor approved by the Buyer before closing should always do them. Here's why. Many times I have seen repairs start but after the contractor removed the flooring etc many other problems were found. Now if you had an allowance or waited until after closing to complete these repairs who is going to be responsible for the additional work. You can bet the seller is not. If repairs cannot be completed by closing hold an agreed sum of the Seller's money in escrow to pay for repairs. When funds are held make sure they are at least twice the amount of your contractors quote. This allow for unseen repairs.
If repairs must be completed before closing, which may be required by the lender, the Buyer should be involved in hiring the contractor and make sure that any warranties or guaranties can be transferred at closing. Sellers also like to do their own repairs to save money. Remember that the lender will inspect repairs required by lender and repairs must comply with the building code (electrical, plumbing, structural) may require permits and municipal inspections as well. Don't have your deal blow up at the last minute because the lender or the Town won't approve the new electrical service that was installed by Charlie the handy man who is an unlicensed electrician.
6. "Buyers to move in (Blank ) days prior to closing" or "Sellers to remain in occupancy for (Blank) days after closing". This subject requires a whole separate horror story collection. Never allow anyone to take occupancy early nor have your seller hold the property past the time of closing.
