Furniture ans other items left in house

[Moly Noe]

What is the name of your state? FL

I'm in the process of buying a home and everything should be completed on January 10th. The current owners have been renting out the house for a week or so at a time like an Airbnb and have people coming to stay until the end of December at least and even asked if we would be willing to let people come stay in the house after we complete the purchase but that was a firm no.. They asked for an extra 20 days to remove their furniture inside the house after the purchase. There is a car, motorcycle and tons of tools, etc... inside the garage to the point that it is impossible to walk through. There is outside furniture also. I do not want to keep any of their property but what should I do if they do not retrieve their belongings by the deadline? The house and garage need to be empty so renovations can begin as soon as possible.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Are you willing to walk away from the deal? Or they? My advice is very different if you are or aren't.

 

[xylene]

Make sure the property is covered in your contract, you may have to hire a hauler and pay disposal costs. Make sure that is accounted for.

 

[adjusterjack]

They asked for an extra 20 days to remove their furniture inside the house after the purchase.

Tell them no but make it clear no close if all that stuff is not gone by close of escrow. Or tell them for $2000 you'll extend the close for 20 days.

Make sure you inspect the morning of the close and if the house is not turnkey, don't close.

I once bought a house. Went there the morning of the close for a final inspection. Found a junk car on the property. Called the seller's agent and said no close until it's gone. Got a call later. Went back. The pushed it to the curb right in front of the house. I called the seller's agent again and said that's not good enough. No money until it's gone. She squealed like a stuck pig but an hour later the car was gone and I closed on the house.

What your seller's are doing is b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t. You need to lay down the law and stand fast. You have all the leverage as long as your money and your signature are in your hand. They will do what they have to do to get their money.

 

[Moly Noe]

Are you willing to walk away from the deal? Or they? My advice is very different if you are or aren't.

No, not walking away from the deal.

 

[Moly Noe]

Make sure the property is covered in your contract, you may have to hire a hauler and pay disposal costs. Make sure that is accounted for.

The property currently inside the house is barely mentioned. It was an addendum to the original contract. The furniture is nice and the car and motorcycle are very nice, along with the tools so there would be no issue with getting rid of it by ourselves but I don't want to just give away someone else's things without knowing if it's legal or not

 

[xylene]

It was an addendum to the original contract.

I suggest you contact whomever drafted this addendum to ensure that any and all items remaining in on and upon the property is transferred in ownership to you upon closing.

 

[xylene]

Or tell them for $2000 you'll extend the close for 20 days.

I would be asking for no less than 250 dollars a day.

 

[Moly Noe]

Tell them no but make it clear no close if all that stuff is not gone by close of escrow. Or tell them for $2000 you'll extend the close for 20 days.

Make sure you inspect the morning of the close and if the house is not turnkey, don't close.

I once bought a house. Went there the morning of the close for a final inspection. Found a junk car on the property. Called the seller's agent and said no close until it's gone. Got a call later. Went back. The pushed it to the curb right in front of the house. I called the seller's agent again and said that's not good enough. No money until it's gone. She squealed like a stuck pig but an hour later the car was gone and I closed on the house.

What your seller's are doing is b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t. You need to lay down the law and stand fast. You have all the leverage as long as your money and your signature are in your hand. They will do what they have to do to get their money.

We will do a walkthrough the day of the closing and have the locks changed that day. If they leave the Audi and motorcycle in the garage I won't be very upset. We are planning to renovate and donate/give away all of the appliances and anything left past the date we agreed on but is it legal to keep any items in the home after we sign everything? I'm not saying we would do this but want to know all of our options. We have decided to put all of the furniture in one room to facilitate an easy way for them to get their things and someone will be in the house at all times. We know the seller is shady but have hired our own inspectors and appraisers and the house is in very good condition.

 

[adjusterjack]

the car and motorcycle are very nice

There is a big problem with vehicles as they have titles and you can't sell them if you don't own them and you don't own them without a title in your name.

If the seller's are willing to transfer title to you and give you a bill of sale for a dollar on the furniture, that's one thing. Otherwise I suggest you play hard ball with these people or they will walk all over you and cost you a great deal of money.

We know the seller is shady

There's that.

Coming back here after the sale and asking "What are my rights?" isn't going to do you any good.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

No, not walking away from the deal.

That does sort of limit your negotiating room. If you aren't concerned THEY will walk away you can tell them to get their stuff or there will be no closing or follow one of the suggestions above to either take title to the property or charge them for storing it.

 

[Moly Noe]

I suggest you contact whomever drafted this addendum to ensure that any and all items remaining in on and upon the property is transferred in ownership to you upon closing.

The sellers agent was the one who drafted the addendum. My husband signed it without talking to me or our friend/mortgage agent.

 

[Moly Noe]

There is a big problem with vehicles as they have titles and you can't sell them if you don't own them and you don't own them without a title in your name.

If the seller's are willing to transfer title to you and give you a bill of sale for a dollar on the furniture, that's one thing. Otherwise I suggest you play hard ball with these people or they will walk all over you and cost you a great deal of money.

Coming back here after the sale and asking "What are my rights?" isn't going to do you any good.

I agree and that's why I'm asking now and appreciate your advice. Like I said, I don't care about any of their property, I just want it out of the house.

 

[Moly Noe]

That does sort of limit your negotiating room. If you aren't concerned THEY will walk away you can tell them to get their stuff or there will be no closing or follow one of the suggestions above to either take title to the property or charge them for storing it.

We already have a signed contract, checks were cashed and to the best of my very limited knowledge we are protected from them backing out. Is this true?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

We already have a signed contract, checks were cashed and to the best of my very limited knowledge we are protected from them backing out. Is this true?

That is going to depend on what your contract actually says about the personal property left in/on the property. You said it was hardly mentioned but that means it was mentioned.