Whether you are a first-time home seller or this is your third time selling a home, there are a few things the seller is responsible for before the new home buyers can close on their new home. As a new home buyer, you want to ensure that the house seller checks off a few boxes before packing up your moving boxes and moving all your things into your new home. If the seller does not check off the boxes needed for you to move into your new home, then you may want to halt the process for a while for those things to get done first.
So, what is the seller responsible for when selling a house?
Let’s dive deeper.
1) A Home Inspection
A home inspection is essential for many FL home buyers before buying a new home, although not required. However, if you request the seller to do a home inspection, that is one of the seller’s responsibilities. If, for some reason, the home inspector finds things that need to be fixed, then, depending on your contract, the home seller is required to fix those things before you move in, or you can ask that the price of the home be reduced due to repairs needed.
2) Personal Properties
The seller of the home is responsible for their personal property. Being responsible for personal property means that you may have agreed to leave certain things in the house, like furniture, depending on your agreement with the buyer. If not, then it is the seller’s responsibility to take their personal belongings with them before the house’s new owner moves their things into the home.
3) Lender Appraisal
If the home buyer is lending money to buy the home, the seller is responsible for a lender appraisal. A lender appraisal consists of a person coming to the seller’s house to make sure that the home is selling for its value, that way, they know that the home buyer is being lent the right amount of money. If the appraisal is less than what the seller is selling their home for, the seller is responsible for selling at a lower cost, challenging the appraisal, or asking the buyer to make up the difference.
4) Signing Documents to Close
At this point, as a new buyer you are probably desperate to move into your dream home, that house in Miami you fell in love with when looking for Miami new homes for sale because you wanted to live closer to the beach, but there are still a couple of things to check before you move into your new home.
Once you as a new home buyer have been approved and are ready to purchase your new home, the responsibility of the seller is to finalize the sale. Completing the sale includes going to your agent’s office and signing the deed to your home, among many other documents. Once everything has been signed and as the new owner you have released the funds, you can move into your new home.
If you are a home buyer, it is essential to ensure that the home seller checks off everything before purchasing your home. Of course, as the home buyer, you have items that you will have to do on your end before purchasing the home. But, buying a new home is a big decision, and you want to make sure that you check every box before officially moving into your new home.
5) Negotiations
Depending on local regulations, sellers may also need to negotiate with prospective buyers in order to reach an acceptable sales price or other terms of agreement such as financing or contingencies.
Negotiation can be tricky and requires skillful communication between both parties in order to ensure that everyone involved gets what they want out of the deal. Sellers should also keep in mind that they don’t need to accept every offer made; if one offer isn’t suitable it doesn’t mean you can’t find another buyer who will agree on terms you are comfortable with.
