We recently received this question:
A number of years ago friends bought a home in Morinville. The house had hardwood flooring throughout the main floor. When they purchased the home, the hardwood was in great shape and even though the seller had a big dog, they advised it was an outside dog only. The day they took possession, the hardwood floors had been scratched to the point they had to get them refinished. The owners had let the dog run wild in the house, yet they were told there was nothing they could do about it as it was considered normal wear and tear and the seller was off the hook. Having never purchased a resale home, what happens if there is damage that wasn’t there when the home was purchased. How do buyers protect themselves?
As REALTORS® we deal with problems on possession day frequently. Unfortunately buyers' expectations for a pristine new home are often much higher than sellers willingness to provide that pristine home. So what should a buyer expect on possession day?The Purchase Contract used by REALTORS® in the Province of Alberta states:
When the Buyer obtains possession, the Property will be in substantially the same condition as it was in when this Contract was accepted.
So, in this case if the floors were not damaged when the buyers agreed to purchase the home, they should have been in the same condition on possession day. The definition of "normal wear and tear" is quite subjective (Sheldon always says "normal" is one of the most dangerous words on a contract).
The remedy to the situation is the law, and this situation sounds like a pretty cut and dry case - the sellers agreed to something but did not deliver. Sometimes the agents are able to negotiate a solution on behalf of their clients, and sometimes the lawyers and even the courts have to get involved. When the buyers took possession of the home, and saw the floors were ruined, the first step is to document the damage (take pictures) and let your agent know there is a problem. There are a lot of different directions things could go from that point on, but it sounds like your friends may have backed down a little too easily.
If, as a buyer, you have specific concerns about the condition of the property, you can write terms into the contract to address the concerns. You run the risk of offending the seller and derailing negotiations, but if they have an issue it may raise some red flags. We sometimes see terms included that specify the carpets will be professionally steam cleaned or the house will be professionally clean prior to possession. The problem of course is that if you are particular about these types of things, it is likely that the job done will not be up to your standards, especially if the home was not that clean to begin with. In this case you are probably better off focusing your negotiations on getting the best price, and hiring the cleaning professionals and packages of your choice.
About Sara MacLennan
Sara MacLennan is the Director of Marketing at Liv Real Estate and a licensed Real Estate Associate. The bulk of Sara’s experience and wealth of expertise lies in on-line technology and marketing both for agents and consumers. Sara is the former National Director for Interactive Marketing for Coldwell Banker Canada where she was responsible for an extensive training program traveling to offices across the country training agents and brokers on marketing and technology. Find Sara on Twitter @edmontonblogger.
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Thanks for the info. I guess if I were to buy a resale, I might be anal enough to take pictures of the floors, etc. on my final viewing before putting in an offer to back up any claim that the floors or anything else that was not damaged when I purchased are damaged now.
What surprises me is why people would let damage happen or cause damage to happen after they sold it . I could see if it was a foreclosure because there are hard feelings, but if you have sold your home, you should be happy. I have many friends who bought resale and the house was spotless when they moved in and the previous owners even left a nice card and bottle of champagne to welcome them to their new home. However I have a co-worker who bought a foreclosure and the previous owners took the the built in dishwasher when they left as it was a high end model. The realtor said it wouldn’t be worth pursuing them even though they had no right to do it and actually purchased a dishwasher for them – not the high end model that was originally there, but it’s the thought that counts.
In the thousands of home sales I have been involved with (resale) I can count on one hand the serious issues my clients have had. Have there been minor issues? Absolutely. Especially when the “Bachelor” sells to “Mrs Clean” but over all nothing serious. When it comes to new homes the level of issues is a lot higher for a variety of reasons but generally not on the cleanliness side of things.
Just to clarify I meant that you should take pictures of the damage, not take photos beforehand. If you wait to take photos of the damage they could say you did it, but if you take them right away you have better evidence they did it.
Shouldn’t you take photos of before and after? There should be a date embedded in the photos of when it’s taken, which will show that these photos were taken on the date of inspection and after possession. If you only take pictures after the damage is done, then both sides can argue that the damage was there from before.
I wonder if the home you bought isn’t what you expected, would you be able to get some help to the seller.
I totally agree with what’s written on this blog, and issues like this are very common. It is not just with the condition of the floors, but also the make & model of the appliances. Despite being mentioned in some contracts that appliances are included with the house, a few Sellers take their good appliances and leave behind just an older model. Realtors have to be very careful to note the make & model of the actual appliances. It may be cumbersome to write all this on the purchase contract, bur realtors should note this somewhere.
Also, some people selling their homes tend to be inconsiderate of the condition of their house after they already have an accepted offer. They know they will not be living in their house for long and therefore don’t care. Being a Realtor myself, I strongly suggest that when you are taking possession of a home, then please do a walk-through with your Realtor to make sure the house is in good condition.
Run the water taps to see if there is any Hot Water, run the dishwasher to make sure there are no leakages and other minor stuff. Although it is difficult to see everything on possession day, but some cosmetic deficiencies are visible right when you walk into the house.
Therefore, make sure you do a walk-through with your Realtor on Possession day.
Thanks,
Shehz