on Yahoo!Like all first-time homebuyers, Sarmishta Subramanian was giddy with excitement when she arrived to officially take possession of her house. But her giddiness turned to irritation when she discovered that the previous owner had left bags of garbage strewn across the front porch. She became even angrier when she saw that he'd taped a "Please don't let the cats out" sign on the front door. But when she peered beyond the sign into the house, the Toronto resident was outraged: the seller's furniture, boxes and more garbage were still inside- not to mention his cats! He hadn't even begun to move out; it was clear he was still living there. "I thought, What the hell are you still doing in my house?"
Sarmishta contacted her lawyer and was assured the guy would be out by midnight. But when she showed up the next day, she discovered that the seller hadn't removed any of his junk, leaving behind garbage, broken furniture and appliances, and a special present from his pets- cat poop on the basement floor. Sarmishta's new house was trashed, and if she wanted it cleaned up, she'd have to do it herself. "It ruined what should have been a happy and exciting day."
You can't anticipate every single thing that might go wrong during a real-estate transaction, but there are a number of steps you can take to help ensure your experience is as smooth as possible. For instance, Sarmishta's case might have been helped by a clause in the purchase and sale agreement stating that the seller was obligated to leave the house in clean condition.
So how can you protect yourself from potential real-estate disappointments? Read on for valuable lessons learned the hard way!
Lesson #1 Never skip the home inspection
When Lynne Vail and her fiancé, Chris, bought a condo in Ottawa, their inexperienced real estate agent advised them to skip the home inspection. Because they weren't buying a house, the agent said many of the problems a home inspector would look for(specifically exterior issues related to the roof, chimney and gutters)wouldn't be applicable. The agent also advised them that if there were problems with any of the interior systems(such as ventilation or plumbing), the condo corporation would handle them. Against her better judgment, Lynne let it go.
She and Chris got married, went on their honeymoon and moved into their new place. "We were really excited," she says. "This was the beginning of our new lives." A few weeks later, while watching TV one night, Lynne smelled something burning. So she followed her nose, and when she got to the air-conditioning vent, she saw flames. When she flipped open the heating and air- conditioning unit and turned it off, the flames went out right away, but Lynne didn't want to take any chances, so she called the fire department.
The first thing the firefighter said to Lynne was, "Why have you never cleaned the air-conditioner filter?" The five inches of dirt trapped there had caught fire, and the fire itself would have been prevented if the filter had been clean and the previous owners hadn't deactivated the safety switch- both of which would have been caught by a home inspector. Although Lynne and her husband weren't injured, they ended up having to fork out $3,000 for a new unit. "Who's got that kind of extra money lying around right after their honeymoon?" she says. Lynne was upset with her agent for misguiding them, and she was even more upset with herself. "I ignored my gut instinct and didn't get the inspection when I knew I should have. Now I always tell people, 'Whatever you do, don't let anyone convince you not to get it done.'"
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