Hello There
As I Have mentioned in the previous respond. If you see that there is a major damage that looks or annoys you you can ask the seller to pay for it if the damage is not disclosed in the disclosures. the nex question is what is your agent is doing towards this issue. you can ask your agent to ask the seller to give you declaration or a statement to confirm that there is no damages inthe rooms under the furnuture or the packages. then if you see any thing after you can dispute.
Best Regards
Rashid Kaddoura

Refer to the C.A.R. Purchase Agreement: 7. CONDITIONS AFFECTING PROPERTY:
A. Unless otherwise agreed: (i) the Property is sold (a) in its PRESENT physical condition as of the date of Acceptance and (b) subject to Buyer’s Investigation rights; (ii) the Property, including pool, spa, landscaping and grounds, is to be maintained in substantially the same condition as on the date of Acceptance; and (iii) all debris and personal property not included in the sale shall be removed by Close Of Escrow.

Hello THere
. If you see that there is a major deffect after the seller leaves you can cancell your contract, get your money back if that dammage is not on the disclosures that was provided by the seller unless if it's a bank.
My best wishes to you, if it's a nitty pitty things like a little scratch hee or there don't worry about it and don't make a big deal about it. just work with good faith and trust.
Rashid kaddoura
408-509-2604

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.”

Rudyard Kipling

Why commingle the practices of the East and West. I was a Realtor in NY but now Realtor/Loan Officer in CA.

Carl, certainly understand that there are differences in real estate practices between the states. Thanks for sharing. However, I would still say that the buyer hasn't been protected enough in this scenario. I agree with your answer with respect to the garage. If the garage has always been full of seller's personal belongings - to the extent that buyer cannot see into the garage -- was there ever a fair opportunity for buyer to inspect and request repairs? This is a problem that should have been addressed before that five-day final inspection period.
Second, although the final Verification of Property Condition can take place up to five days before settlement - a lot can happen in five days -- I would still suggest that the walk-through happen on day of close. There's just less time for something to go wrong if its done on the day of closing.

Kim:

It works totally differently here in California. If the buyer gains access to their property at 2:00 p.m. on the day escrow closes, then the seller has a right to occupy the property until 1:59 and 59 seconds. The Verification of Property Condition is held within 5 days prior to close of escrow and is typically limited to verification of the following:

(1) If the home is owner occupied and there was a Request for Repairs, the walkthrough simply verifies that the repairs were done as requested and nothing of significance is missing.

(2) If it is an REO, then the walkthrough verifies that there are no vagrants who have occupied the home, damage that has occurred due to break-ins, etc.

If there is damage that happens during moving, this is often discovered AFTER escrow closes and AFTER the seller has received their settlement monies. The only remedy is often the brokers involved in the transaction, mediation, arbitration and/or small claims court. As for attorneys, we don’t use them out here as a normal part of a residential real estate transaction. We typically only get an attorney involved if something goes south in a transaction and there are significant damages to contend with. And this is usually AFTER the fact.

There are substantial differences between east coast and west coast real estate practices – this is one example.

NO, no no!!! Get something in writing either before or at settlement to address this. In fact, in NJ if the seller is not moving out on or before closing day, you'd need an occupancy agreement. Think about it - what if there is a loss -fire or otherwise, and you own the property but you don't live in it and previous owner (who would be considered a tenant) is still there. Your insurance company may be able to deny a claim based on misrepresentation of the facts with respect to the policy purchase. I'm sure your policy indicates that you will be an owner-occupant and that if there are tenants you need to notify them.

This is not just a matter of minor knicks and dings in walls - you cannot see into the garage at all - it sounds - due to the amount of seller belongings in there. There could be issues in the garage and the rest of the home - that are beyond cosmetic and will only be revealed upon a final inspection of the empty property! This is why I would never schedule a walk-through 4 days in advance of closing. IMHO, you need to delay the walk-through until closing day - since that's when they're supposedly moving out. A lot can happen between Thursday and Monday, and you won't know it because you went to closing without having been to the property in 4 days! That's almost like buying something sight-unseen!

This is how I have handled this scenario. I have the attorney, or the buyer write up an agreement that states something to the effect that: Seller has not moved out of the property as of closing date. Thus a full and complete final walk-through with a full assessment of the property has not been conducted as of settlement date. Buyer requires that seller escrow a set # of dollars (maybe $5,000- more depending upon the sales price of the home and that amount of potential damage --you decide) with the title company/escrow holder until the final walk-through is conducted on (date of move-out). If there are no damages, buyer will sign a release allowing the title company/escrow holder) to refund all monies to the seller. If there are damages, estimates will be obtained by buyer and the moneys will be remitted to the repair contractors after completion of work is satisfactory to the buyer. You also need to have a sentence that reads that you do not give up any rights to additional remedies to resolve the dispute, including arbitration or other legal remedies, should they be necessary. The escrow period should not exceed 60 days post closing. (Otherwise the seller may not want to sign the agreement if he/she thinks the money will be tied-up indefinately) This should give you enough time to assess any damage, get repairs made if there is damage, and approve the repairs. I know that this agreement sounds biased to the buyer - but guess what?! It's your money and your future! Don't leave this to chance or you could be sorry! Here's my disclaimer - I am not an attorney and this should not be construed as legal advice. You should consult a local CA attorney who may help you with this matter. This is just my humble opinion as to how you may want to protect yourself.
Kimberly Thomas, Broker-Associate http://www.KimThomasHomes.com

Bill has great information. Let me summarize what I would do:

(1) Prior to the inspections, I alert the seller’s agent that the garage must be accessible for inspections. If the seller disregards this and the garage cannot be inspected because of the seller’s belongings, I stipulate in writing that there will be a re-inspection at the seller’s expense once the materials in the garage have been removed. I specify, again in writing, that any issues found in the garage must to be remedied prior to close of escrow. Your Realtor should have requested this at some point in the transaction.

(2) By contract, you have a right to inspect the property and sign off on the condition up to 5 days PRIOR to close of escrow. If you cannot properly inspect the property during that time, then you can get an extension to the close so that you can indeed inspect things. The Verification of Property Condition form should be used by your Realtor – it has a place to list things that must be done before escrow can close.

(3) If you want to have escrow close on time (and there are a lot of good reasons for this to happen), then, on your Verification of Property Condition form, have your Realtor request a specific amount of funds to be held back in escrow to be released to the seller ONLY after everything has been made right. Instructions will need to be sent to the title company to ensure that the funds are held back.

The best way to deal with this is to delay closing until you are able to inspect the whole house to your satisfaction. They move monday, you inspect Monday p.m. or Tue . If all is well you call the escrow officer and tell them to go ahead and close.
If not, keep closing on hold until any problems are resolved. Be aware that you will have already signed off on the condition of the property and are now only dealing with damage due to moving.
A more traditional way to deal with this issue is to require that the Seller leaves funds in escrow to cover any such damage. I typically ask for $1,000 to be held specifically to cover damage during the move. If no damage this would be released back to the Seller the next day.
Bill