No you can't move in yet - Royal Oak real estate talk

I received a call from the buyer’s agent last week. I sold a home in Royal Oak for my out of state clients. The home was empty and the buyers are closing on Friday. The buyer’s agent wanted to know if the buyers could start moving their stuff in early.

From a seller’s stand point it is the wrong thing to do for these reasons.

1.) Legal liability - If somebody gets hurt moving stuff in the seller would be responsible.

2.) Theft - What happens if one of their boxes with valuables goes missing. My clients had given a key to a neighbor. The seller cannot be liable for somebody else’s belongings. The insurance company may not cover the buyer’s belongings

3.) Access of the home - The seller would be giving access to the home to the buyer. What happens if the house is damaged. I have heard stories of buyer’s / seller’s kids coming into the house and damaging the house before closing. How are you going to place blame on one party?

4.) No closing - What happens if the closing never happens? Yes, I have had buyer’s lose their job a day before closing. I have had heart attacks, or people back out. If the buyer has moved in and has a key how do you get your home back? Not a situation you want to get into.

Unfortunately it can become a legal nightmare if something happens. Closing is just a few days a way. So whether you are buying a home in Royal Oak or moving to Livonia it is best that you wait to move in until you own the house. It protects both the buyer and the seller from having issues.

I hope this explanation of what could go wrong explains why you cannot move in early when buying a Michigan home. It does not matter if it is a waterfront property in Oakland County or a Novi foreclosure it is not smart to do.

If you have questions about buying or selling a home in Michigan give me a call (248)310-6239