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\n <\/div>\n \n Achieve Greater Buyer Confidence With a Top Agent<\/h3>\n
HomeLight can connect you with the most experienced buyer\u2019s agents in your home shopping area. These top professionals can help you make the best buying decisions and protect your interests.<\/p>\n \n
Disclaimer: As a friendly reminder, this blog post is meant to be used for educational purposes, not legal advice. HomeLight always encourages you to reach out to your own advisor.<\/em><\/p>\n A holdover home seller<\/a> is someone who refuses to vacate the property after the sale has been finalized and the closing documents signed. This can create a frustrating and confusing situation for the new homeowner, who is legally entitled to take possession of the property but is unable to do so due to the seller’s refusal to leave.<\/p>\n \u201cA contract of sale usually obligates the seller to provide the property in vacant broom-swept condition,\u201d says Stephen Donaldson<\/a>, a leading real estate attorney with The Donaldson Law Firm in New York. \u201cSo, it has to be vacant, according to the contract.\u201d<\/p>\n Donaldson explains that if the <\/span>final walkthrough<\/span><\/a> is handled properly, neither the seller nor a <\/span>renting tenant<\/span><\/a> should still be in the house.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen the buyer does a walkthrough, and if the people aren’t out yet, the buyer can say, \u2018I\u2019m not closing. This house is supposed to be empty. It\u2019s going to be mine in a few hours; you have to get out.\u2019 It’s something that [shouldn\u2019t] come up because the buyer confirms the property is vacant immediately before closing, usually the same day.\u201d<\/p>\n But even with a <\/span>final walkthrough<\/span><\/a> process, Donaldson acknowledges that he\u2019s seen the headlines where a seller refuses to leave a home after closing. This could be due to a seller returning to the property after a walkthrough, or because a buyer skipped the walkthrough and an inexperienced agent<\/a> let it happen.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here are steps to take and expert tips if you buy a property and discover a holdover home seller \u2014 a seller who refuses to leave the home after closing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":42300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,701,646],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-buyer-closing","category-making-offers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a holdover home seller?<\/h2>\n