What to do if Sellers Leave Their Junk Behind

Buying a new home is always exciting, but when sellers leave their junk behind, it can damper the otherwise happy event.

Closing on your new home and preparing to move in should be an exciting experience. But imagine this:

You and your family are getting a fresh start on an exciting new chapter, with countless possibilities for arranging and decorating each room to your liking. However, the promise of this ideal move can quickly turn sour if you find your new home cluttered because the sellers left their junk behind.

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to leave a few items behind during a move. They might forget to clear a tall cupboard or leave some tools in the attic. However, dealing with a house full of unwanted junk can be a nightmare. You might wonder about your options and whether these items legally belong to you.

While managing this mess may not be the most enjoyable part of your move, rest assured that you have options for dealing with the previous owner’s possessions.

When Seller leaves their junk behind – Do this:

1. Include a stipulation in your contract.

The best way to handle this problem is to prevent it from happening in the first place, so you should prepare for this possibility when signing a contract with the seller. Even if you’re not worried that the seller will leave the home in poor condition, you can never be too careful.

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You and your real estate agent should ensure that your contract stipulates that the seller’s personal belongings must all be removed from the property by a certain date. Additionally, if the seller does leave things behind, your contract should make it clear that you now own those items. You could even specify in the contract that a specific amount of money will be deducted from the sale to cover the cost of removing the junk.

Sometimes, buyers want the seller to leave the house by closing day. In other cases, the buyer and seller agree to set the move-out date for a few days or a week after they close. Most importantly, you have a written agreement with the seller that identifies the date they will clear their items from the house.

2. Do a walk-through before closing.

You also have the option as the buyer to include a pre-closing inspection as a contingency in your contract. Pre-closing inspections usually happen 24 to 48 hours before your closing. By walking through the home with your real estate agent before officially becoming the owner, you can ensure that the seller has upheld their part of the agreement.

Many contracts include a contingency about the seller’s belongings being removed from the property. If they haven’t followed through, you could delay your closing date. The seller is probably just as anxious to close as you are, so pushing back the closing date could be a good motivator for them to clear out the property.

3. Contact the seller when they leave their junk behind.

Although it’s best to avoid this problem through contingencies, you can’t change your contract after you’ve closed on the home. Maybe you didn’t anticipate this issue, but now you face a house full of someone else’s junk.

If you’re the official owner of the home, these items are now yours to deal with as you wish. You don’t have to contact the seller if you’d prefer to throw away the items, but buyers sometimes try to resolve the issue amicably with the seller. If you have the seller’s contact information, you could reach out to them and let them know that their items are still in the house. The seller might agree to pick them up if you ask them directly.

However, it would be best if you were wary of vague promises from the seller. They may tell you they’ll come by next week to pick up the junk and never show up. You don’t want their belongings cluttering your space while waiting for them to follow through.

4. Donate useful items.

It’s completely understandable if you don’t want to sort through someone else’s possessions and would prefer to have everything hauled away.

You could also make the most of the junk, though, and you could keep or donate useful items. Local charity shops may accept clothing, furniture, or kitchenware. You could even ask shelters or other community organizations if they could use the items left behind. Try Goodwill

Unfortunately, homeowners often only leave the practically worthless things. When your new house is full of trash or irreparably damaged or broken items, nothing might be worth donating.

5. Hire a junk removal company.

Junk removal companies specialize in hauling away trash, furniture, or unwanted clutter. While you might be able to dispose of the items on your own or put them out for curbside trash pickup, a junk removal company may be your best option if you’re dealing with a big mess.

By getting rid of the junk right away, you free up space in your new home so that you can start unpacking and settling in. Moving is exhausting, so you probably don’t want to spend any more time than is necessary handling the mess that the previous homeowners left behind.

Moving into a house filled with items from the previous occupants is incredibly frustrating. You can do your best to avoid this problem by including relevant contingencies in your contract. If you run into this issue after closing, you can decide whether to keep, donate, or throw away the junk.

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