Back HomeWhen can a Winter Park Home Buyer get house keys?
True Winter Park Home Buyer Real Estate Story:
Winter Park Home buyer buys a “trashed” bank foreclosure. Buyer closes with his title company on a Thursday and pays CASH (money already wired in day before).
At the time the Winter Park Home Buyer closed on the house, the keys are still in the lock box hanging on the Winter Park house. Day after closing, the Winter Park listing agent sends me an e-mail saying:
“Do not give out the keys until the bank authorizes me to release the keys to you”.
Seriously? The buyer didn’t need any old keys…the Winter Park Home Buyer already secured HIS property and change the locks on HIS OWN house. That is what a prudent Winter Park Home buyer is supposed to do.
Five days later, the listing agent and my buyer almost come to blows
The listing agent decides to drive by the Winter Park house and finds the Winter Park Home Buyer working on his very own house. THE HOUSE THE BUYER PAID CASH FOR 5 DAYS AGO.
The listing agent goes into a rage yelling and screaming and threatens to call the cops to throw the buyer out of his home because the bank still has not yet “authorized” the release of keys.
How crazy is this??
The Winter Park Listing agent and my buyer almost came to blows over the fact that the buyer had changed the locks on his very own Winter Park house…THE HOUSE THE BUYER PAID CASH FOR 5 DAYS AGO. How crazy is that?
Here is the best part…
The best part is that the Winter Park house was NEVER LOCKED, because some doors did not have locks and the sliding glass door in the back was busted! This was a foreclosed property that anyone could have entered and done more damage.
Who do you think is responsible for the house after closing?
If the house was vandalized on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday…who do you think would have to take care of the problem?
- The listing agent who thinks he is still in control?
- The bank who signed all the paperwork and got their money days ago?
- The Winter Park Home Buyer who closed on the house last week?
The only person responsible for any house damage would be the current owner of the house! The Winter Park Home Buyer. The bank would for sure wash their hands of it. It’s a good thing that the Winter Park home buyer was smart enough to change the locks…too bad some real estate agents do not have a lick of common sense to see that.
As far as I am concerned, the house keys need to be released to the buyer at the closing and funding…period. End of story. If the bank wants to keep the keys forever, then that should be stipulated in the purchase contract. If the Winter Park Home Buyer did not agree in writing, than it does not exist.
For Expert Buyer Representation, call Buyer Broker of Florida 407-539-1053
