Paranoid concerns about the seller......

Ok, maybe I am just being crazy and paranoid, BUT my realtor mentioned several times that the situation at the house I am about to purchase is not so good.
The scenerio is an elderly father owns the house. His wife passed away several years ago and he has since moved on and is living with another woman still in the same town. His adult daughter, probably around 30-40yrs old is still living in the house. The house is paid off, so her living expenses are VERY LOW.
Issue....She is totally disgruntled and upset that her father is selling her childhood home that she is still living in "out from under her". She has made it difficult for us to view the house, never being accomodating about days or times. It took a few weeks to even get a showing.
My concern......after the home inspection, she could be vindictive and damage the home in some way. Maybe I should stop reading on the internet, lol but I read houses that are in foreclosure owners pour cement down the drains so the bank cannot sell them without a headache.
Any calming thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks for listening.

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

Do NOT drive yourself crazy. You'll have a walk through just before closing so that you can inspect for any damage. If she's ballzy enough to do it afterwards, its coming out of escrow.
Yeah sure she's ****** at her Dad, but come on.. she's an adult, she should get over it, YOU had nothing to do with her situation.
Best of luck, hopefully she has some human decency.

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

I agree - try not to stress. There are many unhappy circumstances in which people need to sell a home -- e.g., they are widowed or ill and can't maintain the home, they can no longer afford the home, they are getting divorced.

The majority of the time, while the circumstances may not be the best, and everyone living the house may not be on board with the sale, people don't damage the property.

But as the pp said, you will do a final walk through right before closing to make sure that the property is in the same condition it was in when you saw it and made your offer and that everything is in working order. If there is a problem, in most cases the attorneys will negotiate a credit back to the buyer to cover the cost of repairs/replacement items.

Buying a home can be stressful, but as I always tell my customers, you need to just focus on the things you can control (such as cooperating with your lender and supplying them with the necessary information) and try to let go of your worries about things you can't!

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

Are you buying a foreclosure? If not, then I wouldn't worry.. Stuff you are reading online was about foreclosures from years ago when there were so few back then..

Foreclosure/short sales, etc. are pretty common now and in all honesty, I wouldn't worry about it. If she wants to be a witch and destroy anything she is only screwing herself and her father because he will have to pay for anything that is out of place at your final walk through

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

I'd also suggest that you keep your real estate attorney informed of all of this.

When we bought our house, the real estate agent knew it was about to go into foreclosure but our attorney didn't (we assumed they knew).

House was a mess because the sellers "gave up" on maintaining it. They were difficult making the house available for inspection, wouldn't let us lift the carpets to inspect the wood floors, wouldn't let us in the basement, etc.

During the walk through the house was a disaster but the RE agent said it would be fine when the sellers left and moved out (3 days later). We closed, and three days later they finally left -- and left us a giant pile of garbage (not kidding when I say dumpster sized pile) in the front yard. Basement was full of junk (airplane prop, kids toy pieces, workout equipment, etc.). The interior doors that DH specifically requested the family leave behind in the storage area were intentionally kicked in -- beautiful five-panel doors -- all eight of them had all five panels kicked through -- so we couldn't use them.

Our attorney said he'd try to get money from escrow for us to fund the cleanup and pay for the doors but it never happened. I wish at the time we had paid more attention and been more pushy about that part.....

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

The original poster said the house is paid off, so I don't think foreclosure or the is a concern. This is not a distressed property, from a financial standpoint. I think it's just an issue of the owner wanting to sell and his grown daughter (who lives there for free or almost for free) not wanting him to.

But I do agree that any issues that come up at a final walk through MUST be raised with your attorney asap. That's the purpose of the walk through. Once you close, as a practical matter, you really have no recourse against the seller. So if anything is of concern at the walk through -- even if it's just because there is something you can't see/inspect -- you need to tell your lawyer before you get to the closing table or at the outset of the closing, at least! And if possible, you want to do the final walk through RIGHT before the closing, or if the closing is first thing in the morning, do it the night before.

Re: Paranoid concerns about the seller......

Had a very similar situation when we bought our house. The daughter actually slept on an air mattress in the house the night before the closing and when we were at closing, my attorney said "ok we are done you can hand over the keys" The woman started to cry and said, "Now? Right now?" And everyone said in unison "Yes, right now now, hand over the keys"

Every house buying experience comes with a story. I wish you the best. Here are my suggestions:
- Keep your attorney informed of everything.
-Keep in close contact with your agent. The agent might need to "push" to get things moving
-Do a VERY thorough walk through
-Get a notebook and take notes
-CHANGE THE LOCKS AS SOON AS YOU CLOSE!!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!! Let us know what happens!