Who Should Pay?
By Jim Palmer Jr.

In a recent real estate transaction the buyer had contracted in writing to have a final walk through of a house just prior to the closing.  When it came down to the last few days prior to the closing the buyer and their broker accessed the vacant home as agreed upon and found the home free of belongings, but very dirty.  Without contacting the listing broker or the seller, the buyer’s broker took the initiative to hire a cleaning company and accessed the home over the weekend to facilitate a vigorous cleaning to the satisfaction of their buyer. When the listing broker returned to work after taking the weekend off the buyer’ broker contacted the listing broker to inform them that the seller was now obligated to pay a $1,200 cleaning bill. 

The question is, “Who should pay for the cleaning bill”?  The seller who had a few more days to accomplish their own cleaning process?  Or should the buyer pay, who had initiated the cleaning process on property they didn’t own? Or do you think the buyer’s broker should pay?  Of course your answer may depend on some of the facts that may not be apparent in this brief explanation.

The real facts are; 1) The seller was obligated by contract to clean the property prior to closing in a manner that would be considered reasonably clean to most people, but the closing had not occurred yet and seller still had time to do that themselves or to hire it done.  2) Buyer only had permission to enter the property once, just prior to closing to accomplish that one final walk through.  3) Buyer and buyers broker did NOT have permission to enter the property again even though it was vacant, nor did they have permission to hire or allow outside contractors on the property to clean.

The Result;  The buyer’s broker in this case was clearly at fault in allowing access and work done without permission and should pay the bill.  The buyer’s broker attempted to convince the listing broker to pay half of the cleaning fee since the buyer had not been fully aware of the situation and refused to pay the bill since they felt it was the seller’s obligation.  The seller told the buyer to take a flying leap and would not agree to pay a bill that they had not initiated or given permission for.  The overly exuberant buyer broker just added to their education fund!