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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm closing on a house next month! But I have some questions that frankly I am too embarrassed to ask the realtor.

1) I was told the house would be emptied and "broom-cleaned." Does that mean I should hire professional cleaners to come in and really scrub it down, insides of cabinets, etc?

2) When do I call the utility companies to let them know I am the new owner and bills should come to me? Do I coordinate any of that with the current owners?

3) This home is about 2 hours from where I live now so I'm not super familiar with internet, TV service options. Anyone have a suggestion on how to sort through what my options are?[/quote]

Your realtor should have provided this information to you without your asking.

Some post closing things your realtor should tell you but you don't know to ask:

1.  do the walk through at least two days in advance and make sure all the keys, any remotes for fans, garage doors openers, fireplaces, windows shades or similar are at the house.  If you wait until the last minutes the listing agent and seller will assure you that they will be dropped off.  They will not be. Unless you want to spend a lot of money on redoing things, make sure.
2.  when you do the walkthrough make sure all the conveyance items are there.  Again, don't fall for:  "we forgot to leave the TV mounts even though they were in the contract--hope you don't mine"
3. make sure you have receipts for any home inspection repairs or any other repairs the seller was supposed to do. Call the companies to make sure they have been paid. In Virginia a company can file a lien against you up to 90 days after closing.  Sellers often lie about paying bills or try to stiff contractors.  If you didn't do any termite inspection yourself, make sure the you see the report a few days before closing. Again, sellers try to wiggle out of things at the last minute.
4.  be prepared to have seller's first class mail show up your house.  Tell the listing agent that any mail you receive for the seller will be marked "move-please forward" and left for the carrier. Do not take on the responsibility of forwarding the seller's mail and packages to another address.

[/quote]

The last one just seems petty. We received some mail from the former owner and he's dropped by to pick it up, often giving us tips and tidbits about the house and neighborhood. [/quote]

Not petty if the owner moved out of the area. We were harangued by  foreign service officer who insisted we pay to send his mail to his APO address because the post office would not forward it.   Three years later, he still gets tax documents and paper bank mailings and we continue to write forward on them.  If you want to take over mail clerk duties we are happy to leave the items on our front stoop for you to address, stamp, and mail.[/quote]

I think you give people grace.  We bought a home and the couple divorced.  Wife moved with kids out of state dad stayed in same area (5 minute walk from us).  We got some of their mail and texted their realtor to tell the husband to pick up the mail between a one hour window and we left it on the porch.  We also said ask him to have his mail forwarded because we wouldn’t do it after he picks the mail up (a month after we closed) .  We got some of the wife’s mail and didn’t know her address so we wrote wrong address please forward on it.

Three years is clearly way too long and the FSO is being inconsiderate but if they live close by then it might be a nice thing to do.  I had my mail forwarded (and changed addresses )right away and one or two pieces ended up at our old rental.  Luckily a neighbor offered to bring it to us when the landlord mentioned it.

Also change the locks and if you have work done and have the key in a lock box change them again.  [/quote]

If it is a foreign service officer with an APO address, chances are he doesn't live close by.  [/quote]

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