Does that come with landscaping?
June 5, 2008 – 11:34 pmEdmonton Real Estate Blog
When you buy a home in the dead of winter, you never really know what’s under the snow, but come spring and summer beautiful landscaping can be a real selling feature. So what happens when you purchase a home that had a perfect green lawn, and gorgeous perrenials and trees when you viewed it, and it’s all dead when you move in?
The purchase contract used by Realtors in Alberta states that:
“When the buyer takes possession, the Property will be in substanitally the same condition as it was when this Contract was accepted.”
In other words, the buyer should be able to expect that if the grass was alive and well when they agreed to purchase the property, it will still be so when they take possession. If things are not as you expect you have to decide what it’s worth to you and if it’s important discuss it with your Realtor and your lawyer.
I’ve seen purchase contracts where the buyer and seller agree to have trees and perrenials removed prior to possession (and even stranger things that than). I’ve also seen agreements where the buyer pays for landscaping maintenance services prior to possession. The best idea is always to keep it simple, don’t let a $30 bush stop a transaction worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.