It would be covered in the offer.  I miss the old days when the moving company cleaned up after they emptied the house and cleaned the new house prior to moving things in!  #spoiled

It does not hurt to ask. However, the buyer will be better satisfied if they also plan to have the home cleaned before moving in.

Joan,

One can ask.  When we bought our home, we had Sunny Maintenance come in and clean it from top to bottom.  I would rather do it myself as a buyer.  A

This should be written in the offer-home to be professionally cleaned prior to closing.

I've tried it & it's gone no where. It's too subjective I guess.

Absolutely, that is common courtesy. Once I had a white male that my African American client bought a house from and he left it dirty saying her people knew how to clean. I had a pro service and paid for it myself.

It depends on whether or not the buyers are going to be rehabbing it.

Depends on the buyer's desires.. I would let them know they can ask for options like this though

I believe it is best for a buyer to consider the filthy situation as part of their offer strategy.   What you see is what you get.  It's kind of the same thing when asking the seller to make repairs -- negotiate a credit/price reduction or consider it when they write the offer but do you really want that seller responsible for repairs?   Or the cleaning by a relative who becomes "professional" because payment has been made?

I look at those homes as an opportunity, buy them, clean them, and resell them.

It can't hurt to ask; the usual stipulation is "broom clean"; can adjust price for cleaning rather than getting into a back-and-forth; may not be worth it. Also, so-called "professional" cleaning may not be up to buyers' standards anyway.

Homes are sold As-Is and the instructions note Broom clean in the terminolgy here.  If I am working with a buyer I have 3 cleaning services noted on my moving check list.   

   If the Seller has the financial means, and the sale is not "as is", then I make it a condition in the offer. 

If not part of the offer, not sure I would.  There is still may be some minor negotiations to be done around the Home Inspections.  I would not want that to be an thorn in the side of the seller.

In California, houses are sold "as-is."  That has a broad array of implications but when I'm counseling buyers, I coach them to interpret that to mean in it's current visible and observable condition, subject to inspections that may reveal issues that were not visible.

Specifically with regard to a filthy house, it depends on the accepted offer price.  Typically, I take into account the visible condition of the property when discussing an offer price with a buyer.  On that basis, we would discuss the fact that the house is filthy and that is the way that they should expect to get it.  However, if there are extenuating circumstances that would make it significantly advantageous to the buyer to have the house cleaned before closing, then we would structure the offer including language about how clean, and adjust the price accordingly.  That said, I also give them the option of simply arranging to have the house deep-cleaned professionally before they move in.  Doing that allows them to better control the result.

Joan Cox Everything is negotiable.

Yes, absolutely!  Been there, didn't do that and wound up paying for a cleaning as a courtesy because it was so disgusting!

I would do that before it went under contract.

Filthy is why the price was so attractive.

The seller is communicating clearly what they are willing to do.

So, I would insist on cleaning and watch the listing agent take care of it.

if I'm the listing agent, what the buyer sees is what the buyer gets....and it's empty of all personal property and broom clean at closing.... a cleaning company in a filthy home is a big cost!!  there would be language in the agreement acknowledging and being redundant to standard p&s language....

Our contracts include the term "broom swept" which may be subject to interpretation. It should at least meet that threshold at final walk-through or funds will be escrowed at closing to implement the task.

Such issues are covered during contract negotiations.

My listing gets cleaned by competent people and We request the same for buying

Yes, I do, unless it's a distressed propert.

That....and more too

I ask my buyers whether they would like to request that.

I am a stager by profession no home I work on would be filthy by the time it went on the market ;)

I would recommend a professional cleaning. Yuck!

I'd adjust the offer price based upon the condition and have the buyers do the cleaning.  Seller may not think there is anything wrong with the house.

I would say if it is that bad yes.

I just suggest a cleaning, up to the seller to do as they will do

we do request it

Joan Cox - broom clean for sure.

The industry standard....lol!

There is no harm in asking. However, a purchase is typically on its as is condition.

Joan - I guess that I am a little old school, and would just expect that anyone who is selling their home would have enough respect to clean their home and leave it in good condition for the new buyers. However, I am also not naive, and know that this is just not how people operate anymore. Because of that, I would put something in writing when making the offer, if I wanted to make sure the home was professionally cleaned before the buyers moved in.

By the way, everybody assumes that the buyer got a great deal on this home because it was filthy, but I didn't read that anywhere in your question. Filthy could mean a lot of different things to different people. Perhaps this home just needed a thorough cleaning, and I haven't seen too many great price breaks where buyers are getting thousands of dollars off on a listing because a home needs some maid service that may cost up to a couple hundred dollars at most.

It's something I would rather put in the offer, and many times it's asking for cartpet cleaning due to pet allergies.  Having more reasons makes asking easier.  We can always ask, try to justify that it "needs" to be done, and the sellers can always say no.

Yes, that is part of the negotiation process. I do prepare the buyer to not expect miracles.

You could ask but it would have to be in the offer and agreed on. Buyers mught be better off having this done themselves the way they want after the closing.

It depends on buyer competition. If there are multiple offers or it is a hot sellers market the less conditions generally fair better for a buyer. Depends on the house, the market, buyer and seller....

Oh and it needs to be done during negotiations and put into writing otherwise the seller is under no obligation to do so unless they just want to be kind and have pride in their home and sale.

-Kasey