Home Improvement on an L/O - Posted by Augie (So. CA)

Posted by Jim IL on November 27, 2000 at 03:17:53:

Augie,
I have on occassion allowed my T/B’ers to make improvements to my homes prior to exercising the option to buy.
But, I ALWAYS have it stated clearly in the agreement that I must approve any work done, and that it needs to be done to my satisfaction by qualified service people.
Further, I also state in the agreement that any work done, the T/B’er does not get a refund for, nor can they remove any of the improvements if they fail to exercise the option for any reason.
I have also in the past approved work done and credited it toward the purchase price, for things I knew needed to be done ahead of time, like carpeting etc.
But, I also made up for the reduced price by making sure the price was high enough in the first place to allow me to still make my profit.

But, be careful here, many T/B’er think they are “Handy”, when in fact they are not.
Most of the T/B’ers I have allowed to make improvements were themselves employed in the trades, and I checked there work, and references.

HTH,
Jim IL

Home Improvement on an L/O - Posted by Augie (So. CA)

Posted by Augie (So. CA) on November 27, 2000 at 01:05:58:

Hi all,

As a seller, if I were to L/O a house, can the T/B put improvements on the home as if he/she had already bought it? Or should he/she wait until the option is exercised?

Thanks in advance.

Augie (So. CA)

Re: Home Improvement on an L/O - Posted by BillW

Posted by BillW on November 27, 2000 at 07:13:15:

You have to be very careful here, this is an area where you can get into some problems. I would also make sure that I had filed a “Notice of Nonresponsibility” on any jobs like this. What this does is to notify any contractors and workers that they won’t be able to collect if they intend to file a lien for unpaid work. Sometimes, the tenant doing the L/O doesn’t pay and then the contractors look to you to pay. You want to avoid this situation. Talk to your attorney for the correct paperwork.
Good luck–BillW.