Who Cleans Up Repossessed Foreclosure Homes?

When a home is repossessed and sent through the foreclosure process due to delinquent payments, the homeowner typically leaves the house in a mess. This begs the question of who exactly is responsible for cleaning up these reposed foreclosure homes that go onto the market. The delinquent homeowner? The lender? The new homeowner? The short answer is: it depends.

More often than not, the lending company will hire a cleaning service to clean the property in an effort to help the property sell quicker. The quicker the property sells the faster they can cut the losses of the lending company due to the defaulted loan. Most of the time the property will sell much quicker if the house is clean and presentable. Furthermore, sometimes the lending company will also pay for minor repairs to be made to the property in an effort to sell quicker; however, this is less likely to happen.

However, if the buyer decides to purchase the property "as is", then the new homeowner is completely responsible for cleaning the property and making all needed repairs. Although this option means more work for the buyer, the potential homebuyer may be able to get a better deal on the property since the lending company will not have to pay for repairs or cleaning services.

In the end, the lending company typically hires a cleaning service to clean the property before it is put up for sale.