When there is no explicit condition in the sales contract, who will be
responsible for cleaning the home (such as cleaning carpet, making
sure there is no dust in the home, etc)? Is it seller's
responsibility? Or is it buyer's responsibility since without the
cleaning condition in the contract, it may be deemed an As-Is sale?

Also if the buyer were to pay a janitorial company to clean the home
after possession (within 2 days), will the seller be held liable to
pay for it since he didn't clean the home after moving out?

If there is a law governing this one, pointing me to the right place
would be a great help.

Greetings, srivandan!

If the sales contract was written properly, it should already include
a provision for a "walk-through" the day or evening before, or morning
of, the day the closing on the property is to take place. The purpose
of the walk-through is to permit the buyer to verify, prior to signing
anything, that the property is in the same (or better) condition as
when the offer was initially made and accepted. Furthermore, if the
sales contract specified that certain repair(s) were to be made, the
walk-through is the time to verify that those repairs have in fact
been completed.

If the sales contract specifies that the home is to be in "move-in"
condition, that means that the seller is responsible for cleaning the
property to the point that it is clean enough that the buyer should be
able to move in, unpack, and put things away, without having to do
more than at most a wipe-down of surfaces. To enforce this provision,
however, the buyer must do the walk-through and raise the issue of the
house not being clean enough prior to signing the papers.

However, if the contract only specifies that the property is being
sold "As Is", then it must only be as clean as it was when the offer
was made and accepted. If it is substantially more dirty, the buyer
may have the right to require the seller to 1) clean it before the
buyer will sign the papers, or 2) agree in writing to pay for the
cleaning bill if the buyer goes ahead and closes as scheduled.

Unless the contract specifies "clean and in move-in condition", and
the buyer claims PRIOR TO CLOSING that this condition has not been
met, then the seller is not under obligation to pay for any cleaning
done by the buyer after closing is completed.


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I hope this Answer provides you with exactly what you needed!

Regards,

aceresearcher

Ace gave a good answer. A walk through should be schedualed shortly
before closing (Is that the same as the day of close of escrow?) to be
sure both parties are satisfied. Both buyers and sellers should take
some video with date and time at this walk though in case the place
gets messed up just before or during the closing. Any further
concessions after the closing to the buyer are unlikely unless the
seller will admit they have been unfair. In special cases you might
succeed in small claims court. Laws are different in each State and
country.   Neil

My advice is to make absolutely sure that the contract states the the
house will be in "move in" condition.  When we bought our house, the
sellers moved out two days prior to our moving in.  When we took
possesion of the house the day before we moved in, the house was
trashed.  The place was filthy to the extent that we could not move
in.  I complained quite LOUDLY to the realtor who sold us the house
and he paid a service to come in and clean the place and haul away the
trash left behind.  In fact, when I went over to supervise the
cleaning, the realtor himeself was scrubbing the bath tub.

The moral:  Get it in writting.  Our realtor was under no obligation
to have the place cleaned, but he was an honorable man and paid for it
out of his comission.  Not all realtors would have done the same
thing.

Congratulations on the new house!  May it be filled with years of joy
and happiness.

- ddelphi