Aug 17–21

Mon, Aug 17

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**HOOK**

Every Agreement of Purchase and Sale is unique.

The property, the buyer, the seller, the circumstances — all of it shapes what needs to be in that contract to properly protect the parties involved.

But there are a few clauses that I call Logistic Clauses that should be in virtually every offer. Whether it's a freehold property or a condo.

And if they're not in there, you can end up with problems on closing day that are very difficult to fix after the fact.

Before I was a lawyer, I was a licensed Realtor. I've been on both sides of the table — the drafting side, and now the reviewing side. That perspective shapes everything about how I look at an offer.

So whether you're a buyer or a Realtor writing offers, these three clauses are the difference between a smooth closing and a stressful one.

**INTRO**

My name is Zachary Soccio-Marandola. I'm a lawyer here in Toronto. And I help people like you close real estate deals every single day. If you enjoy this type of content, make sure you subscribe and join our community. And if you have a closing coming up, we've built the most transparent legal fee calculator online — it gives you a full breakdown of every dollar you'll spend and even calculates closing costs like land transfer tax and title insurance. That's linked in the description below.

**What Are Logistic Clauses**

Now, before we get into the three clauses, I want to explain what I mean when I say Logistic Clauses.

These are not conditions. A condition is something that determines whether the deal happens at all — a financing condition, a home inspection condition, a status certificate condition. Those are about the deal coming together.

Logistic Clauses are different. They assume the deal is happening. They're about making sure that closing day goes smoothly. That the buyer walks into that property and everything is as it should be.

And that distinction matters. Because a lot of buyers and Realtors focus heavily on the conditions — which is right — but then don't give enough thought to what happens between the firm date and the closing date.

So. The three Logistic Clauses I'm going to walk you through today are: a good working order clause, buyer visit clauses, and a broom-swept or clean condition. Let's go through each one.

**Good Working Order Clause**

The first one is the good working order clause.

Now, here's what most people don't realize. The default language in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale says that the chattels and fixtures included in the purchase are free from all liens and encumbrances. That's the baseline protection.

But free from liens and encumbrances doesn't mean working. It doesn't say anything about whether the appliances actually function on closing day.

So I always recommend adding a good working order clause. What this does is create an explicit obligation on the seller to ensure that the included chattels — the appliances, the fixtures, whatever is listed in the agreement — are in good working order on the closing date.

And that's because without it, you close and find out the dishwasher doesn't work, or the stove element is broken, and you have very little legal ground to stand on. The seller has already left. The deal is done.

With the clause in place, you have a contractual obligation you can point to.

The language I use for this clause is:

[PLACEHOLDER — insert good working order clause language here]

**Buyer Visits**

The second Logistic Clause is the buyer visit clause.

Now, depending on how long the gap is between when the agreement was signed and the closing date, you may want two or three visits built into the contract where the buyer is allowed to view the property.

This isn't always top of mind when an offer is being written. But think about it from the buyer's perspective. They saw the property once, maybe twice, before the offer. Then the deal firms up. And they might not see it again until closing day.

A lot can happen in that window. Sellers move out and damage walls. Appliances get taken that were supposed to stay. The property deteriorates.

So I always recommend including buyer visit clauses — and the strategic move here is to save one of those visits for as close to closing as possible. The day before, if you can. That final visit is essentially a pre-closing walkthrough.

And that's because if there's an issue — something's broken, something's missing, the property isn't in the condition it should be — you want to know about it before the keys change hands, not after. Pre-closing, we can still try to get ahead of it. Post-closing, your options are much more limited and more expensive.

The language I use for buyer visits is:

[PLACEHOLDER — insert buyer visit clause language here]

**Broom-Swept Condition**

The third Logistic Clause is the broom-swept condition.

This one is straightforward but important. It creates a clear obligation on the seller to deliver the property in a clean and presentable condition on closing day.

Now, broom-swept is the standard. It means the property should be cleared out and reasonably clean — not pristine, but not a mess either. Debris removed, floors swept, the place left in a state a reasonable buyer would expect.

In some situations, you can negotiate up from there. If the property is being sold at a price point where a professional clean is reasonable to expect, or if the seller has agreed to it, you can specifically require that the seller hire a professional cleaner before closing. That needs to be in the agreement explicitly — a vague reference to "clean condition" won't get you there.

And that's because buyers often underestimate how much this matters until they show up on closing day to a property that hasn't been touched. The sellers have moved out, left garbage behind, and the buyer is walking in with their movers in an hour. That's a bad day.

Having this clause in writing gives you something to enforce. It sets the expectation clearly and puts it on the seller to meet it.

The language I use for this clause is:

[PLACEHOLDER — insert broom-swept condition clause language here]

**SUMMARY**

So those are the three Logistic Clauses — good working order, buyer visits, and broom-swept condition.

None of them are complicated. None of them are controversial. But they belong in virtually every offer, and when they're missing, closing day is where you feel it.

**OUTRO**

If you're enjoying these behind the scenes, real estate law videos, make sure you subscribe to the channel — I post a new video every week. And if you're a Realtor, I also send a weekly update about different legal situations that come up in our closings. That's our Realtor Newsletter and you can subscribe to it with the link down in the description. Thanks for watching.

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