Why Home Buyers Forage for that Condo Mailbox Key

Ask your Sacramento agent for help in obtaining a condo mailbox key to the community mailboxes.

As a condo homebuyer, forget what you think you know about getting a condo mailbox key at closing. Nobody seems to ask about the condo mailbox key until the transaction is closed, and then all holy hell can break out if the seller does not leave the condo mailbox key. Buyer’s agents might want to include a line in the California Residential Purchase Agreement in paragraph 8, B 3 to include the mailbox key. There doesn’t seem to be a provision for the key otherwise in the contract.

For example, the United States Post Office in West Sacramento charges a $75.00 deposit for a mailbox key to the condos at Riva on the River. The mailboxes are owned by the USPS. They are not owned by the occupants nor the HOA, a fact which I presume is spelled out in the condo docs that nobody ever reads because they are the size of the Great American Novel. Like the autobiography of Mark Twain, which I still can’t muddle through.

Sometimes sellers forget about the mailbox key deposit like one would forget about an ex-husband or four. Distasteful, yet out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Just glad it’s over with so you can get on to better and more interesting things in life. There is not enough space in most people’s brains to contain the fact that they had once upon a time paid a deposit for a condo mailbox key and, even if they suddenly recall, it’s too much of a hassle for many to drive over to USPS to retrieve it. We don’t yet have winged monkeys available at our service. Sigh.

Should the buyer reimburse the seller for the condo mailbox key? Perhaps. But when a buyer is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a condo, it seems a bit of out of whack. Por supuesto, (of course) you could say that about every fee charged to the seller as well. $20.00 for a notary, $40.00 to overnight documents. $9.00 for recording. Petty fees, yet necessary.

Bottom line is if there is no provision in the contract to provide a condo mailbox key, some sellers will refuse. On top of which, maybe the sellers had rented out the condo and the tenant did not turn in the key. All kinds of things can happen to that condo mailbox key. If your buyer’s agent is on top of his or her game when writing the contract, that agent can protect you. We provide that kind of protection for buyers on the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. Call us at 916.233.6759.