Movers scratched the dark wood stair treads and flooring while moving furniture out.  Sellers had already transferred to NYC and they had the "relocation coordinator" there watching the movers.  Long story short the relocation rep said the floors were already scratched....my story was that the Buyer and Seller had completed a complete pre-move out inspection complete with the seller and buyer taking photos.  The floors ended up being completely redone at the cost of someone other than the Seller.  

Some dents on the walls. They gave credit.

Moron seller took a chisel to the tile and busted out the built in stove to take with them.  We had discussed the stove (even though the contract also stated it would remain) and thought it was clear that it stayed.   Seller's agent and I split the cost.  Wasn't the buyer's fault.

Tenants in a beautiful, furnished, stand-alone 2500 sf condo made a mess of the whole house (cigarette burns in carpets and floors; furniture damaged; walls scratched and dents from who knows what; food left in sink and fridge, etc). Who paid for it all? The landlord. Why? The tenant was a Crown Prince of a middle Eastern country and had diplomatic immunity. Went through the embassy and was told, "Sorry".

Piano wheel marks on a hardwood floor when she had her adult children move her out.  She had to pay for a resurfacing.  She totally admitted it was her fault, and was trying to save a buck having her sons move her.  Didn't work.

When my husband and I purchased a home, the seller left it with 10 truckloads of trash scattered throughout the house and the house was filthy dirty.  The listing agent and his family came in and cleaned the house, which was probably the nicest thing a competing Realtor has done for me!

To be honest with you Paul Henderson I've never had a mishap happen (knock on wood) in the 21 years I've been doing Real Estate.  But your story is a serious scenario ... Bet those movers will check before driving over a yard again! That was once expense learning lesson. OMG!

If it happens it is usually an accident and if it is then the party responsible should step up and fix it but it doesn't always work out that way so I usually end up paying for it without raising a fuss but I do make sure that the buyer (who is my new potential seller) is aware that I helped solve a problem

After reading these I think I am pretty lucky!  I have not had a complaint like this for either a buyer or a seller!

Have had the usual - took mailbox at street, took light fixture, but one that , I guess, was our fault - walk thru before move out so we did not see - they used floor mat in office area with the spikes for carpet but hardwood floor so inbedded into wood - a lot of little holes to fill in!!

Hole in stairwell wall & smashed overhang from armoire flying down the stairs - accidently of course! Insurance covered it but buyer was just too nervous about it wanted thousands in escrow, etc. DRAMA.

More fights about junk left behind during short sales. Seller doesn't care & just left including RF's full of spoiled food. What's the price of a dumpster for all their junk that they did end up paying for it as they were getting some move out $$ from FNMA maybe.

It wasn't damaged while moving out (the house was vacant when shown) but it did happen between the offer acceptance and the walk-through prior to closing.  During the walk-through, we found a water leak that affected the living room wall and was definitely not there during the showing that resulted in the offer that was ultimately accepted.  The listing agent tried to deny that the water leak had happened after the showing but the buyers wouldn't fall for that and the sellers agreed to a credit at closing for what it would cost to repair the leak and the wall.  It told me volumes about that agent.

10/am and he was already drunk and decided move the car, ran into the garage door.... ops. he tried to play me is new demo tape but was too drunk to figure out his own recording studio.  Funny but sad, very stressful for the family and business he rurined.

It was a Fannie Mae repo - they took the furnace, the kitchen sink and range, the pressure tank, all the light fixtures and even the switch plates. Then they threw rocks down the well. When the well driller came to drill a new well, I gave him a map and showed him where the septic tank and drain field were - telling him not to go there. He didn't pay any attention - the well drilling rig fell right into the septic tank. 

Fannie Mae paid to fix it. Then they listed it for $10,000 over my BPO and turned down an offer that came in at the right price. Six months later they accepted an offer for $10,000 UNDER my BPO. This was a doublewide and several years ago. The right price was $75,000 - so not a whole lot of room there to pay for all those repairs. 

My seller left a few larger than needed holes in the dry wall behind the TV mount they removed, just before leaving.  The buyer saw it and was livid.  I fixed it myself and never even discussed it with my seller.  Everyone was happy in the end. 

Torn vinyl flooring or gouged drywall are the most common ones. I did see one house where the seller got too close to the house with the moving truck and tore the siding off. It looked pretty bad and the buyer was upset.

Broken window.  The seller did pay to have it fixed.

I can share some great pictures. It is one thing to take the whole kitchen and bath with you but another to make a whole in every wall and cement the toilets, sinks and tubs. 

Once had tenants, take out a slider to move furniture, broke it and very notified anyone.

Ripped out all of the light fixtures and appliances.  Kicked holes in the deck.  Came back to dump trash when the house was being shown on the market.  

This person was not happy about having to sell their house and move out.  I had to have someone come in and repair all of the damage!  

1.  A BIG hole in the stairwell wall while moving furniture out.

The seller's fixed it.

2.  Trash left in the yard.

3.  Trash and debris left in the crawl space.

During a pre-closing inspection, AFTER the seller moved out, I broke a closet door!

Never seen damages from Sellers, but we do see this kind of thing from renters and we just proceed to quickly make the repairs.

I had seen the floor on level 1 was totally ruined as the buyer intentionally left the water running on 2nd floor laundry room.

We have been very lucky compared to some of the answers here!  The worst case so far has been a house that was not clean with some things left behind.  I hauled away the debris to the dump and recycle, and the buyer's agent pitched in and we split the cost of the cleaning individual.

Not so much damage as a completely filthy house. I have helped out a time or two

I personally bought a house where homeowner removed the refrigerator (can't do that and lawyer got us credit) and the washing machine (contract didn't list it). He tried to yank the dryer out of the wall but couldn't separate it so just broke it instead. He also took every last square of toilet tissue for emphasis. We paid market value so I'm not sure what the problem was. Wife called a couple of months later and wanted to return the broiler they had taken that came with the oven. "We've got it, "no thank you." The less interaction, the better.

It may have not been the worst damage but I had a seller leave a home filthy and I mean filthy. The buyer was a young Afro-American woman and my immediate thought was I had a seller that was bigoted. I hired a maid and with her personally cleaned the home at my expense and time. Even though this was not my buyer it was the right thing to do.

Mike previewed a luxury short sale home that was bare to the walls.  No fixtures, no kitchen, no bathroom, no doors, no flooring, no A/C, no nothing left...they even pulled the electrical wires up into the attic.

Backstory: Neighbors knew everything. Husband moved out during the short sale and wife got even by running an ad for contractors to buy whatever they wanted.  This home was a really "stripped" to the core. 

Eve

wow - lots of sad stores here.  My most recent is I showed up when the "moving van" was full, seller was already in another state, and I found all kinds of stuff not packed, scuffed up door that will have to be painted, and they left things behind that I will somehow need to mail to another state.  Argh, my sore back from hauling stuff to the trash, recycling left over boxes, and things that didn't make the truck.  

I had a seller who punched a rather large hole in the wall while moving a couch with a hide-a-bed.  The bed part had sprung out in the hallway, when it was tilted to get it out the door.  It was 2 days prior to close of escrow, but we managed to have a contractor come in and make a good repair, at seller expense of course.

Your crushed drain field sounds a whole lot more serious than anything I've encountered during a transaction.

It wasn't the seller in this case, but the moving van took out the garage by backing into it.  What a mess.  The moving company ended up paying for it, but the sale actually cancelled because of it.