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If a home is rented and the owner places it on the market for sale the renters are served the proper notices once an offer has been accepted. If required they will have to leave the premises for the new owners. This process is usually peaceful and orderly, and while tenants may not like it, they understand the owner does have the prerogative to sell a house he/she owns.

I have had clients that purchased a home in this situation however the turnover process was hardly orderly.

My clients purchased a 2-storey home that was in need of some cosmetic touches as the current tenants were not taking very good care of the property. My clients fortunately could see past the cosmetic work that was required. The tenants did what they could to make showings be uncomfortable, following us around the house during the showings etc. Undeterred my clients put an offer in on the home and after some back and forth the offer was accepted.

The tenants were served the requisite notices and were given almost 80 days to move before the deal closed. I suspected things may not go according to plan and sadly I found out quickly this was not going to be easy. We had scheduled a home inspection on a Saturday morning. I arrived and found the home inspector had arrived before me. He informed me he wasn’t going anywhere near the property as there was a very large dog tied to the front porch prohibiting us from getting to the front door to knock. He also advised me there was a little girl playing on the front yard when he arrived but she had since gone into the house. We assumed her parents were inside.

I’m no Caesar Milan but I am very comfortable around dogs so I approached the door. As I got closer the dog obviously barked and made a bit of a show but I suspected he was not going to bite so I approached. We became friends so I rang the doorbell……repeatedly. Knowing that they were inside and refusing to answer and knowing that they had ok’d the home inspection was maddening. I continued to knock which evolved into pounding on the door. Still no answer. I called the listing agent to see if he could call them and get them to answer the door. He had no luck but urged me to keep pounding, so I did. After likely waking the rest of the neighbourhood up the tenant finally answered the door unapologetically and let us in.

For the next 3 hours we conducted the inspection with the tenant standing beside us every step of the way…..AWKWARD!!!

Finally inspection being completed other than the filth and new paint and flooring the house was in pretty decent shape. At this point in time the market was increasing in values so my clients got a pretty good deal.

We waited for the weeks to pass by for our closing date. As the date got closer and closer I periodically checked the house and it appeared to me they were nowhere near ready to move out. I advised the listing agent of this as well. At this point the tenant stated he was having a hard time finding a place to go to.

The week before closing I knew these tenants were not going to leave the house despite the landlord forgiving three months of outstanding rent. I called my clients lawyer and advised we will likely need to extend the closing date. Fortunately, my clients who had moved here from Alberta, were living with family, so while inconvenient, it was not a desperate situation that they couldn’t get in on the closing date. Sure enough the tenants did not vacate the property so the closing date was extended. Time went by and the next closing date arrived with the tenants still in the property. Meanwhile property values were increasing rapidly during this time. The owner was offering to let our clients out of the deal. He knew he could sell the property for more money so it worked for him to release my clients from this deal. One of my clients was considering this as an option. To help calm my buyers down I kept reminding them they should stay the course and close on this house as they were making money every day that goes by.
After three revised closing dates my clients finally got possession of the house.
 
Of course it was a disaster inside. I took pictures and reminded the selling agent  that the house was to be turned over in a clean condition. He agreed and the seller had a cleaning crew come in and do their best. My clients took possession and immediately went to work to make it their own. Fast forward 3 years later the house looks amazing and they have a beautiful family home. While aggravating my clients both agreed it was worth the wait to get.

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A messy close

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Most real estate transactions close with few if any issues. Every now and again however you
get a reminder of just how quickly things can go wrong.

I was representing a buyer client in Barrie, Ontario on the purchase of her home. My client was a single mom as was the seller of the home.  I did a final revisit a day or two prior to the closing date, just to ensure appliances were still there and in working order and the house was in good shape.

Upon my arrival it was clear to me the home owner was completely overwhelmed with the
packing process. I advised my clients lawyer at the time about this problem and that we may
have a problem with the seller actually leaving the home on time.

Closing day arrived and I received a call from my client indicating things were moving
along nicely and she should have possession soon. Relieved, I drove by the house and
discovered that there were many large items at the curb and still movement at the residence.
I called the listing agent at that time and asked if his client was planning to be done soon as
there was a pile of items at the curb that my client would NOT be inheriting. The listing agent
advised me the seller would be out by 4 o’clock. and those items at the curb would be
removed.

I attended the house at 6 pm. The items curb side had actually grown in number. There were a
couple lights on inside the home and when looking through the window it was clear there were
still items inside that had to be removed. Also the house was extremely messy.

I again called the listing agent informing him of this. He said he would call his client and find out
what was going on. The listing agent called me and informed me that his client was totally
overwhelmed with moving and she had no help etc etc. While having sympathy for the lady this
was now my clients home and she still had no key. The listing agent promised he would stop by
her place at 9 pm, the new deadline, and ensure everything was fine.

I received a call at 9 pm from the listing agent stating his client was all done moving but
wanted to clean the house prior to my client taking possession. They would be out before
midnight !!

I asked the agent to ensure that happens and to send me a text when they are out as my client
was understandably upset and I needed him to ensure the house was locked up properly once
they were out.

I went to bed and of course did not sleep a wink. At 1am I sent the listing agent a text asking
what the status was. I received a picture of the kitchen area stating they were out and all was
locked up and fine.

At 7:30 am I got up and immediately went to the house. I arrived and found the pile of items at
the curb had grown, not gotten smaller. I entered the house to find it was complete mess. I went
into the garage and found there was still many large and small items still there.

Thankfully my client was not there or she would have been very upset. I immediately called the listing agent and told him something needs to be done with a junk removal company to pick up the items at
the curb as they were not my clients responsibility. I also told him the clause in the agreement
was for the house to be “left in a clean and broom swept condition” which the home definitely
was not, and that cleaners were going to have to be brought in at his clients expense.

He totally agreed with me and called me back shortly indicating that junk removal company
would be arriving in two hours and he was still working on cleaners. Knowing that the junk
removal company was coming shortly I realized I needed to get the items out of the garage and
to the curb for removal for my client. So I hauled the items such as wood, drywall cat litter
boxes, still with cat poop in them, paint cans and shelving to the curb and swept the garage out
prior to the junk removal company arriving. At least the garage was in a “broom swept condition" when I was done. As I was getting dirtier and dustier I was thinking how ridiculous this was, and how “glamorous” being a real estate agent can be. 

I informed my client that things were coming together and that we have keys and that it was being professionally cleaned later in the morning.  When I received a text from the listing agent indicating the cleaners were finished I again attended the house to make sure it was in great shape for my client, which it was.

All in all a very stressful closing and very little sleep, but in the end, the home was left in
excellent condition the way my client expected it to be.

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Overlooking the Obvious

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I had a property listed during a slower market and while it showed better than any of the
properties similarly priced in the area it just wasn’t moving. Such was the market at the time.

My client had received a second viewing request and my client called in a bit of a panic. She had
left for work late and her house wasn’t quite in the perfect state of show readiness that it usually
was. She wondered if I thought that would be a problem. Since I had the morning free I told her I
would drive out to her place and ensure everything was put away.

I arrived at the home and found that all in all the home was really in quite show ready condition.
A few dishes in the sink which I put in the dishwasher. A little bit of clean laundry that was sitting
atop the dryer that I put away in their closet and a few very minor things on coffee tables etc.
I left feeling that my client perhaps over reacted as there really was nothing devastating about the
condition of the home by any means.

Later that evening my client sent me a photo of her bra that was hung overtop the shower curtain to dry. I was so intent on finding the little things I completely overlooked the obvious. We both had a good laugh over my missing something so visible.

The house sold to the buyer who had scheduled the second showing so obviously the bra over the shower curtain rod wasn’t a deal breaker.

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A new plumber

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Recently, I had clients purchase a home in a rural setting. The inspection identified a plumbing
issue that would need to be addressed upon closing. My clients husband is exceptionally busy
man and would not be able to be present at the time the plumber was there.

The plumber who I normally recommend for my clients was not available to do the job so I found another one who was available. Since I had not used this plumber before, and given my clients husband would not be present I made a point of being there for my client to ensure all went well.

I wanted to ensure he understood exactly what needed to be done and to ensure my client was taken careof with the same type of customer service that I provided. As it turned out the plumber was
awesome and the job was done on time and on budget.

My client was not expecting me to assist in that regard but was very grateful…the result …
Happy and thankful client.

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The Closet Organizer vs. The Attic

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During a home inspection access to the attic was obstructed because of a closet organizer. The
inspector advised if the closet organizer was removed he would return after closing and inspect
the attic for us. The concern was there did not appear to be any roof vents on the roof of the
home. The only way to tell for certain if they had a ridge vent installed was to view the underside
of the roof.

My client was a single lady who would not be able to remove the organizer on her
own. The day after closing I returned with my tools to my clients newly purchased home and
removed the organizer for the inspector.

The job however, as is often the case, was more complicated than originally thought and required removal of closet doors, tracking and some trim around the opening. After the inspector completed his inspection of the attic obviously everything had to be reinstalled. There were small pieces of trim that had to be reattached. Having done some trim work in the past I knew the likelihood of splitting the pieces was high with a hammer and nail. I replaced everything else then I went back home and returned with a
compressor and a trim nailer to complete the job.

The attic was inspected with no issues discovered and the closet organizer was back as it was when the home was purchased … the result? Happy and thankful client.

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Full of Mould

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I was acting as a buyer representative for clients from Toronto who were looking for some
investment properties. The search started with everyone excited to find the right spot to build on their real estate portfolio. We found some properties over time that could work for them and placed offers on several but never actually got a deal done. I discovered my clients were not going to close on any property unless they in their minds “stole” it from the seller. Despite my best efforts of showing them average selling prices and percentage of asking prices for home types of what they were looking for they still wanted to negotiate the nails out of the floor boards.

Finally we found a property that got an accepted offer conditional on inspection. The inspection was proceeding very well with only the attic left to inspect. I had been informed by the selling agent that the roof had been done only 2 to 3 years ago with new plywood sheeting as well so what could go wrong? The inspector popped the attic hatch, shown his flashlight into the attic and remarked “Oh my.” When an inspector says “Oh my” that in my experience is rarely a good thing. He took a couple of photos then returned back down and said “ the attic is full of mould.” So knowing that the sheet lumber had been recently replaced I said “so you mean like a little bit of mould?” He showed me the pics which showed the sheet lumber entirely blackened with mould.

My clients were very upset. After all this time this was their first property we were so close but now we find this significant issue. We talked about it and I asked if they would still close on the property if I could find a mould remediation company for them and get a quote and have that deducted off the purchase price. They were open to that but being from Toronto they didn’t know of anyone in Barrie. I advised them I would take care of it for them. I advised the selling agent of our findings and sent the pictures so she could show the sellers.

I found a local company to give an estimate to us for the mould remediation. I met the company on site on behalf of my clients and got an estimate. We negotiated the cost of the mould removal with the sellers and closed the deal. My clients immediately got the mould removed upon closing and began renting out the home.

Real estate is a business that is full of surprises and just when you think a deal is basically a “done deal” surprises often pop up that require some extra effort to overcome.

READ MORE STORIES WITH JIM:
A New Plumber

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