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.

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