A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Closing

By Chandler Mason

Gone are the days where real estate agents were the gatekeepers of knowledge about local real estate. In fact, potential buyers often know more about a particular property than agents as there is so much information about a property now available on the Internet. A buyer is often keyed in on a particular property and agents have to keep track of hundreds or thousands of listings that are constantly changing. So why hire a real estate agent? Simply upload some pictures and add some basic details and your incredible home will sell itself. If you are a buyer, just find the coolest home and go to the bank to get a loan. Not so fast! It has become easier to get your house online to market it to the world, however it has become increasingly difficult to keep the deal together and move it along to closing once you have a buyer. The real estate agent's job has evolved as it has become increasingly difficult getting from a fully-executed sales agreement to being handed the keys at the closing table. This book gives 123 issues that can arise once the contract is signed. No two deals are alike and there are countless issues that can happen prior to or at the closing table. You might be able to find a buyer on your own or pick out a house on your own, but chances are, getting to the closing table is another story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684567867

Book preview

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A Funny Thing

Happened on the Way to the Closing

123 Ways Residential Real Estate Deals Can Fall Apart

(Even after a Fully Executed Sales Agreement)

First Edition

Chandler Mason

Copyright © 2019 Chandler Mason

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2019

ISBN 978-1-68456-785-0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68456-786-7 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Lonely Way Out—aka− Le Only Way Out Media

Personal

Buyer Discouraged at Mortgage Process

Offer Too Soon, Seller Not Ready to Move

Seller Decides They Can’t Let Go

Car Wreck or Other Accident

Buyer or Seller Becomes Sick

Buyer or Seller Becomes Disabled

Buyer or Seller Gets Called to Go Overseas to Serve

Buyer Becomes Pregnant

Buyer and Seller Fight

Buyer or Seller Gets Bad Feeling or Hears Rumor about Other Party

Buyers or Sellers Break Up or Divorce

Buyer or Seller Jailed

Wait, What’s the Tenant’s Name?

Buyer or Seller Die

Buyer Decides It Is in God’s Will

Neighborhood

Amenity Closing or Opening

Change in Zoning

Neighbor’s Dog

Sex Offender

Meth Lab Bust

Drive-By Shooting

New Crime Report

School Ratings Lowered

Property Taxes Rising

Neighbors Do Something Weird

Neighbor’s Appearance

People in the Neighborhood

Money

Deposit Check Bounces

Insufficient Closing Funds

Buyer’s or Seller’s Credit Changes

Waiting on Settlement Check

Seller’s Mortgage Falls Through

Seller Files for Bankruptcy

Buyer Loses Job

Buyer Gets Transferred

Buyer Afraid She Will Lose Job

Buyer Gets Raise or Pay Cut

Buyer Has Payment Pop-Up

Buyer Has Fluctuating Income

Lender Gets Bad Reputation

Loan Officer Quits, Gets Fired, or Retires

Buyer Gets Two Houses Under Contract

Deal on Buyer’s House Falls Through

Buyer’s Loved One Needs Money

Unsatisfied Lien Appears

Buyer Doesn’t Use or Trust Banks

Closing Costs More Than Sales Price

Buyer Gets Notice Being Audited by IRS

Federal Lien Placed on Seller’s Assets

Discover Large Lien the Seller Wasn’t Aware Of

Seller Gets Offered Lucrative Lease (Or Believes They Will)

USDA Doesn’t Have Funds Currently Available or Finance Properties in Area

Delays Create Short Sale or Foreclosure

Wipeout Clause or First Right of Refusal

Buyer Is Doing 1031 Exchange, and Property They Are Selling Falls Through

Seller Is Doing 1031 Exchange and Property They Are Buying Falls Through

TRID Regulations

News about the Economy

Closing Costs Increase

Unexpected Expense

Nature

Dumping on the Property

Ground Contamination

Sinkhole Develops

Flood Map Changes—Jiminy Crick-ets

Wind Damage

Radon! Oh, Radon! I Hate You, You Don’t Stink

Water Well Becomes Contaminated

Lease Discovered on Property

Drilling Announced in Area

Seller Requests Easement to Harvest Apples

Snow Collapses Building

Weather Causes Delay to Repair

Ice Damage/Ice Dams Discovered

Termites Strategically Covered

Large Old Tree Splits Properties

Trees Cut Down

Water in Basement

Asbestos

Mold

Bats, Snakes, and Rodents, Oh My!

Predator Sightings in Area

Changes

Septic Passed but Now Failing

Septic Code Changes

Discover Septic Is on Neighbor’s Property

Zoning Changes

Seller Refuses to Fully Clean Building Out

What’s in a Name? (Appraisal Issues)

Easement Discovered on Property

Title Defects

Too Close to Gas Station

Seller Changes Mind on What Stays and What Goes

Upstairs Neighbor Has Leak Dripping Down

Acquaintance or Family Member Wants House

Moving to Accommodate Parent and Parent Passes Away

Moving to Be Closer to Parent and Parent Passes Away

Moving to Be Closer to Child and Child Moves

Break-In Causes Damage and Scares Buyer

House of Vandalized

Street Changes

House Changes

Buyer Does Final Walk-Through and Something Has Changed/Broken/Missing

Buyer Discovers History (Murder, Suicide, or Ghost)

Buyer Discovers There Is Cemetery on or Close to the Propriety

Crime Occurs on the Property

Outdoors or Indoor Smell

Uninsurable Property

Tragedy on Property

Estate with Multiple Sellers

Seller Dismantles House

Tenant Won’t Move Out

Tenant Busted for Meth Lab

Unsettled Insurance Claim

Pipe Bursts

Buyer Doesn’t Like the House Empty

Parent or Other Real Estate Expert Comes Through

Scheduling

Lis Pendens Filed

Creepy Things

House Burns Down

Change at Closing Table

Cold Feet

Swimming Pools

Vacant Houses

Lonely Way Out—aka− Le Only Way Out Media

Real estate is as easy as 1-2-3, right? Search for a house, find a house, close on the house. Not so fast! Real estate transactions are best left to professionals to guide you through the process. This book is about 1-2-3 (one hundred twenty-three) reasons why it’s a funny business that’s best left to people who do this for a living!

I could write a book. I should write a book. I might write a book. I will write a book. I wrote a book. I have put my ten-thousand-plus hours into real estate, so at this point, Malcolm Gladwell would consider me an expert on how real estate deals can fall apart. We often kid in our office that we could write a book about the crazy scenarios that occur during a real estate transaction. Everyone in real estate has stories to tell, so I thought I would share some of mine with you. Hopefully this helps others obtain a better grasp of residential real estate deals. A lot of the scenarios are so outrageous that we cannot anticipate them and wouldn’t be able to make them up.

This book is meant to be for readers with any degree of real estate experience. The novice to the real estate expert. Hopefully the novice doesn’t get too scared, as this is meant to help you avoid some of the potential issues that can arise after you have an accepted sales agreement on your dream home. At the same time, hopefully the real estate expert can laugh and this book does not rekindle too many bad memories. Real estate is full of learning experiences even for those with countless hours of experience and real estate knowledge.

I am a real estate broker who has been selling real estate for the past fourteen years. Fourteen very interesting years to sell real estate. The unexpected aspects that have occurred during my pending transactions in those years are what this book is about. When I started, it seemed like anyone, dead or alive, could get a loan, and it was simple to get to the finish line and close. Then no one could close on a home without offering their firstborn. Some funny things have happened in between.

Every deal is different. Something unexpected always comes up. Unfortunately, the unexpected issue(s) are always something different. No matter how hard one tries to think of any unexpected issue(s) that may arise, it never works out. No matter how prepared and experienced an agent may be, no can anticipate all the crazy, unexpected twists and turns a real estate deal can take. However, a good real estate professional can help navigate the obstacles to get you to the end zone.

These are the issues real estate professionals quietly worry about throughout the transaction. However, we try to remain quiet to not scare our clients. A lot of things can go wrong in a transaction that are out of the broker’s control no matter how hard one tries to anticipate potential issues and how much experience a real estate professional has gained. Real estate is a school of hard knocks where no one ever graduates. There are no easy lessons in real estate!

Real estate can take you to the top of the world one minute, then the phone rings and you are quickly humbled and back at the bottom, trying to dig your way out of a new dilemma that is going to hold up the closing. Not only do the dilemmas cause you to figure your way out of the issues that have arisen, they also tend to delay dates and closing time frames. Maybe even kill the deal. Agents expect and understand these dilemmas because they deal with them every day. However, most buyers and sellers are livid when they find out there is a hurdle. Real estate is increasingly full of hurdles, and it is best to gently lay this on your clients up front so they don’t take a fatal leap.

This book is for everyone even if you prefer to rent and never intend to own your own property. You may find yourself handling someone’s estate or giving advice to a loved one about real estate. Every buyer or seller has an expert real estate advisor in the family or at work. Unfortunately, the advice is not always the best. This book will hopefully help you prepare for the excitement that buying and selling real estate brings. It might even be good for real estate professionals to share this book with acquaintances so they can start to understand what makes real estate professionals the way they are!

Want to prepare your buyers and sellers for the roller-coaster ride of buying and selling residential property? This is the book to have them read. Better yet, have them read this book as soon as you meet to go over the consumer notice. When they ask if the deal is a sure thing, remind them to read this book. Reiterate to them it looks positive, but there are no sure things in real estate. Buyer, beware!

There is often a domino effect when buying and selling real estate. The buyer needs to sell so they can buy, and the seller needs to sell so they can buy. This creates a line of dominos that can extend to various lengths with numerous people relying on dominos to fall that they have no control over.