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Houses are selling like hotcakes right now, but it's a stressful time: the bidding, the paperwork, the contracts, the organizing, the packing and the sorting. It can be a monumental task.

And like any monumental event in one’s life, it is only natural to expect a curveball or two. And, sometimes those curveballs morph into volleyballs when problems crop up on closing day.

John Kenny of Bedford, N.S. has been working in real estate for 15 years and is a sales professional with the Sutton Realty Professional Group. He is also known professionally as the Kilted Kenny.

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Like many other professionals in the real estate business, he has triaged his fair share of curveballs on closing day, including one that occurred on a cold day in February in Bedford.

“My client and I went to a pre-closing walkthrough on the final day when they would get the house, which had been vacated by owners that moved to Vancouver a month or so prior," he recalls.

"We walk into the house and immediately felt the cold. I noticed the heat was set around under 10 degrees on the main floor. Then we went upstairs, everything was fine, still cool but the sinks and toilets were running fine.”

When Kenny and his client went into the basement, the reason it was so cold was revealed.

“The sellers had shut off the heat completely on the lower level, which had resulted in three-quarters to an inch of water on the whole floor - only it was ice now because of the temperature. It was a skating rink,” recalls Kenny. 

"The sellers felt when the house was officially sold and the conditions met it was no longer their concern, so they felt it was not their responsibility to continue to heat it either.”

The sellers were from a different country originally and didn't think to ask their agent, he adds.

The water was a result of a broken hot water baseboard pipe from the heating system.

“And the sellers initially were of the opinion they would not be paying for the damage," he added.

John worked the problem with his clients, who did get the proceeds from the insurance to correct everything and replace the flooring, some drywall and plumbing that was affected.

Kenny recalled another closing day walkthrough with a client excited to purchase a new mobile home that did not go as planned.

“Their moving truck was loaded and they planned to move in as soon as they took possession through the lawyers. As is customary, we had booked our preclosing walkthrough for 9 a.m.”

“You can be as prepared as you want – some things are just completely out of your control.” – John Kenny

When Kenny and his client arrived on site, “we saw the moving truck for the seller in the driveway, which is never a good sign," he says.

“We entered the house in the kitchen and started to inspect. I could clearly hear a machine pulsing in the background. I walked down the hall and announced myself, only to find the senior citizen owner still sleeping with her breathing device on, and all of her bedroom furniture still assembled," Kenny said.

“I went outside and a man was sleeping in the moving truck. It was her son who was there from the country ready to move his mom home.”

“You can be as prepared as you want – some things are just completely out of your control.”

Sometimes the curveballs continue to happen after closing.

Kenny had a client that moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia to start his military career as a pilot in the Armed Forces.

“He purchased a condo with solid bones in a nice building, however, it needed some renovations, which were to be undertaken after purchase and estimated to take two weeks,” he said. "He ordered the materials and I recalled his choice on flooring was specific but didn't think much of it. One week after closing, he arrived with plans to stay in a hotel for the week.”

On week three, Kenny gave his client a courtesy call just to see how he was liking the new condo.

“He reported to me that the flooring was on backorder from Home Depot, so he was now sleeping in the condo on his mattress in the middle of the living room. The kitchen was still disassembled, and the flooring was possibly three weeks out," Kenny said. “I felt terrible for him. So, I invited him to my home for two weeks so he could live normally and the work could get completed.”

James Beaton is a realtor and sales representative with EXIT Realty PEI.

Beaton says that in a standard contract, the fixtures and chattels section addresses everything to be included in the purchase and sale agreement.

“Items that are screwed, nailed, bolted down, or built into the house/ structure are to be included in the purchase and sale agreement at the agreed price," he says.

That means things like kitchen cabinets, the plumbing, furnace go with the house.

Another way of putting it, he says, is “the way the standard contract is written, if you were able to pick up the home and shake it, everything that falls out would not be included in the sale.”

He stresses that “it’s important to write in all the items that you’d want included in the sale, including but not limited to standard appliances, decks, sheds, etc. Just because the items are discussed in the listing, doesn’t mean it’s a part of the purchase agreement.”

But sometimes, it doesn’t matter how well a contract is written out. Like Kenny, Beaton has had his fair share of unique events happen on closing day.

“On one particular closing day walk-through, the sellers were so cheap they took all the lightbulbs, bathroom vanity, and even the toilet paper holder," Beaton recalls. "Thankfully, it was resolved, and the sellers co-operated and returned those items, the property closed on time, and everyone marched on with their lives.”

Sometimes, though, these situations are not resolved so easily.

“A similar situation happened at the pre-closing walk-through, and the sellers refused to communicate with us," he says. "At the end of the day, everyone just needs to ask themselves, is it worth the headaches of chasing down the seller and getting what legally should be yours when it's only worth a few hundred dollars?”

"In the big scheme of things, sometimes it's best for the buyer to roll up their sleeves and take care of it themselves and get the sale closed and move in to avoid potential temporary homelessness in this hectic market where they might have already sold their previous home to purchase this new home.”

Another piece of advice from Beaton is to always expect to clean the new home prior to moving in.

“Your level of clean will likely differ from that of the sellers. If the property is really messy, it might be best to add a condition that the seller is to have the property professionally cleaned that is satisfactory to you.”

Kenny advises agents who encounter strange closing situations to “stay cool, calm and focused on the task in front of you.”

"Your client is more than likely already nervous on closing day as it is a big step and we are the source of professionalism and reason they are looking to and absolutely need someone to rely on during this time," he says. “Having a meltdown in front of a stressed-out client is the last thing they need. Breathe deep and assure them anything can be fixed with time ... well, almost everything.”

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