One of the things that keeps real estate interesting is the many situations that seemingly come out of nowhere just when you thought things were ready to move forward. These generally require a little extra time and effort, often with some creative problem solving to get a property across the line. And while it’s not uncommon for these things to pop up just before closing, sometimes you encounter them right out of the gates, when the client wants to get their property on the market and details arise that interfere.
For one such client who recently inherited his property, he was informed that probate was needed to gain clear title, which would delay his plans by up to a year and force him to miss out on the replacement home he had already chosen. After reviewing his situation, we connected him with a local experienced trust attorney who can file a Heggstad motion with the Court allowing the property to be included in the trust, and we were able put the property on the market and sell without further delay.
On another listing, the effort to bring it to market for the trustee has been hampered by a family member occupying the home who was uncooperative with all efforts to get him to leave the property willingly. In this case, things had to be escalated to an unlawful detainer, and a lockout has been scheduled for next week with the Sheriff’s office so the family can gain control of the home to be able to sell it and fairly divide up the proceeds.
At the other end of the continuum, we currently have two different land deals that are requiring extra effort close to the finish line.
One of these included a list of 45 items that were required to be cleared off the property prior to closing, and with the help of multiple hauling and cleaning crews our team is getting close to the bottom of that list. There were also multiple tenants who had to be relocated, and we are currently working with the final tenant to return their deposit and line up 2 months of storage for their remaining personal belongings while they figure out what to do with them.
With our other active land deal, the buyer made several last-minute demands after they had already removed their contingencies—on issues that had already been disclosed to them up-front. We have reminded them that their deposit is likely at stake and are actively exploring whether our client will consider accommodating their request, but they are leaning towards issuing a Demand to Close with the buyer forfeiting if they don’t perform under the contract.
In the midst of these situations, I am reminded of a comment one of my agents made years ago when he quipped, “This business would be so easy if it weren’t for the buyers and sellers.”
Well, yeah. That plus a few other details.
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