“Ooooh, this property just came back on the market after a pending sale. There must be something wrong with it, right?“

Well….not necessarily! And yet we hear this all the time. From buyer clients to other realtors, there seems to be a huge stigma attached to homes that return to the market after a conditional sale.

Of course, one reason for a failed deal might be that the home inspection revealed a serious defect with the property. But that’s not always the case.

Sometimes, a failed deal  has nothing to do with the property at all.

Some other reasons a home might come back on the market include:

• Financing: the buyers just can’t get the money.
• Buyer’s Remorse: they simply got cold feet.
• Dealing in Poor Faith: the buyers submitted more than one offer to purchase on more than one property. (Which is completely fine if you’re intending to OWN more than one home, btw)
• Dishonesty: perhaps they were less than forthcoming on their actual situation – like failing to mention that they must first sell another property in order to buy this one.

Hey, all kinds of things happen. Especially in competitive markets like this year’s. One of our own listings come back on the market TWICE – both times having nothing to do with the home.

So if you think you’ve found your dream home but are concerned because it’s returning to the market after a failed deal, don’t be too quick to rule it out. Check it out!

Good morning! Since today is closing day for two of our sellers and one of our buyers, I thought I’d take a minute to discuss the pre-closing inspection.

Huh? What’s a pre-closing inspection? (And didn’t you already have one done as part of the buyer’s conditions?)

Not to be confused with a home inspection, which is usually performed by a certified inspector, the final walk-through of a home is typically completed by the buyer’s agent and his or her buyers. During COVID, it’s sometimes completed by just the buyer’s agent. It usually takes about 15-20 minutes and we check the property to confirm it’s in satisfactory and acceptable condition as per the terms of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

For example, in addition to ensuring that the property is clean and vacant, we make sure that any included appliances are present and operational, the hot and cold water are working, sinks are draining, toilets flush and any remotes for garage doors, heat pumps etc. are there. You get the idea.

Essentially, we double-check the contract to verify that all the seller’s requirements have been completed.

If there’s an issue – like maybe walls have been damaged by movers or the oil or propane hasn’t been topped up. In this case, the buyer’s realtor would contact the seller’s realtor to advise of the problem, and the legal team from both sides starts to sort it out. There could be a holdback or a price reduction. (A holdback is a monetary amount, set aside from the sale proceeds of the property, which is not released to the seller until the seller has completed certain outstanding contractual obligations.)

If the pre-close goes well, the buyer’s agent notifies both the seller’s agent and the buyer’s lawyer that the property has been accepted, and the transfer of funds gets underway.

Once the lawyers confirm that the money has been transferred, only then do the buyers get the keys! And heads up people! This could take a few hours and sometimes all day. (So if you had visions of moving in on closing day – you might want to slow your roll and adjust your plans. Your best bet is always to plan to move in the day after closing day.)

Until next time…

Oh hi. It’s Karen.

Welcome to our first "real" blog post! To be honest, I’ve been thinking about starting this blog for awhile now. And yet this first post has always been the showstopper for me. So today, as I sit in the EXIT office in Greenwood for my duty shift, I decided to rip off that proverbial bandaid and get this thing going.

So here we are. Hi.

What can you expect from Real Talk?
Well of course there will be a little bit about me, my teammate and partner Pete and how we’re living our best lives here in the spectacular Annapolis Valley. LOL. More seriously, we’ll cover what we like, what we don’t and you’ll definitely get to know each of us a little better.

But since you’re on our real estate website and we are both licensed REALTORs® in Nova Scotia, I’m sure you won’t be shocked to learn that the focus here will be real estate. Yep – straight-shooting the local housing market conditions, offering up advice and opinions and giving you all kinds of deets about our local communities.

Heads up – we love it here. But we also don’t always agree, so there may be a titch of a “He Said, She Said” thing happening as we move forward. We also pride ourselves in telling it like it is. So if you’re more into a "roses and rainbows" real estate vibe, this may not be your cup of T.

Fun, right? Always!

Until next time…