BRIAN'S BLOG
Toronto Real Estate: ease the stress on moving day
September 9, 2013
The majority of Toronto buyers and sellers I work with have to sell one property in order to buy another. While it would be nice to have some breathing room in between the moves, that’s not always possible. In the last 12 years of selling real estate, I can count on one hand the number of times my clients have had any issues on closing but not everybody is so lucky. A recent article from Mark Weisleder speaks about one transaction.
“When a bank pulled the financing from one buyer at the last minute, it caused all the deals to fall apart because each one was contingent on the previous seller getting the money to close their own sale. This is what real estate lawyers refer to as a train wreck.”
So how can buyers and sellers protect themselves? There are three ways.
1. Bridge financing. You can arrange to close on your new home one day and close on your existing home a few days later. The advantage is that you have a few days to move and you’re not stuck at the new place, paying the hourly rate to the movers while you wait for the deal to close. It’s not really as expensive as one would think and it’s fairly easy to arrange as long as you have your current home sold firm.
2. Insurance. A company called Canadian Home Shield offers a $99 policy that covers expenses incurred if one end of the deal doesn’t go through.
3. If all else fails, hope and prayer.
I’m confident in saying that the clients I work together with are always well represented because without the services of a good real estate lawyer, mortgage broker and (ahem) realtor, a lot can go wrong… make sure you are covered too; better to be safe than sorry! I’d be happy to provide you with a list of reliable Toronto professionals to help with related real estate services; just ask!