No Surprises on the Day of Closing? Think Again!

My grandkids had gone home. I had shown houses in the afternoon in the cold drizzle. I sat down at my computer with a cup of coffee to warm me and to relax a little as I read some daily blog posts. I skimmed through one that was telling what some of our responsibilities are as Realtors as we work a deal from start to finish. With all due respect to the author, I laughed out loud at the last item on the list: Make sure there are no surprises at the closing table. I consider myself to be a stellar agent, but my first thought was to ask how we could possibly do that. And then my mind started racing, remembering at least a dozen funny and not so funny circumstances that were totally outside of our control that I would consider SURPRISES on the day of closing:

This was just an off-the-top-of-my-head list that immediately came to mind when I thought of the impossibility of assuring that there would be no surprises at the closing table. I could probably think of a dozen more. OF COURSE we do our best to prevent them, but I’m sure we all have war stories that we enjoy sharing. I would LOVE if some of you would like to share some of YOUR stories-from-the-trenches in the Comments.

  • The Buyer lost his job on the day of closing
  • One of the parties arrived drunk
  • The Police showed up to arrest the other party
  • The Seller didn’t want to sell their home
  • The Buyer disappeared, never to be found again
  • The Seller died the day of closing
  • The Lender pulled the funds at the closing table
  • The Lender pulled the funds AFTER THEY HAD BEEN DISTRIBUTED
  • Scheduled closing on 9/11/2001
  • Interest rate was 1.5% higher than told the day prior
  • Buyer mentioned the two new cars he had purchased that week
  • House destroyed by fire
  • House knee deep in water at final walk thru
  • Found that Seller was trying to sell his house for the THIRD time that morning

By Mimi Foster

About the Author

Mimi has received the honor of being voted one of Colorado Springs' Best Realtors five years in a row. With over two decades of experience, she is committed to making the home buying/selling process as easy and enjoyable as possible. Read Full Bio…

Helping buy and sell homes throughout Colorado Springs,
Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, and surrounding areas

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