I had a horrid little $42,000 short sale. The elderly seller was nervous about her future and so I spent a great deal of time reassuring her that her transition would be for the better... and I mean A LOT OF TIME. So much so that it was a real money loser for me. During the walk-through (and thankfully I was on both sides of the deal) the buyer noticed that the non working stove was replaced with another non working stove. She pulled the listing photos up on her phone and she was absolutely correct with her observation. I called the seller and asked if she would return the original non working stove and she verbally ripped my head off. Through a great deal of negotiating, I asked the buyer if she was really going to be happy with another non working appliance or if she was intending to replace the stove with a new one. FUN FUN FUN...

I could write a book...

Missing appliances, ruined carpet, leaking pipes, A/C not working, dishwasher frozen, half the house electric not working, missing light fixtures, swapped ceiling fans, mirrors taken bathroom, security system removed from walls and ceilings and even pavers removed...

...and you better believe that we did not let them get by with it!

Eve

Like Mike & Eve Alexander, there are so many it can be mind boggling. The one that stands out the most was a sprinkler system that had busted in a vacant house at least a week before closing. Water in the finished basement was standing knee high, hot water heater and furnace were, of course, flooded, water had wicked up the dryway about shoulder high, carpet and everything else was ruined. We called the Seller's agent who met us there, and he insisted they could fix it (in the next few hours??) without any problem because, he said, "I know a guy with a Shop Vac who can have this water out of here before closing." He refused to acknowledge the periferal damage and my buyers ended up getting their earnest money back and purchasing a different home. It's never over 'til it's over.

Oh yes, thanks for giving me a good idea about a blog post.

Karen Fiddler, Broker/Owner had one where the whole backyard disappeared (sinkhole I believe).

  Builder swapped out the model home appliances for cheaper units.

  Missing chandelier.

   Busted front door frame (movers on their way out with the seller's heavy furniture).

   Best of all:   Buyer asks, "Is it too late to change my mind?"

Sure, the one that comes to mind is the several rooms worth of furniture left out on the back lawn. At the closing of my own home I was asked to remove the firewood. We had 2 fireplaces & the wood was seasoned oak- I didn't ask; just packed up my truck & took it away. 

Oh yes, how long do you have? After 14 years in real estate, nothing surprises me.

Missing fixtures and disappointing but not an interesting story.

After 25 years, I will say I don't have many stories. If you do your work upfront with the cooperating broker, final walk-throughs are quite uneventful.

Rachel, I suggest the buyers do a preliminary walk through about a week or two before closing to confirm repair requests and note any potential problems observed at time of offer( debris in shed, tires out back, etc) to make sure seller is going to remove as per contract.

I always suggest the buyer do a FINAL walkthrough on the way to the closing to make sure the AC unit hasn't been stolen or a water pipe burst.

The biggest disaster was a burst water pipe on an old farmhouse and it had about eight inches of water in the cellar/basement as the buyer's dad and I walked through 90 minutes before closing.  (we were there two days before and holding our breath)

Oh, not mine but on a friends the washer hose broke about a week before closing, nobody in house, found out the day of ... oh my what a mess.

After the buyer complained about one more small item or two, my seller says "thats it" I am not doing another thing I dont care what happens. I paid for it

The Buyer wanted a door hung between the mud room and the kitchen. We worded it in the contract accordingly. The final walk through revealed exactly that. No hardware other than the hinges and the door were installed. Yours truly finished the "handiwork" while closing was taking place. Lesson learned! 

not really interesting.....just more stressfulness!!! everything was resolved....

Yes! We got to the walk-thru and the seller hadn’t moved anything out of the house! He announces that he needs the money from the closing to move. He’s broke! You gave me an idea about a great blog post.... stay tuned and I’ll wtite about the rest of the story! 

Nothing that really stands out other than trash that was supposed to be gone was still there. In one house there was a freezer full of meat!! And every now and then someone leaves some clothing on a shelf or some dishes in a cabinet.

Many! One that stands out is the seller removed the pool equipment and denied it was there. Should have seen the look on his face when we showed him the video. The buyer loved his brand new pool equipment. 

Once a stand up piano was removed revealed a big hole in the wall.

Rachel Greene - there are so many. What matters is - it closes smoothly at the end of it.

None comes to mind.

Many. I showed up for the walk through and the buyers had moved in two days before (still don't know how they got a key) and had unpacked, had pictures on the walls and were watching television. I was speechless.

Fantastic question, Rachel Greene. I can already see the countless stories coming out of the woodwork! - Tim

Rachel,

Sorry, but no. A

All good anwers are here. Good luck.

Great answers are here. 

Daughter of seller did not want to move.  Took our buyers through walkthrough and daughter took a knife and carved naughty word into kitchen laminate counter tops.  Buyers was like, yes, new countertops. Daughter got in big trouble.

I have seen appliances missing, but nothing that exciting.

One time, we did a walk thru and they rid part the walk paper off walls and put dirty diapers in every room.

Rachel Greene I once had a listing where I represented the seller. During the walk-through the buyer kept asking her agent several questions about the property. He was basically clueless. At the closing she kept badgering my seller's about items in the walk-through. I stepped in and defended my client's. After the closing he told me she wished I was her agent. My client's also appreciated I kept them out of an argumentative situation.

Nothing interesting here.  Most are pretty boring, which is exactly how I like them!

Yes.

Once a seller agreed to sell some personal items to the buyer after closing and they agreed the seller could leave things in the garage to pick up later along with the funds for the personal items left.   Nothing in writing.

The seller was mad because he lost the house in a short sale so at walk thru, we noticed all ceiling fans/lights/blinds and bushes where removed.  

Seller would not return them but did replace the fans and blinds with new ones that needed installed.  

Buyer wanted to know if he should pay seller for the personal items and let him take his stuff as verbally agreed.  

Oops.

yes

None that I want to share.

A few years ago, my first-time buyers and I did a final walk through just before closing. The new washer and dryer that were suppose to transfer with the house were gone. We went to closing and said that unless the buyer provides funds for a new washer and dryer, buyers were not going to close.  The seller was out of town. She was called and after checking with a local store and getting a price for the appliances, seller paid for a new washer and dryer.

What happened to the ones in the house? the renters living in the house bought a new washer and dryer, and had the old ones removed. They were suppose to have left the old ones and put them back in place when they moved out. Since the listing agent didn't know anything about it...the seller paid for new ones. Ended well.

Roy Kelley nailed this one!

Sometimes things are missing, but nothing that has stopped a sale.

Interesting probably not, frustrating ~ sometimes.

I have seen sellers take mail boxes and shrubs just o same a ew