The Reality of Real Estate: Last-Minute Issues and How We Handle Them

Here’s some real talk about real estate that nobody wants to hear but everyone needs to know.

Yesterday we did the final walkthrough. Brand new house. Brand new everything. Appliances still had the plastic wrap on them. Everything looked perfect.

This morning? The stove doesn’t work.

Brand. New. Stove.

Welcome to real estate, where Murphy’s Law isn’t just a saying – it’s a lifestyle.

The “Of Course This Happens Now” Moment

We’re supposed to close Monday. Everything’s lined up. Buyers are excited. Sellers are ready. Documents are signed. And then technology decides to remind us who’s really in charge.

This is the stuff that makes people think real estate is complicated. It’s not the contracts or the negotiations or the inspections that stress people out. It’s moments like this – when something that should work perfectly just… doesn’t.

And it happens at the worst possible time. Always.

Here’s What We Don’t Do

We don’t panic. We don’t point fingers. We don’t start calling lawyers.

Because here’s what I’ve learned after doing this for years: Problems like this separate the professionals from the amateurs. And when you’ve got good buyers, good sellers, and good brokers, you can work through anything.

The amateur move is to delay the closing. Push everything back. Let the lender re-approve everything. Turn a simple appliance issue into a week-long ordeal that stresses everyone out and costs everyone money.

Here’s What We Actually Do

Escrow holdback.

Simple. Professional. Effective.

We hold back enough money at closing to cover getting the stove fixed or replaced. Everyone still closes on time. The buyer gets their house. The seller gets their money. And we take care of the appliance issue without derailing the entire transaction.

The buyers are protected. The sellers aren’t penalized for something that’s not their fault. And everyone moves on with their lives.

Why This Works (And Why It Almost Didn’t)

Here’s the thing about escrow holdbacks – they need to be approved. By everyone. Including the lender.

If you try to add an escrow holdback at the last minute, you’re asking the lender to approve a change to the final settlement statement. And lenders don’t love surprises. Especially not 48 hours before closing.

But because we’ve got good relationships and good communication, we can make it work. The buyers understand what’s happening. The sellers are cooperative. And we structure it so everyone’s protected.

The Real Lesson Here

This isn’t really about broken appliances.

It’s about having the right people around you when things don’t go according to plan.

Because in real estate, things never go exactly according to plan. Ever.

You can have the perfect house, the perfect buyers, the perfect deal – and something will still go sideways. A brand new appliance will break. An inspection will find something unexpected. A document will get delayed.

That’s not a bug in the system. That’s the system.

What This Means for You

If you’re buying or selling, expect the unexpected. Not because real estate is broken, but because real estate involves houses, and houses are complex systems with a million moving parts.

And some of those parts will break at inconvenient times.

The question isn’t whether something will go wrong. The question is whether you have people around you who know how to handle it when it does.

Good brokers don’t prevent problems. Good brokers solve problems. Quickly. Professionally. Without turning every hiccup into a crisis.

We’re closing Monday. The stove will get fixed. Everyone will be happy.

Because that’s what happens when you’ve got good people working together to solve problems instead of creating them.

Welcome to real estate. Bring your sense of humor.