With the many closings that have been happening over the last few months, there are inevitably some issues that arise post closing. Some can have a quick resolution, such as readjustments for taxes when the purchase is title insured, while others may take much longer. Lately, the two biggest problems that have arisen seem to be something on the property not working correctly and not enough keys being delivered.

If you discover that something is not working properly after closing, practically speaking, there is little that the lawyer can do for you after closing without you incurring additional legal fees. For example, if you find that a showerhead is not working properly and you tell the lawyer, the lawyer is unable to give you a magic solution that will fix the problem. The most that can be done is a letter to the other solicitor, but if the other solicitor does not respond (and they often do not), there is no recourse except for initiating a legal action. The lesson here is that you should use your final inspection prior to closing wisely to ensure that everything that should be working is in fact working properly.

Unless there is a clause in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale indicating the number of keys you should receive, be careful what to expect. The vendor will usually not retain any keys as s/he has no interest in returning to the property. The problem lies in the fact that many place may have had tenants and the tenants may not have returned all the keys. The real estate agent may have also retained a set of keys from having to show the property, which s/he may not have surrendered at the time of closing.

From a vendor's perspective, once the money has been delivered, they don't want to deal with the problems after closing. If you have a dispute about something afterward, don't get your hopes up about having it fixed by someone else. Rather than call your lawyer and ask him or her to fix it, ask you home inspector why s/he didn't check something and why your agent didn't put in a clause stipulating the exact number of keys and other deliverables.

        

 

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