May 28, 2019 – I received an offer on my home last Sunday. It was a little below asking but the buyer waived all conditions – except approval from my property management (a requirement). I was kind of shocked – who waives an inspection? Then I thought that I should count my blessings. Plus, they were getting the home at 1/2 of what I paid. A steal of a deal.
They gave me 24 hours to respond. It took me all of 5 minutes to accept. They wanted 1 week to get property management approval. Fair enough. They wanted closing on July 2nd. That’s a little soon but very do-able. After all, the rental vacancy rate is pretty high. It’s just finding a place. Mom and I had scoped out a few places after we listed the home. So we had one in mind. It was just waiting to see how things panned out.
So we sat and waited. I ran different scenarios through my mind, started looking at apartments online, and even started making a list of things to do once I received confirmation that they had received property management approval. I think I was driving my mom a little crazy. I’d get this weird look every time I showed her an apartment listing and asked, “What about this one?”. I was afraid to jinx the sale – so I stopped looking and I deleted my to do list. I would recreate the list once I knew for sure that the deal was done. I start looking when I knew for sure that we had to move.
Life continued.
I had a meeting with my financial planner on Friday – my annual check-in. I proudly told her that I was selling my home and getting rid of my albatross. She looked at me and said “Well. You borrowed from your RRSP to buy the home. You’ll need to pay that back when you sell.” I was dumbfounded. I didn’t have $20K. And if I didn’t pay it back then it was considered income and I’d have to declare that on my 2020 return. Yikes! The income tax would be so high. I drove home – almost in tears – thinking that I was screwed. I’d owe income tax if I sold or I’d eventually incur maintenance costs as things broke down if I stayed. Screwed either way.
I told my mom when I got home. She shook her head. Finances weren’t her strong suit. We went about our day, pretending that everything was normal. All the while, in the back of my mind, I kept agonizing about what I should do. The negative tape kept playing in my mind: you’ve failed again, you didn’t do your research, you have to look after your mother, you’ll never be free of your financial burdens, what was I thinking? I hardly slept.
Saturday morning, I called my Realtor and told her that I needed to back out of the sale. I explained what I had learned and that I hadn’t known that I would have to pay it all back when I sold. After all, it was a loan from me to me. She was upset. Not “angry” upset but more “disappointed” upset. She said she was worried for me and the ramifications of my decision. My buyer could sue for breach of contract. She listed all of the other things – any legal costs, costs if she has given notice, can’t stay in her place (and has to scramble to find a new one), the application fee she had to pay my property management, the deposit (if she had paid one to my property management). Plus her Realtor could sue me for lost commission. She said she wouldn’t sue me but her brokerage might. She had no control over that. Plus she said the buyer could also sue for damages and pain and suffering. The plusses added up and she thought that this would be a bigger problem She begged me to get legal advice. I refused. I said that their deadline was fast approaching. She asked me to put this in an email to her and then agreed to find out how things were proceeding and if they were still committed. That was Saturday.
I didn’t hear anything all weekend. It was the longest weekend ever.
On Monday morning, I received an email from my financial planner with some documents for my signature. When I sent them back, I explained what happened on the weekend and I was trying to back out – can’t afford to have $20K on my 2020 income. I explained that it wasn’t ideal but I didn’t have much of a choice. She emailed me back that she was sorry. I wouldn’t have to pay it back all at once. I could continue to pay it off annually as I had been doing. She meant that selling the home at a loss didn’t mean I was absolved from paying it back. She was also checking Google for more information. WTF.
I sat at my desk. Rereading the email. Stunned. All of this drama for nothing. Then the millions of different thoughts started racing through my mind. Had I lost the sale? Had I damaged my relationship with my Realtor? Did I want to proceed with the sale or still back out? What kind of financial planner keeps feeding me misinformation and then says they’re checking Google to find out more?
I emailed my Realtor and explained that I had received additional information. I was clear to proceed with the sale if the buyer was still interested. My Realtor said that no harm had been done – we would just wait and see what happens as they had until 8pm Monday to get approval. Phew! Everything was salvaged. I called my mom and said that the sale was “back on” and we’d know tonight if we were moving.
My Realtor called at 6pm. The buyer needed more time. They didn’t know that the person who approves new tenants didn’t work on Mondays. They wanted until Friday to get approval. My mind raced. I asked how they could not know this. It was on the Offer (which property management receives when you apply). I explained that I had an appointment to sign a lease on Wednesday morning. I now had to put that on hold because I wasn’t going to be on the hook for an apartment if the sale fell through. I said the Friday deadline literally gave me 30 days to find a place and move out. It was now putting some pressure on me. I also didn’t want to be a bitch. After all – things happen. They left it too late in the week and now we’re dealing with their poor planning. My Realtor suggested that they needed to put some pressure on the property management. After all, how long does it take to run a credit check? So we agreed that they would have until Wednesday at 8pm.
So much drama. I don’t know if I can take much more.
Diary of a DOW 