Lew Sichelman
A few years ago, Nicole Doty of Zion Realty in Gilbert, Arizona, thought she had a client’s house rented at full price. The tenant had sent in his deposit, enrolled his kids in the neighborhood school, paid the movers and had his old place in New York halfway packed.
Then the deal went south. Way south.
The tenant was moving to Arizona to start a new business. But when the person who was supposed to take over his business in New York backed out, the tenant had no choice but to back out of his deal, too.
The story, which Doty posted on the ActiveRain real estate site, involved a rental. But last-minute cancellations happen in sales, too. According to the National Association of Realtors’ latest count, roughly 6 percent of all signed contracts never make it to the closing table.
Sacramento broker Elizabeth Weintraub can attest to that. So can Praful Thakkar of Andover, Massachusetts. Weintraub once “sold” the same place three times before it closed. And several years ago, Thakkar had buyers flake on six consecutive transactions in one month.
Once in a blue moon, a cancellation works out to the seller’s advantage. Years ago, at a time when house prices were marching upward, …
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