The 11 things that go wrong in a Coquitlam home sale — and how to make sure none of them happen to yours

The honest premise

Most Coquitlam home sales close clean. The ones that go sideways usually go sideways for the same handful of reasons. None of those reasons are mysterious. All of them are catchable upstream, weeks before they would have surfaced as a problem.

What follows is the actual punch list I run with every listing — before the home goes live, during subject removal, and through to completion. The point is not to scare sellers. It is to make the case that a careful, disciplined process is what a good listing realtor is actually paid for. The sale price is the visible part. The clean close is the part you only notice when it goes wrong.

1. Subject-removal surprises

The single biggest source of seller anxiety. A typical Coquitlam subject-to offer carries three conditions: financing, inspection, and strata documents (on strata properties). All three usually have the same removal deadline — 7–14 days from acceptance. If the buyer can satisfy all three, subjects are removed and the contract becomes firm. If they cannot satisfy any one, they walk and the contract collapses.

What causes a subject-removal walk:

• Financing: the buyer’s lender appraisal comes in low (see #2), the buyer’s employment changes, or the lender’s underwriter declines the file after the pre-approval looked solid.
• Inspection: a major issue surfaces (roof, structure, suspected mould, electrical) that the buyer was not prepared for.
• Strata documents: the strata corporation has a special levy on the horizon, a depreciation report flagging structural risk, or council minutes showing dispute or financial weakness.

How a careful listing process prevents it: all three subjects are checked at listing time, not at offer time. I pull the strata documents and read them before the home is on the market. I have a pre-list inspection conversation with the seller about anything a buyer’s inspector will flag. And I am realistic with sellers about pricing — an aggressively-priced home is more likely to trigger an appraisal gap that collapses the buyer’s financing condition.

2. Appraisal gap (the lender appraisal comes in below contract price)

The buyer’s lender orders an appraisal during the financing subject period. If the appraiser values the home below the contract price, the lender will only mortgage based on the appraised value — not the contract value. The buyer must cover the shortfall in cash or renegotiate the price.

Example: $1,654,000 contract, $1,580,000 appraisal. Buyer has a $74,000 shortfall. If the buyer has $74,000 of extra cash beyond the planned down payment, they can close. If not, they either renegotiate the price down, or they walk inside the financing subject.

How to spot at-risk deals upfront:

• Comparable sales must support the price. If the listing is at $1,654,000 and the last three comparable Coquitlam detached sales closed at $1,520,000–$1,580,000, the appraiser will see the same comps and value the home accordingly. Price-to-comp discipline at listing is the prevention.
• Watch for "buyer with thin cash" signals. A pre-approval letter for the exact contract price with minimum down payment is a more fragile financing path than a pre-approval with cushion. Your listing agent should ask the buyer’s agent about cash reserves before recommending acceptance.
• Build appraisal-gap language into multiple-offer scenarios. In rare cases where you do see multiple offers, some buyers offer to cover any appraisal gap in cash. That term sits in the offer schedule.

3. Financing fall-through

The buyer’s pre-approval does not translate into firm financing. Causes: employment change between pre-approval and offer, the lender’s underwriter declining the file for a reason the pre-approval did not catch, the lender’s appraisal coming in low (see #2), or the buyer’s actual down payment source being non-conforming (gifted funds without paper trail, sale of another asset that did not close).

How a careful listing process prevents it: at offer stage, the listing agent verifies the buyer’s pre-approval is current (issued within 90 days), from a recognizable lender, for the actual price (not just "up to" a higher amount), with the down payment source confirmed. This is a phone call to the buyer’s mortgage broker before recommending acceptance. Five minutes that saves a 7-day subject window collapsing.

4. Deposit cheque issues

The deposit is typically 5% of purchase price — $80,000+ on a $1.6M sale. It is due 24–48 hours after subject removal, paid to the listing brokerage’s trust account. What goes wrong:

• Late delivery — the buyer is travelling, the wire takes longer than expected, or the buyer’s bank flags the transfer for additional review.
• NSF (insufficient funds) — rare but it happens. The buyer’s funds were not actually liquid yet.
• Wrong payee — cheque made out to the seller personally, the buyer’s lawyer, or the wrong brokerage.
• Bank draft not certified — an ordinary cheque rather than a certified or bank draft.

How a careful listing process prevents it: on offer acceptance, the listing agent confirms the deposit method (bank draft or wire transfer), the correct payee (the listing brokerage trust account), the exact amount, and the delivery date. If the deposit is late by more than 24 hours, the contract may be in default — the listing agent acts on that promptly with the buyer’s side.

5. Possession-day conflicts

Buyer wants noon possession. Seller’s movers are not arriving until 4 PM. Or the buyer’s movers are scheduled at 11 AM and the seller is still loading the truck.

The standard BC contract specifies completion at noon with possession at noon either the same day or next day. The window is short, the logistics are physical, and there is no slack on either side.

How to negotiate the window into the contract:

• Specify possession at a workable hour — if your movers cannot finish by noon, negotiate possession at 4 PM or the following morning. Buyer agrees in the contract before subjects are removed.
• Specify possession the day AFTER completion if you need an overnight buffer. This is standard and not unusual.
• For complex moves (cross-Lower-Mainland, family with kids, large home), build in a one-day possession delay for breathing room. Use the day to handle the actual move, do a final clean, and hand keys over to the buyer the following morning.

Once the contract is firm, the possession time is locked. Renegotiating possession 48 hours before completion is awkward and sometimes impossible. Get it right at offer time.

6. Mortgage discharge timing

When you sell, your existing lender needs to process the mortgage payout, prepare the discharge document, and file it at the Land Title Office. The administrative process typically runs 15–30 days. Your lawyer needs the discharge to clear title for the buyer.

How a careful listing process prevents delay: start the conversation with your lender at offer acceptance, not at completion. Request the payout statement, confirm the discharge process, and give your lawyer the lender contact. If the lender is one of the major banks, the process is usually clean. If it is a smaller credit union, monoline, or alternative lender, the process may take longer — plan for it.

In rare cases, a lender’s discharge document is delayed past completion. Your lawyer can usually close on an undertaking from your lender, with the document filed shortly after. Pre-arranging that path with your lender at offer acceptance is the protection.

7. Holdbacks at completion

Money your lawyer retains from sale proceeds to cover an outstanding obligation that cannot be settled on completion day. Common Coquitlam-specific examples:

• Strata move-out fee — some Coquitlam strata corporations charge $200–$500 to handle move-out logistics. The bill arrives weeks later. Holdback covers it.
• Garage door opener replacement — the seller is supposed to provide working remotes; if one is missing on the walkthrough, a small holdback ($100–$200) covers replacement.
• NEX or 55+ age verification — if the property is in an age-restricted complex (Coquitlam has several), the buyer’s age must be verified before completion. If documentation is delayed, the deal may need a structured holdback.
• Agreed-upon repair not yet complete — if the contract included a repair the seller did not complete in time, a holdback covers the contractor cost.

How careful conveyancing catches them: the conveyancing lawyer reviews the contract, the strata Form B (for strata properties), and the buyer’s walkthrough notes. Any obligation that cannot be cleanly satisfied on the day becomes a holdback line on the statement of adjustments. Holdbacks are not penalties; they are how clean closings handle small loose ends.

8. GST and PTT confusion

The recurring source of seller anxiety, addressed head-on:

GST on resale

Sellers do not owe GST on the resale of a used residential home, unless the property was substantially converted from another use (gut-renovation, change from commercial, long-term commercial use). For 99% of Coquitlam family homes being sold by their long-term owners, GST on the sale price is zero. (GST does apply to the realtor commission, which is a service — but that is a separate line item.)

Property Transfer Tax (PTT)

PTT is paid by the buyer at completion. Sellers do not. The only transfer-related charge on the seller’s side is a small Land Title Office discharge filing fee on the outgoing mortgage — typically under $100.

If either question comes up close to completion, your lawyer should be able to answer in 30 seconds and put both to rest. If your listing agent is confident on both at offer stage, you do not need to worry about either at closing.

9. Strata document delays

For strata properties (condos and many townhomes), buyers will subject their offer to receipt and review of three documents: Form B (Information Certificate), the depreciation report, and the last 2 years of council and AGM minutes. All three are obtained from the strata management company; collectively they cost roughly $80–$200 and take 1–2 weeks to receive.

If the buyer’s strata-document subject window is 10 days and the management company takes 14 days to deliver, the deal collapses on a technicality.

How a careful listing process prevents it: order all three documents at listing time, not at offer time. The seller pays the cost up front (small money). The documents are on hand for any buyer who wants them. Buyers can do their review on day one of the subject period, not day fourteen.

Bonus: pre-ordered strata documents signal to buyer’s agents that this is a well-prepared listing, which often pulls a stronger offer.

10. Title issues

Old liens, undischarged builder’s liens, right-of-way disputes, easements that were not properly registered, lis pendens (legal proceedings affecting title) — these are the title surprises that derail closings.

Common Coquitlam title surprises:

• An old mortgage from a previous refinance that was paid off but never discharged. Title shows it. Your buyer’s lawyer will not close until it is discharged.
• A builder’s lien from a renovation you paid for years ago, but the contractor never released. Sometimes recorded and never followed up.
• A right-of-way (ROW) registered against the title — usually for utilities, sometimes for shared driveways. Not necessarily a problem but the buyer wants to understand it.
• A property line dispute or encroachment. Rare but real, especially on older homes with informally extended fences, sheds, or driveways.

How a careful listing process prevents it: run a title search at listing time, not at completion. Any cluttered title gets cleaned up before a buyer sees it. The discharge of an old mortgage takes 2–6 weeks; if you discover it at completion, you have just blown your timeline. If you discover it at listing, you have time to fix it cleanly.

11. Last-minute walkthrough disputes

The buyer is entitled to a walkthrough of the home shortly before completion — typically the morning of, or the day before. The purpose: confirm the home is in the agreed condition, all included items are present, and nothing has been damaged since the inspection.

What goes wrong on walkthroughs:

• Disagreement on what is "included" vs. "excluded." Light fixtures, window coverings, washer/dryer, sheds, mounted TVs. The contract’s included-items clause should be precise.
• Damage discovered. Wall damage from moving, scratched floors, broken appliances.
• Cleanliness disputes. The buyer expects broom-swept; the seller leaves a mess.
• Personal property left behind. Garage contents, basement contents, garden tools that were not specified.

How a careful listing process prevents it:

• The included-items clause in the contract is precise. Every fixture, appliance, window covering, and outbuilding listed by category. No ambiguity.
• The contract specifies the home is delivered in broom-swept condition. That phrase is standard and carries clear meaning.
• The seller is briefed on what walkthrough expectations look like — clean, empty of excluded items, all included items present and functional.
• Any pre-existing damage is documented at listing (in the listing photos and feature sheet) so it cannot be claimed as new damage at walkthrough.

Walkthrough disputes that surface 4 hours before completion are awful. They are also almost always preventable with a 10-minute conversation at offer-time.

The point — careful catches the things others miss, on both sides

The same care that prevents these 11 problems on a seller’s file also produces wins on the buy side. Two examples from my files:

The growing-family couple, Coquitlam to Windsor Gate

This Coquitlam couple lived in a fully renovated one-bedroom condo near the Coquitlam Aquatic Centre. They were thoughtful, detailed, and planning for the next chapter — growing the family while staying close to the community they loved.

The sell side moved fast. Staging, professional photography, strategic marketing. The condo sold in 7 days at $35,000 over asking. Subject removal was clean; the deposit cheque was prompt; the conveyancing closed without a holdback. Process discipline produced a clean file.

Then the buy side. We secured a 1,200 sqft Windsor Gate two-bedroom-plus-office, only five years old. The detail other buyers were missing: the unit was positioned beside an emergency stairwell that rarely gets used, separated by a massive concrete wall. That meant exceptional privacy, no direct neighbouring unit on that side, and quick outdoor access for their dog. Most buyers walking through would not have noticed any of that. Careful walks through every floor plan, every wall, every angle of the building. That is the detail catching that prevents disappointments on closing day and also finds the right home in the first place.

They have since welcomed a beautiful daughter into the family — exactly the future they planned for when we first sat down together.

The pre-listing checklist that prevents most of the 11

1. Run a title search. Clean any old liens, builder’s liens, undischarged mortgages.
2. Pull strata documents (Form B, depreciation report, last 2 years minutes) if strata.
3. Get a written mortgage payout quote with discharge timing from your lender.
4. Walk the home with a fresh eye. Anything a buyer’s inspector will flag, fix it now or budget for it.
5. Stage and photograph properly. Document the home as-is in the listing so walkthrough disputes are pre-empted.
6. Precise included-items list. No ambiguity.
7. Sale-price discipline anchored to comparable sales, so the appraisal gap risk is minimal.
8. Plan completion + possession + your move sequence before listing — not at offer time.

Frequently asked questions