Picture Hook Removal Damage

Question:

I am the Listing agent and have a closing coming up. The buyers asked that the sellers filled every hole from photos/art/mirrors etc. and repainted the spots. We removed that clause from the APS. And now I’m getting photos from the agent from their walk through of some spots on the wall, not holes but you know the paper on the drywall, some small rips of that from where a mirror was hung. How much “damage” is enough for them to have a claim?

Answer:

I am not sure what clause was removed, but the standard Form APS places the risk of damage with the Seller until closing. The pictures are chattels. The hooks holding the pictures take their identity from what they are holding in place, so, they are also chattels.

Once the hooks have been removed, there will be some leftover damage. It is the Seller’s obligation to repair.

I do appreciate that most of the time, the Buyer will ignore this or the Buyer’s agent if pressed will fund the repair, but, it’s still the Seller’s responsibility. That doesn’t change.

In this case, you removed a clause. If that said “fix it” and you simply deleted that clause, and left the standard APS, then, your client, the Seller has to fix it.

One slight distinction. Let’s assume three pictures were actually removed before the Buyer bought the house. In this case, those three hooks could stay in place and not be removed. They would be fixtures since there were no pictures from which they could take their identity. Also, if those three hooks had been removed, the resultant damage could stay in place, because that’s the way it was when the deal was struck.

It may be small, and most Buyers might let it go, but, actually, why should they?

Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker

www.OntarioRealEstateSource.com