After more than a year of preparing to put their home on the market, realtor Kelsey Smith and her client were met with an unpleasant surprise when they learned that a $30,000 lien had be placed on the property.
“The lawyer that was helping them with the title transfer of the new property, pulled title on the property that they currently own, and it was discovered that there was a lien registered by Century West on February 28,” Smith explained, who works with Remax Crown Real Estate.
The lien was a result of Century West Disaster Restoration’s bankruptcy, which was filed on Feb. 26. The restoration company’s liability totals over $3.4 million.
“It’s extremely stressful. It is the thing that keeps you up at night that you are constantly thinking about. It’s like a heavy cloud that just hangs over you and because it’s not our doing, that’s the hard part to try to get things solved this, that we can’t really do anything about it,” the owner of the affected home explained.
Due to the ongoing legal matter, the homeowner opted to remain unnamed. However, CTV news independently confirmed that Century West Disaster Restoration did place a lien on the property.
Liens are a result of an organization, or individual, claiming a debt owed on the property of another individual.
“So, when I register an interest on your home as an example, you need my permission to sell it. If I don’t give you permission or I don’t consent to having the lien removed, you cannot sell the home,” Smith said.
This particular lien comes after the homeowner was directed to Century West by her insurance company to assist with water damage.
“I can confirm that the insurance company did indeed pay Century West, DKI, whoever they were supposed to pay, they did pay,” Smith explained. “So, the fact that this lien has been placed, it’s been done in error or negligence or whatever you want to call it, but it shouldn’t be on the property at all.”
Both the homeowner and the realtor emphasized that the lien has created significant issues in selling the home.
“There’s a long series of hoops that you have to jump through in order to have it come off. So, in my client’s situation, if it takes six months to have the lien come off their house, they’re going to completely miss the spring market, which could really affect what they get in selling their home, their sale price overall,” Smith said.
“We had wanted to get it on the market earlier because it was a good time to do that,” the homeowner added. “And now you have people making offers on your home and you have to disclose that legally.”
Century West Disaster Restoration is a former franchise of DKI.
In a statement provided to CTV News, DKI shared that the company was terminated from its franchise system on Jan. 28 and were not informed of the liens in advance.
DKI says it only became aware of the situation on March 5, saying:
“We are deeply disappointed by Century West’s actions and do not endorse the use of liens in this
manner. Our team has personally contacted all impacted homeowners to reassure them that we are working diligently to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. Despite the challenging situation, the homeowners have been incredibly kind and gracious."
Smith shared that this situation is not one she wishes for any of her clients, particularly during what is already an anxiety inducing process for many.
“I deal with conflict in real estate all the time, all day, every day. We’re arguing, we’re negotiating, we’re going back and forth with clients, realtors, trades people. Like that is what I do, but for the homeowner, it’s extremely distressing,” Smith said.
“The anxiety, the worry, the fear that they have is unimaginable.”
For the homeowner, it is now a stressful waiting game, and the experience has made the prospect of future restoration work a daunting one.
“We entrusted these people to do a service in our homes, which are our assets, and using us as the damage of the fallout in the bankruptcy makes us feel distrustful of having other companies come in and do the work,” the homeowner said.
CTV reached out to MNP, the appointed licensed insolvency trustee handling the bankruptcy.
However, the company declined to comment on the ongoing legal matter.
