Finally closing escrow on the Anna Nicole Smith property.  It was a 2.5 year process due to legalities of the estate and selling process.

 Not that it took that long to find a buyer, but the process. 

Last but not least, the news media and the endless calls.  Having sold celebrity homes many times this one was very different as there was just so much frenzy about this one.

Wow, punched him?  Dang that really is a winner!  We don't have closing tables here, just escrow.  The buyer and seller never meet.  I've had some super stressful ones that I'm glad are behind me though!

a closing that happened when God was a child.... I was the listing agent for a very young couple who just could not make ends meet and they were losing their home.... I convinced them to allow me to list it.... this was long before buyer agency....we all represented the seller.... I found the buyer and put the deal together quickly .... it was a local bank and I convinced them to stop the foreclosure from proceeding.... the couple closed and walked away with some money....the buyers NEVER KNEW THE PROPERTY WAS ABOUT TO GO BE FORECLOSED...only a couple of weeks away from it before I stopped it....  I'll never forget the looks on the faces of those sellers.... 

I later sold them another home....and listed many of their relatives' homes.... 

We don't sit around a closing table here is CA so nothing really stands out - they are all pretty exciting and memorable. I did have one back in Boston as a listing agent and the seller broke down in tears at the closing table and had to leave the room. I felt awful!

A multifamily closing involving 14 properties with over 4,000 apartments to one buyer. Celebrated with some expensive champagne!

So far, they all have been memorable Jody Bruns, CDLP 

My favorite closing was assisting a buyer on a $79,000 condo. It took me one year with constant showings to close this deal. Now, he owns three more units.

my own!  

I have had a few where the people were very happy. All closing that close are excellent in my opinion.

It just happened 6 months ago.  I saved an elderly couple's home from foreclosure, got it sold and then got them a loan for a new home

       Four of us in a builder's model home at the dining room table.   The Builder's representative, the Builder, me as the Buyer's Broker, and my Buyer.

    Brutal negotiations between a Vietnamese lady friend of mine, and the Persian builder (also a friend).  Neither was going to give an inch.  Both of them muttered things in their own language to themselves, as they bickered back and forth.  The sales rep for the Builder offered to give up his commission, the Builder lit into him and he left the room. 

     The main issue was a two-tiered deck that had cost $20,000 or $25,000.  Some other buyer had put the house under contract, added the deck to the package, but they had walked from the contract.  The Builder claimed that he had not received enough deposit to cover the loss; my Buyer would have to pay for the deck.

    She told him that the deck was not there when she and I had previewed the house a month or so before this.  She was not going to pay for that deck; he could tear it off the house and do whatever he wanted with the boards.  He would have to pay to replace the French doors with floor to ceiling windows.   Or, he could just throw in the deck.

    The Builder finally caved.   I was stunned.  This guy was known for not backing off of his prices, not ever.  Maybe the fact that my lady client was strikingly beautiful had something to do with it; I don't know.

     But the good part... we had the closing, when it was done, the Builder and the Seller hugged each other.  Then she invited him to a housewarming party; which she held on the DECK that had caused all the contention.   I was there, the Builder was there, everyone enjoyed themselves.  He then became a customer of her business (hair salon).

      Sadly, both of those people passed away in their early 50's.  I remember them both fondly, and will always remember that negotiation as the toughest I have ever seen, but it ended happily.

Had a couple sellers get upset when title asked for their DL for the notary book. Wife says "you said we wouldn't have to do this" in a very mean way. Turns out she was wife #2, signing for the sale of the house the ex-wife #1 owned but didn't know was being sold. Didn't close obviously. Had a buyer get up and go to the bathroom and just left. Had a buyer and seller who hated each other from HS have a fist fight when they found out the other guy was involved. Crazy days ...

My most memorable closing was a middle aged couple that had fallen on hard times and we found an owner finance property that was a great fit in their area.  It may  cost them a little more money in the long run but to this day they are still happy.  

I've had so many good ones, but I do remember one where the buyer had her attorney on the phone and this was a medicare situation. We ended up talking very loudly with each other for over an hour on the value of the property. I had my broker on the phone and she had her attorney. The title agents left the room and let us work it out. We did close it. 

When my daughter was the buyer it was very memorable.  And one I didn't attend... the FIRST one I'd ever missed.  My kids totalled a car on the way to school and I was in the ER with them.

The lawyers handle the closings in my jurisdiction.

My Seller hadn't finished moving his belongings out of the house he was selling. He delayed settlement on his new property by many hours because I was helping him pack up his car and mine to get the house cleaned up. The closing attorney and loan officer came by to help clean stuff out so we could close! Will never forget that!

They all are in their own unique way.

I dont remember...

Clearly none of mine were as memorable as yours.

As Jeff Dowler CRS answered - we don't have a closing table in our market so the end of the real estate transaction can be a bit anti-climatic(many of my relocating clients tell me so).   Each transaction brings some new twist it seems and after many years, there are many new lessons learned.  

I've been lucky enough to have kept the drama out of my closings.

I so bonded with a woman who was divorcing and I supported her through it all with her being so grateful that when it came time to close, she made sure I got some extra serious money as I made sure she got hers. I'll never forget her gesture or words "I will see to it you get well paid" she says. AND she did

Closed on a listing on December 22rd and closed on a purchase for the same property on December 23rd