Reasons For Delays In Home Closings By The Seller
After choosing a house to buy and hearing that the seller of the house accepted your offer, the process of buying a house will begin. It will typically take several weeks to close on the house you are buying, but it could take even longer than this. If the person selling the house does not do everything he or she needs to, or if there are problems with the title work, there could be a delay in your closing. Here are several common reasons for delays in home closings that are caused by the sellers of the homes.
Seller did not complete all the contingencies
After the seller accepts your offer, there may be things he or she needs to complete in order to close on the house, and these are often listed as contingencies. For example, if you discovered that there was a door that was not functioning properly, the seller may have agreed to fix it. If you find out the seller did not do this, you should not close on the house until it is done. If sellers do not make the necessary repairs, the buyers should wait until the repairs are completely finished before closing.
Seller did not move out in time
If a seller decides not to move out by the date of closing, this too could cause a delay in closing. If you and the seller agreed that you would take possession of the house on closing day, the seller should be out by this date. If the seller is not moved out, you will not be able to close on the loan that day. Instead, there will be a delay in closing until the seller has successfully moved out of the house.
There were title issues
The other thing that may cause a delay is a problem with the title of the house. If, for example, there is a lien on the house that the seller owes, the seller would need to pay for this or fight it before closing. The lien must either be settled before closing, or the seller would have to pay the lien at closing. If the seller is fighting this lien and does not completely resolve the lien issue before closing, there could be a delay in the closing.
If you want to make sure you can close on time, put it in your purchase offer that you must close by a certain date. If you would like to learn more about how to buy or sell real estate, contact a real estate agent today.