Closing Day Delays & Other Fiascos Your Real Estate Agent Can't Control
After weeks or even months of sleepless nights, Closing Day has finally arrived. Yay! As a homebuyer or homeowner, much hard work and sacrifice has led up to the Big Moment when you either get keys to your dream home or you finally get paid for one! At high noon, money and keys will change hands and everyone will live happily ever after.
Right?
Well… not exactly.
Page one of the residential purchase contract does in fact say that the seller will provide vacant possession at ’12 noon’ on Closing Day. However, in reality, about half the time we get key release before noon on Closing Day, and about half the time we get key release after 12pm.
When homebuyers tell me they have a moving truck lined up to unload their worldly possessions at noon on possession day, I tend to break into a cold sweat.
So what is the problem here? Why can’t banks and lawyers and Realtors do this one thing on time? Oh my dear client, so, so many things happen that your loyal Realtor simply cannot control:
The buyer’s lender doesn’t wire the money to the seller’s lawyer on time.
The bank sends mortgage instructions to the buyer’s lawyer at the last minute.
Something has gone wrong at the property and the lawyers are negotiating legal remedy (hail, fire, vandalism, sewer backup, gale-force wind… ).
Keys were releasable at 12:02pm and the entire team at the lawyer’s office went for lunch. (I’m not kidding.)
It’s Friday, funds moved at 2:30pm, but the lawyer’s office closed early. (Still not kidding.)
The lawyer retired and no one in her office picked up up the file. (True story.)
There was a typo in the name of the receiving law office on the bank wire. (Also a true story.)
I could go on! To fully appreciate the ‘key release conundrum’ for Realtors, please watch the video below. I had fun on this particular Friday. If you have questions about how to plan for Closing Day, message me and let’s put together a plan.