You’ve put an offer on a home, but you still need to sell your house first. That’s ok. Your sellers have a closing date on Wednesday a few weeks away. Timing is everything, so you carefully calculate your own closing date for the day after you’ve sold your home. 

It’s an exciting time, and there’s lots to do: line up the moving vans, contact the utility companies so that power, cable and water can be switched out of their names and into yours, and time the key handoff precisely. 

Then it happens...a hiccup with your buyer’s loan, and it sends your plans into the Domino Effect. Everyone is packed and ready to move, but the move isn’t happening precisely as everyone had planned. 

What can you do to prevent these delays? Well at this point, there is not a lot we can do but wait for the underwriting review process to be completed. 

1) MAKE YOUR PLAN B YOUR PLAN A

If you don’t have your closing date scheduled yet, and you are selling one house and buying another, lessen the stress on yourself. Allow at least a day or two in between the closing to sell your current home and the purchase of the new one. Yes, closings can happen the same day, but why risk heartache when it does not happen?

2) BUYER POSSESSION BEFORE CLOSING

“But, I Have To Move In Now.” If these choices are not right for you, then consider a short-term occupancy agreement with the buyer of your current home. In North Carolina, real estate agents can fill in blanks on standard “Seller Possession After Closing Agreement” for you. This agreement allows you to rent back the property from the buyer for up to 14 days. The same option is available to you on the home you are purchasing if that seller agrees because real estate agents also have access to a standard “Buyer Possession Before Closing Agreement.”

Sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent delays but the best prevention is communication. Communicate early with your real estate agent, lender and directly with your closing attorney’s office. Make sure they all have everything they will need to assist in your closing occurring without delays. Whether buying or selling it is important to get requested documentation back to all parties as promptly as possible.