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Closings…Hurry Up And Wait
March 12th, 2008 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tips for Sellers
As I prepare for a closing later today I can’t help but think about the nature of people to wait ’til the last minute to get things done. We have a contract that specifies a closing date, and in this case it’s on or before March 12th (so much for the before and we’ll cross our fingers for the on). All parties involved get a copy of the contract within days its effective date. Buyer and seller have copies, along with their agents. The title agent has a copy. The buyer’s lender has a copy as well. All parties mark the date on the calendar.
So how is it that the rush always seems to be on to get the thing closed? Title agent leaves me a voice mail late yesterday informing me that she has no package from the lender as of yet. Seller’s agent calls me and says that the seller, who is now living out of state, has failed to get the remaining furniture out of the home.
And unfortunately, my clients have yet to see a an itemization of their final costs and what amount of money they need to bring to the closing table. This is always detailed on a form known as the HUD-1. You hope to get the HUD well in advance to review it and nip any problems in the bud. But that’s the exception rather than the rule.
But all of this is normal and comes without any great surprise, to me at least. But to first time buyers, the whole thing seems strange. They cooperated with their lender and followed the lender’s checklist of items needed early on. The loan commitment was provided by the lender over a week ago. But the title agent notes that someone at the lender’s office mentioned that there was “no one in the office today who could work on the file”. Excuse me?
As stated though this really should not surprise anyone in the business of closing a real estate transaction. There are many parties involved, each working on a different schedule seemingly. My last closing, in which I represented the seller, was another case in point:
We had an “on or before” date on that one as well. The lender calls me 10 days before the “on” date to let me know that the buyers would like to close in 3 days. The seller had yet to move out. So we all decided that a few days more were needed. So it’s the day before that closing and guess what? The lender notifies me that it ain’t going to happen tomorrow. The buyers were still trying to complete a form that the lender required. So we waited and additional 2 days before sitting down to sign the docs. Then the lender failed to wire the loan funds to the title company until the following day.
So even though all parties usually have 30 days or more in which to get their acts together, it is not uncommon, and actually quite common, to experience the scramble to get it done. Everyone’s on a deadline, and with so many individuals in the mix, the chance that someone will be rushing is pretty darn good. As long as both buyer and seller are working to get it done, don’t fret it.
4 Responses to “Closings…Hurry Up And Wait”
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Lenny we are experiencing 45 days becoming the norm and even 60 - your article really hit home with me since we have several closings from 3/31 still trying to get closed.
I hear you Cyndee. You’d just think that with a vacant home and pre-approved buyers, 30 days would be more than adequate. This one did close on time however. Thanks for the input.
This is what gives realtors that little ting of grey a little earlier than most. This has to be the most frustrating part of the process is coordinating and coming to a final closing date.
I cannot tell you how many times that has happened to me. A client depends on his or her lender and his or her title company to get the transaction to closing but invariably if anything goes wrong it will come back to the agent handling the transaction. I always try to refer my clients to trusted title companies and lenders who I know from experience will not procrastinate. I wonder if the recent downturn in the market will have an impact on this trend. Hopefully it will cause both the lender and the title companies to appreciate the business that they do receive.