That’s the million dollar question these days.   Everyone needs to schedule their move.  Sellers have to have the movers and buyers have to have their funds to close.

What happens when the bank can’t get the papers done or there are still conditions to be met?  Closing is delayed.  And how many closings are delayed?  Actually, in the real world, about 50% to 60% of the loans close on time.  Others may be a day late, a week late or even several weeks late.

Who is responsible for charges incurred if a buyer does not close on the home on time?   Well, we’d like to say the buyer because 9 out of 10 times it is the buyer’s mtg company that delays the closing due to various reasons (buyer did not get paperwork to them in time, underwriting came up with new requirements, appraisal wasn’t ordered because buyer and seller were still negotiating repairs, etc.), but that is not always the case and here’s why:

IF a closing goes past the agreed upon date, neither party is obliged to close.  It is wise to get an amendment to the contract immediately upon knowledge that a closing will not take place as scheduled.  IF it is a seller’s market – the seller could demand that the buyer pay for holding costs of the home until the closing date.  IF it is a buyer’s market, the seller would probably not be negotiating from a position of strength in asking the buyer to pay.   In either case, without a signed amendment, the seller is perfectly within his right to sell the home to another party and buyer is perfectly within his right not to close (unless he had something to do with the closing delay such as failure to get documents to the mtg company in a timely fashion, etc.)