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... Our landlord tenant laws exempt real estate transactions involving possession for 90 days so we can agree to many things without worrying about those laws...
Very uncommon in my area. Normal here is for possession to transfer ON the day of closing. Not a couple days after. The buyer is often waiting out front with a moving truck, waiting to hear that it recorded, and they can get keys.
It does happen, and we have a real estate form for it, that covers the most common issues, like insurance, and rent. But it doesn't happen very often. I would say I see less than 1 in 200 transactions that rent back in my office.
In Texas, when I practiced real estate (haven't done so in about 5 years), it was nearly always the NORM for the seller to maintain possession of the home for a few days after closing - if they had been living in it. If the home had been their personal residence and they had to move out, it was very rare for them to hand over the keys at closing.
This makes sense to me because sometimes closings fall through, or are delayed. Sometimes the seller has to close on THEIR house before they close on their NEW house - and they can't move into the new house till the old house deal closes.
Never once did I ever have any sort of legal problem or gnarly issue with this scenario. The terms were spelled out in the sales contract and without exception, every time, in this very standard and normal process, all parties behaved themselves and things went smoothly.
Maybe we were just lucky - or maybe Texans are just generally really good, reasonable, honest and responsible people! \
In NY it's a day maybe 2 at most. We got an extra day in our home after we closed, and put $1000 in escrow.
It's much more common here in NC.
You know you're moving. Start packing. There's really no excuse to need 2 weeks to pack. Even if they deal fell thru at the 11th hour, you would still be moving. There's plenty of stuff you don't need every day or even every month. Start there.
In NY it's a day maybe 2 at most. We got an extra day in our home after we closed, and put $1000 in escrow.
It's much more common here in NC.
You know you're moving. Start packing. There's really no excuse to need 2 weeks to pack. Even if they deal fell thru at the 11th hour, you would still be moving. There's plenty of stuff you don't need every day or even every month. Start there.
You're not necessarily moving if there's not a closing. For instance, if your down payment on your next home is the equity in your current home, you can't close on your NEW home till your old home closes and funds.
I have literally known of situations in which the BUYER was killed in a freaking car accident on the way to the closing. I had a situation once where a buyer had to sell a home in Florida in order to close on my seller's home - and a hurricane was bearing down on the buyer's house and the title company wouldn't close till they knew whether or not there was going to be a house to sell!
I've had situations where the buyers were buying a home they wouldn't be moving into for several months, and they were more than willing to allow the sellers to rent back their former house, so that the house wouldn't sit there empty for months.
Every situation is different. The reality is that many sellers AREN'T moving anytime soon, if this particular closing falls through. Should they have to pay the moving company to pack and then unpack their stuff and bring it back in? For maybe several more months?
Every situation is different. The reality is that many sellers AREN'T moving anytime soon, if this particular closing falls through. Should they have to pay the moving company to pack and then unpack their stuff and bring it back in? For maybe several more months?
That's a very seller-centric post. The reality for a buyer that had been renting is that they have to be out by a certain date and likely will try to arrange the closing date to the end of their lease or end of a month. Should the new owners of the home have to put their stuff in storage and pay to live in a motel while the seller-- who no longer owns the property-- gets their ducks lined up or deals with some wrinkle that appears?
In my area, it's pretty common for the seller to have 2-3 days to get out. They don't want to move until the sale is a done deal.
As a buyer, I want the seller out at closing. I don't want them hanging out, possibly doing more damage, not having the carpet cleaned like it states in their contract, maybe leaving me a ton of garbage. They've got their money, they don't have any motivation to do any more. I want to do my final walk-through in an empty house before I release funds.
I have had 2 different sellers who didn't understand that once they sold the house, it no longer belonged to them. One seller refused to move. The other thought it would be OK to store all his stuff for a couple of months until it was convenient for him to come and get it.
I don't see it a lot here, but I"ve had a few transactions lately that did have seller holdovers. There is a form for that and the specifics should be made very clear. If your agreement says something like "up to 30 days" the escrow company will hold the total amount of rent from your proceeds and when you move out they prorate the rent to the buyer and you get the remainder. You might also offer (or the buyer should ask) for a deposit to be held by escrow until you move out.
As far as buyer reaction, I've seen it both ways. Some don't want to take the risk of you not moving out or damaging something after the close. I have had short sellers ask to do a holdover and in those situations my buyers said absolutely not. The lenders are likely to say that too.
I would never, ever, ever, ever close on a home purchase with the sellers still living there. You become instant landlords. Why take the risk? What about post closing damage? What about a walk through?
We've bought and sold two properties over the past few years. Houses were always empty. It was in our contract that the houses had to be empty. We are in NJ. Seems like the norm here.
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