Why Is My Closing Delayed?

Your realtor just called and said you won’t be able to close on your house on the scheduled date. Your first thought might be, why didn’t my realtor tell me this sooner? Or why did the realtor or our lender not get their job done on time?

A good realtor looks at the type of loan you’re getting and communicates with your lender on a reasonable timeline to close your home. However, there are various reasons your closing may still be delayed.

Appraisal Issues—When a home doesn’t appraise, the buyer and seller are back to negotiating a new price. Lenders will not loan a buyer more than what a house is worth. In some cases, if the seller won’t budge on the price, a deal may fall through.

The lender may need more documents. When a lender does a buyer’s pre-qualification, they do not have all the information yet to know what documentation they will need to complete the loan. Throughout the process, the lender may uncover issues with payment history, prior purchases, work history, details of your assets, etc. that require the buyer to turn in more documentation. The length of time it takes the buyer to obtain and turn in this can lengthen the process.

Repairs not being completed. The home inspection may unearth repairs that need to be made before the buyer will close on the home. Depending on the nature of the repairs, occasionally the seller may need additional time to complete them.

These are a few of the reasons a closing may be delayed. While it’s never the goal to delay a closing, it does happen.  It’s important to find an agent that will advocate for you with your best interests in mind. Gail Hardy with Southland Realtors is the Realtor to do that!

Gail Hardy is an affiliate broker with Southland Realtors. Reviews on Gail can be found on Zillow and her business page on Facebook. She always welcomes new clients and can be reached at 865-805-3054 or email Gail@southlandrealtors.com!