30 Days to close?

My husband and I are slated to close on our property in Nassau on May 25th. Long story short, we would like to push the closing back 14-21 days to get some additional funds together.

My question is: Do we need to give a reason as to WHY we want to push back the closing, or are we automatically granted the right to close later as long as we are within the 30 day buffer zone? I guess we are worried that the seller can say: NO, you cannot have an extra XX days...here's your deposit back if you can't make the original date.

Re: 30 Days to close?

When you say "slated to close" -- do you mean that's the on or about date in the contract, or has the closing actually been scheduled among the parties' attorneys, bank attorney, title company, etc.

If it's the former, and it's just the on or about date, I'd just let your lawyer know that you would prefer to close more like mid-June, and he can try to schedule it that way. No reason to disclose your reasons.

You are obligated to close within a "reasonable" period of time after the on or about date in the contract, which has usually been interpreted to mean 30 days. So as long as you close within May 25-June 25, I don't see it as being an issue.

Even if it's already been scheduled, it may not be an issue, unless the on or about date was April 25 and you want to go beyond 30 days, and the seller has some "time is of the essence" reason for needing to close on May 25. Even then, it seems unlikely that any seller would say "take back your deposit" -- we'll just start over and take our chances putting the home back on the market. That wouldn't really make sense or be in their interest if you are ready to close at this point and you are talking about a delay of a couple of weeks.

Usually the buyers are the ones that want to close asap. Will delaying the close cause any issues with your rate lock, for example? But if it's already scheduled on everyone's calendar and it's possible for you to close (even if not ideal), I would say go ahead with it.

But you really should run this by your attorney, who understands all of the circumstances surrounding your sale and can best advise you as to how to proceed.

Re: 30 Days to close?

Thank you! Yes, it is the "one or about date". I will speak to our attorney, but this really answers my questions.