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Here in the Boston area, the norm is that once the keys are handed over at the settlement it's your house. A walk through is usually scheduled the day of the settlement to ensure the house is empty/broom swept and all the items agreed to in the P&S are met. As for the financing falling through, that's what earnest money is for - it's yours should the buyer walk away.
Now the buyer may allow the seller to stay a few days in order to get. I would insist on a big chunk being held back in escrow, another walk through, and rent. The seller has known they are moving for at least a month. They should be 99% prepped and ready to go the day of the settlement.
How many thousands of dollars would you give up to stay in a house that you have committed to move from?
I would want consideration for your convenience and my risk, and a LARGE deposit held back for potential damage when you get around to moving out of MY house.
We sell houses every day, and people move in and out, and it works much better than many people realize.
I would have paid a "rent back" fee if needed, no problem. I have never heard of people who have their house possessions already on a moving truck before they even close. In Ohio, that is certainly not a requirement it seems. My realtor said 48-72 hour right to keep possession is very common in contracts.
When I bought a house in Utah, it took 3 days for recording. I did not get the keys until recording and I paid CASH. It depends on the state. In LA, MS, and TX, I got the keys when I signed.
Here in the Boston area, the norm is that once the keys are handed over at the settlement it's your house. A walk through is usually scheduled the day of the settlement to ensure the house is empty/broom swept and all the items agreed to in the P&S are met. As for the financing falling through, that's what earnest money is for - it's yours should the buyer walk away.
Now the buyer may allow the seller to stay a few days in order to get. I would insist on a big chunk being held back in escrow, another walk through, and rent. The seller has known they are moving for at least a month. They should be 99% prepped and ready to go the day of the settlement.
Same in Florida, you get the keys, its your house.
In Idaho, we say "signing is just signing, the house isn't yours until it funds and records". This can take anywhere from an hour to 3 days from when the last party signs, but usually happens within a few business hours. So if you sign at 4:00 PM on Friday, you might not legally have possession until Monday morning.
For many years, it was normal here to have possession be scheduled for 2 days after "closing", but these days it is almost always scheduled for the same day. If it is going to be after, there is a form for renting back, and both parties have to make sure they have the proper insurance (homeowner's insurance for the seller has to make sure it covers them as renters, and homeowner's insurance for the buyer has to make sure it covers landlording, since that is what the actual situation is at that point.) There also usually is a holdback of some kind, in case the seller doesn't move and the buyer has to pay to evict them.
In Alaska you get the keys when it records, which is typically the next business day. We closed on our new house on Dec 9 and it recorded on Dec 10. Ours was the first to record that day, so we got the keys shortly after 9 am. The house we owned before that closed on Friday, so we didn't get the keys until Monday. It was the same with our winter house in Arizona...closed one day and recorded the next day. It all depends on the state and locality.
I would never expect to move in immediately after you close. You have to give the seller time to move out. They aren't gonna put everything on a moving truck before they close. That would be absurd. I would factor in 48 hours and have that in my contract.
In Alaska it is expected that the seller has vacated prior to closing unless a side deal has been made. I would expect most states to operate the same way.
That is bizarre, at least to me. The seller isn't going to move all their stuff out prior to closing, that is insane. Things fall out all the time at the last second. As a seller, I would 100% ask for 48 hours right of possession in the contract. And when we closed on the place we bought, the sellers wanted 72 hours, even though they were out in just 24.
I was always out of my old house prior to closing. That's what apartments or family are for if you don't have possession of your new house.
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