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We have a closing on a house at 9 am 2/13 in Arlington, VA.
It was already going to be a challenge because I am recovering from cancer surgery and was only cleared to drive yesterday. And as many of you know, it's a long drive and the end of the trip will involve dealing with heavy rush hour traffic in Arlington.
We ordered a POA for me, thinking my husband would drive up there for an equally important meeting he can't miss that will be earlier that day in Chantilly (about an hour from the closing site). The plans was he would complete the meeting and thenn he would drive to Arlington and handle the closing. It would be a giant PITA but it was doable.
Now we hear that a major blizzard may or may not hit next Tuesday (2/12). Or it might hit 2/13. Or it might not hit at all. And nobody can tell for several days yet.
We'd already tried moving the closing closer to his meeting, the realtor said that wouldn't be possible. I currently am trying to contact her to ask what we do in case a blizzard strikes, but we can't seem to reach her.
While I'm waiting to see what suggestions she has, any thoughts from you guys? His meeting can't be moved. I know te closing can't be moved to a different location, but how about a different date, like the next week (after the blizzard is long gone)? Or is that a bad idea? What would you do in this situation? I hate to panic because I know the weather is sometimes wrong and there might not be a blizzard at all. But... it might happen, and it might be important to do something proactive now.
So far the only solution I can think of is to have him get a hotel room near his meeting and to order a POA for him and have ME drive up there in the blizzard to handle the closing. But I don't think having someone who just had surgery drive in a blizzard is such a good idea. I could also get a hotel room near the closing but I have a feeling there must be a more obvious and easier solution than getting two pricey hotel rooms. Plus, if the blizzard strikes early I might have to drive up a few days before. That starts adding up to a lot of money.
Thoughts?
Last edited by Piney Creek; 02-06-2019 at 10:00 AM..
If everyone is ready to close, there's no real reason not to. Closing date can be changed with an addendum signed around by all. That easy.
Is there financing involved? Is everyone ready?
If folk aren't ready to move you may need early/late occupancy agreements, but that kind of stuff can be worked out if everyone is amicable and pulling for the same goal.
If everyone is ready to close, there's no harm in closing early while the weather's still nice, if that works with your schedule. If not, ask the escrow office if they can arrange a mobile notary to come to you, or to come to your husband in Chantilly. This will add a fee of somewhere around $150-$200, but it may be worth it to you.
Thanks Diana. The last repair on the house takes place Thursday, and otherwise all contingencies have been removed. So we're good on our end. We could even close earlier, if that would work for the buyers. They are moving from the west coast, not sure if that might present an issue for them since they will need to be in Virginia for the walk through. (Or, do they? Can a realtor do a walk through on their behalf?) If they wanted to wait an extra week that would work for us, too. Is it rude to ask for something like that?
It's not rude when there's good reason to move the schedule around, happens all the time as we get close to close. Have the Realtors talk to each other and find out if the buyers would like to move the date one way or the other, because of the weather. You may find they'd jump at a chance to do that.
If not, then punt.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 02-06-2019 at 10:22 AM..
Just heard back from my realtor. She doesn't think the storm will hit, says let's wait until the weather report on Friday before we do anything. Hope that's a smart move. WEather report should be around noon (hopefully not later).
In the meantime, thanks for giving me ideas on various ways we might handle this. In case we do need to do something, I appreciate having a few days to mull over the best approach before having to make a quick decision on a Friday afternoon.
FWIW, we have our own storm coming this weekend. I wouldn't call it a blizzard, but it might mean a few to several inches of snow here, in a region not well equipped for it. We had a big buyer tour scheduled, but we decided to put it off til next week, just to be on the safe side.
We're also hoping that will end up being the right call. Predicting the weather AND the future.. now that would be a good skill to have.
Y'all need to be in Florida during hurricane season. Insurers stop binding insurance when a named storm is in "the box" a gigantic area that includes Florida, most of the Gulf of Mexico, the Bermuda Triangle and parts of Texas. Closings start looking like the holding pattern over Hartsfield on a stormy day when a storm lingers in the box too long. Throw in a few simultaneous closings with the second one in another part of the country and people start pinching underwear.
Y'all need to be in Florida during hurricane season.
I don't know how you do it, honestly. I would be afraid to commit to spring flowers in hurricane country!
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