Need Advice-- closing related!

OK-- So our closing, which was supposed to be August 7th was canceled b/c our bank was not ready, but two days later, we were ready to go. However, the sellers now claim that they are not "ready" so the closing was pushed to Aug. 21st, which sux, but it is fine. However, they refuse to leave for 7 days, and according to our contract, which our lawyer told us a different story when we were going over the contract, they are allowed to do this w/o paying us. So basically, they will be living in our house for 7 days! At this point, after months of crap that they have been giving us, I just want them out of my house once we close! I asked my lawyer if there was anything that he could do, and he said no, but I don't think he wants to be bothered with attempting to compromise. Does anyone else think that it is wrong that they want to stay for so long after the closing? Can my lawyer do something about this, or should I just leave well enough alone and deal with it? What would you do?!

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

in our contract it said they had a certain amount of days to stay after closing I cant remember how many but i think that is a laws that they have x amount of days after closing but after those x amount of days i am not sure what the max is they then have to pay rent

but i remember the lawyer and REA saying this

so sorry hun that stinks!!

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

a standard RE contract has 5 days written into it, so this extension to 7 days was an amendment that your attorney obviously ok'd. it seems like the sellers requested it be changed to 7 days so they may have a good reason for needing to hang around a bit longer.

its in your contracts that you already signed so there's nothing you can do about it. i doubt they'll want to stay the full 7 days, some people just like the extra time just in case something goes wrong with movers, etc. i'm sure it will work itself out. good luck!

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

Well, they said that they were planning on staying for 7 days...

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

If they are planning on staying the 7 days they should pay your interest on your mortgage and the taxes etc until they leave and money should be put into escrow which your attorney should draw up so that if they do any damage you get the money or if they stay longer than the 7 days they pay you. If they don't agree to that which isn't unreasonable given they want to stay then I would push the closing back 7 days giving them the time they need. Our seller needed the weekend to close and move into their other home (which is very common now a days that people need a little time) and they paid us our interest on our mortgage and taxes for those days and we had them hold $2500 in escrow.

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

The contract states exactly what they are allowed. Just keep money in escrow if they don't have the house cleaned out at the walk-thru.

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

you definitely need to read your contract and see what is in there. the old owners can "say" whatever they want - but if it goes against the contract, they are going to owe you some $$$.

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

Check your contract. I did this once with a rental. It was a sale and lease back. The prior owners paid me rent for a month since their new construction was delayed.

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

I had my attorney put in a "time is of the essence" clause. It's a little tricky because what it basically states is that if we don't close by X day, we walk from the deal. We knew the Sellers needed to close and that they wouldn't ultimately walk from the deal but it is a risk you have to be willing to take.

We also had her put in a "use and occupancy" clause" which states that if we close on the stated date but they need to stay in the house for longer they will pay the prorated share of our mortgage expenses.

These are both common clauses that can be put in a contract and should be put in a contract if you are truly concerned.

Our Sellers kept trying to push the closing date and we fought back.

Re: Need Advice-- closing related!

It depends on what your contract says and, depending on the way it is written, they may be responsible for taxes, etc. However, it is provides that they can stay up to 7 days and are responsible for costs only through the closing date, then you are out of luck. However, in the long run, is 7 days longer really going to matter?