You may have heard the $8,000 and $6,500 homebuyer tax credit was extended to September 30th. Those with contracts signed by April 30th who couldn’t go to closing by the June 30th deadline will now have until September 30th to finalize their deal. Apparently, many people were about to miss the deadline because banks and setttlement offices were struggling with the volume of people trying to rush to close their deals. For some, well, they dragged their feet.
Make Sure Your Deal Will Close
So, you don’t want to be in the same situation again because 90 days can fly by fast. Smart Money provided a few tips in a recent article to make sure your deal will close by Sept. 30th. There were a couple I particularly thought were helpful.
First, you should stay in constant communication with all parties involved such as your agent, lender and mortgage processor. Doing so will help you stay on top of and help rectify any issues that could delay your closing.
Next, don’t think that the extra months is plenty of time to close on your house. Don’t delay, or get too comfortable with the extension. Remember, this is a busy time for settlement offices, so don’t drag your feet on your responsibilities.
Potential Issues to Closing a Home
What are some issues you might encounter near or at closing? I did some research and Realtor.com provides several common hurdles to closing a home you may want to keep in mind and make sure you’re proactively working to avoid them.
- The termite inspection reveals extensive damage.
- The appraisal isn’t high enough.
- There are clouds on the title.
- The home inspection reveals major defects.
- You get cold feet or the seller backs out.
- Your financing falls through.
- The property is in a high-risk area and you don’t want to live with that risk (or pay to insure against it).
- The home isn’t insurable.
- There are costly differences between your good faith estimate & HUD-1.
- Errors prevent closing on time.
Here are some thoughts and comments on a few of these tips:
- If the appraisal isn’t high enough the seller will have to lower the purchase price, or you’ll have to pay cash to come up with the difference.
- Don’t let financing become an issue. Contact your lender to insure you can hold your rate if your closing has been delayed.
- According the Realtor.com, the good faith estimate should be within 10% of the HUD-1. The HUD-1 is sent 24 hours before closing. There isn’t much you can do here except stress you will not accept much deviation from the good faith estimate. Let everyone you don’t want any surprise fees.
Overall, I would imagine some people might depend on others to come through for them. I’ve stressed many times; no one will manage your situation better than you, so get actively involved and participate in the management of your closing. Use the above issues from Realtor.com as a checklist. Run through them and make sure you’ve done everything possible to insure they don’t impact your closing.
Are you trying to close by September 30th? If so, are you following these tips? Can you provide any further advice to others?
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