What if closing doesn't happen as scheduled - Posted by Pippi Gaetke

Posted by Frank Chin on September 11, 2007 at 03:47:13:

Rich:

Yes.

I’ve seen penalties written in for from $100.00 to $150.00 per day applied to either side for not being anble to come to the closing table, after a certain date.

Attornies had told me to do this instead of “time is of the essence”.

Frank Chin

What if closing doesn’t happen as scheduled - Posted by Pippi Gaetke

Posted by Pippi Gaetke on September 10, 2007 at 09:26:58:

The closing date on the PA for raw land is (was) scheduled for 8/31/07. Seller has been dragging his feet. As of today, still no closing. Buyer’s do not want to deal with this seller any longer, want out. Possible? If so, buyer’s will lose/forfeit no money?

Escrow closings frequently delayed - Posted by John Merchant

Posted by John Merchant on September 23, 2007 at 07:32:47:

I’d guess of all the RE deals I’ve seen escrowed, maybe 10-25% have been done on time and all the rest have been postponed or delayed for lots of reasons.

Many such are killed completely by agreement between the S & B so just understand that’s always a possibility.

If time is really critical both sides should have their RE Agent or lawyer include specific language with monetary penalties against the other side for any delays.

Re: What if closing doesn’t happen as scheduled - Posted by Frank Chin

Posted by Frank Chin on September 10, 2007 at 14:04:02:

Pippi:

Ran into a few of these myself.

My attorney tells me the custom my area is, NYC, there is an unwriiten rule where either side has an automatic 30 days extension, unless there is a “time is of the essence clause”, before going forward to set a “drop dead” deadline", or to cancel. The close by date is more of a guidepost than a deadline.

So it would be a request to close by 09-30-07.

Frank Chin

Re: What if closing doesn’t happen as scheduled - Posted by Rich-CA

Posted by Rich-CA on September 10, 2007 at 13:25:07:

If your sales contract has a closing date, and the property has not closed, Buyer needs to send Seller a notice to perform (or whatever the local equivalent is) and give them a few days to either come to the closing table or release the earnest money for non-performance of the contract.

Re: What if closing doesn’t happen as scheduled - Posted by River City

Posted by River City on September 10, 2007 at 12:21:41:

How were extensions in the contract covered?

Re: What if closing doesn’t happen as scheduled - Posted by Rich-CA

Posted by Rich-CA on September 10, 2007 at 21:07:48:

I haven’t seen a contract where “time is of the essence” was not in the wording somewhere. However, is there a way to cut that off at the knees later?