The day of move in can be extremely exciting. All the bare walls and
empty rooms seem to be yelling, Decorate me! Any new homeowner can be
overwhelmed with new ideas as to how to rearrange the furniture, clean,
and unpack. One may want to paint and put up curtains right away.
When the buyer makes an bid on a property and it gets accepted, the
planning starts. People have actually had a calendar marked as a
countdown to the big �M�. Moving Day. The question always comes up,
�When can I move in?�. The big day actually depends on your contract
with the seller.
Most of the time the buyer will be handed the keys to the new home on
the day of closing. This is when the property actually switches hands.
The seller has signed his rights away and the buyer has resumed them.
Sometimes things can happen a little differently.
The seller may ask for a few extra days to make sure everything they
want is out of the house. They may need some extra time to locate a
property or even close on the new one they are buying. When a seller is
having a home built, delays can occur which can defer the sellers moving
on an expected date. There may have to be concessions made to
accommodate the sellers.
It is possible the seller will consent to have the buyer move in prior
to the closing. This generally can be done if the house is vacant and it
is a strong buyer. If the buyer had difficulty acquiring the loan, or
asked for certain concessions, the seller may not feel comfortable
permitting the buyer to move in until the closing has been finalized.
This is just added protection against anything which could go wrong.
Either way the seller usually has a week to week lease with the buyer to
allow occupancy prior to closing.
You will find some real estate agencies have rental agreements on file
which can be signed by the seller and buyer for either one to live in
the home during the time prior to closing or shortly thereafter. These
forms are used to protect each party so there is no question about what
is going on. The seller may pay rent to the buyer in lieu of letting
them stay longer. The buyer may also be required to pay if he or she
moves in prior to closing. The agreements usually consists of a clause
concerning the utility usage during the times of occupancy.
In all reality, very few times any more do the sellers need to reside in
the home after closing. It is only on rare occasions the buyer would
need to move in before closing. So the real answer to when you can move
in is actually completely up to the people involved in the sale.
Return to Brokerforyou's real estate articles