A situation that's becoming more common at the closing table is when a buyer signs closing paperwork but does not take possession of the home immediately after wards. This is almost always due to the seller not signing off on the settlement pages by the time the buyer has. While this particular situation happens more than often happens with bank owned properties, it can also happen with short sale properties from time to time.
For a buyer purchasing a bank owned property, generally the seller is residing in the state the property is located. Reasons behind the seller delay in signing the documents in time can vary from property and in turn their situations. The results of the delay can be caused by: a title company not providing documents to the seller in a timely fashion, an investor taking longer than usual to review and sign off an adjustments of the costs listed on the HUD as well as needing supplemental parties to agree to the figures. Very often in these situations a bank deliver the signed settlement pages by the end of business on the scheduled closing date or even the day after, thus leaving the buyer(s) without possession no more than 24 hours.
For those buyers purchasing a short sale property, possession issues can also happen despite there being a live seller who does in fact reside in the state. The source of the delay can be that of a seller's lender(s) having not approved the final settlement pages prior to the scheduled closing date. Per the terms of a short sale approval letter; the title company, real estate agent and/or seller must obtain final approval on the HUD statement prior to delivering possession and allowing the funds to disperse to the lender that has been shorted. A delay in the final sign off on the settlement pages can be a result of many things. One being that the loss mitigation departments are truly understaffed due to the many short sale requests happening today and in turn those managing the files are sincerely unable to get to all requests they've received in any given day. Another being that of needing additional party approvals, such as the mortgage insurance company, investor approval of the HUD statement. Involving additional parties to the process always ends up time delays.
For any of the reasons listed above the delay of passing on of the keys to the home after signing the closing paperwork can and usually is frustrating. It's difficult to spend the time moving through a lengthy process, such as a home purchase, to then be cut short where the contract has not been completed as agreed upon at the closing table. The most frustrating piece of this situation is how little a buyer and their agent can do to remedy the situation. Phone calls and follow up notes are typically the best tools accessible to a buyer or their agent to ensure the final step has been completed.
