Here Are 5 Issues That Could Delay Your Real Estate Closing

The five issues that most often delay a real estate closing are buyer financing, the home's appraisal, title problems, the money transfer on closing day, and surprises at the final walkthrough. Each one can be spotted early, and most can be prevented with a little planning and steady communication between the buyer, the seller, the lender and the attorneys.

We're Bentley's Real Estate, and our agents help buyers and sellers across Greater Newburyport get from accepted offer to keys. We wrote this the way we'd explain it to a friend who just went under contract.

Issue	Who it usually affects	What causes the delay	How to avoid it
Buyer financing	Buyer	New credit, job change, large deposits	No financial moves until after closing
Appraisal value	Buyer and seller	Appraised value below the agreed price	Plan for an appraisal gap before the offer
Title problems	Seller	Liens, public records errors, ownership claims	Early title search and attorney review
Money transfer	Buyer	Wrong payment form, wire errors, bank limits	Confirm the payment method days ahead
Final walkthrough	Buyer and seller	Unfinished repairs, missing items	Put every repair and item in writing

1. Challenges in the buyer's financing

The first issue on that list is also the one that tends to show up first after the offer is signed. Financing is one of the most common reasons a closing gets delayed, because a pre-approval or even a mortgage commitment is not a guaranteed loan.

The lender still reviews the buyer's credit and bank statements one final time, usually within a few days of the closing date.

That final review is where a lot of deals stall.

Case in point: a new credit line for a car or furniture, a job change, a missed payment, a cash gift, or a large deposit you can't explain can each send the file back to underwriting. The lender may ask for new documents, and the closing waits.

Financial move before closing	Risk to your loan approval
Opening a new credit card or car loan	High
Changing jobs	High
Large deposit you can't document	Medium to high
Falling behind on any payment	Medium to high
Paying bills on time, as usual	None

We tell our buyers to treat the weeks between loan approval and closing as a financial freeze. A few days before closing, call your lender and ask: is anything still open on my file?

If you're selling, ask your agent how strong the buyer's financing looks before you accept an offer.

2. Any discrepancy in the home's appraisal value

Even a buyer with spotless financing can hit the next hurdle, because the lender also needs the house itself to check out. A low appraisal delays a closing because the lender will only lend against the appraised value, not the agreed price.

Lenders require an appraisal to confirm the property is worth what the buyer agreed to pay, and when the number comes in short, the parties have to work out the difference before anyone can close.

A low appraisal doesn't have to end the deal.

It does force the buyer and seller to make a decision, and that takes time.

Appraisal gap option	Best for	Tradeoff
Seller lowers the price	A seller who wants a fast, certain close	The seller gives up value
Buyer pays the difference	A buyer with extra funds who wants the home	More cash out of pocket
Split the difference	Both parties motivated to close	Both sides give something
Challenge the appraisal	Clear errors or missing comparable sales	Adds days and may not change the value
Seller completes repairs	Value held back by condition issues	Needs time and a recheck

Buying in a competitive market? Decide before you write the offer how much of a gap you could cover.

If you're selling, we'd suggest pricing the home on recent sales data rather than hope, since a price above what recent sales support can set up a low appraisal.

3. Issues with the property's title

Once the price and the value line up, attention shifts from what the house is worth to who owns it. Title problems delay a closing because ownership has to transfer cleanly from the seller to the buyer, and any cloud on the title stops that transfer.

A title search examines public records for liens, claims or errors that would let another person or entity claim a stake in the home.

The usual title issues are unpaid tax liens, claims from a relative or co-owner, unpaid association dues, and simple errors in the public records. Any of these can put a transaction on hold.

Here in Massachusetts, buyers and sellers typically work with real estate attorneys, and the attorney handling the title work is the person who sorts these issues out before closing.

Sellers can get ahead of trouble by asking their attorney to look at the title history as soon as the home is listed, especially after an inheritance or a change to who is on the deed. Buyers can't prevent title issues, since most come from past mistakes.

Which is why it's smart to leave some flexibility in your timeline.

4. Problems with the money transfer

That flexibility matters most in the final week, when the paperwork is done and the only thing left to move is the money. A money transfer problem delays a closing because the buyer's funds for the down payment and closing costs have to arrive in the right form and on time.

If the payment is in the wrong form, shows up late, or runs into a bank transfer limit, the closing waits.

Some closings accept a certified or bank check. Others require a wire transfer.

Ask your attorney or settlement agent exactly what they need, and confirm the final amount a few days before closing.

Wire fraud is the bigger worry.

Never send money based on emailed instructions alone; call your attorney's office at a number you already know and confirm every detail first.

Payment check	When to do it
Ask which payment form is required	When the closing date is set
Confirm the final amount due	A few days before closing
Verify wiring instructions by phone	Before you send any funds
Check your bank's transfer limit	A few days before closing
Bring a checkbook for small items, like an unpaid utility bill	Closing day

5. Surprises during the final walkthrough

With the funds lined up, there's usually one last stop before the signing table, and it happens inside the house. The final walkthrough can delay a closing when the buyer finds the home isn't in the condition they agreed to buy it in.

It's the buyer's last look at the property, usually after the seller moves out and shortly before closing, and its job is to confirm agreed repairs are done and nothing has changed.

Buyers treat it as a formality until they find one of these:

• Unfinished repairs: work the seller agreed to after the home inspection that isn't done.
• Missing items: fixtures or appliances the buyer expected to stay.
• New damage: walls or floors scuffed or damaged during the move.
• Systems not working: appliances, heat, plumbing or electrical that worked at inspection.

The best protection is to write every agreed repair and every item that stays into the contract, and to ask the seller for receipts for completed work. If you're selling, finish repairs early so the walkthrough stays a quiet last step before you get paid.

How we keep a closing on time

All five issues start well before closing day, when someone learns about a problem too late. When the buyer, seller, lender, attorneys and agents keep talking, they head off most of them.

At Bentley's Real Estate, we keep the lender, the attorneys and the other side talking from accepted offer to final walkthrough. We flag issues the day we see them.

As the #1 real estate brokerage in Greater Newburyport by market share seven years running, our 60+ agents have worked through each of these five problems and know how to clear them.

Keep your closing on schedule

If you're buying or selling in Greater Newburyport and want a closing that stays on schedule, give us a call at (978) 572-1200.