Plan Ahead for the Closing Date and Possession Date

April 5, 2021 | Seller Insights

Section 2 of the contract lists two very important dates — the Closing Date and the Possession Date/Time. Take a look at these and make sure you are planning accordingly.

In most cases, you have to be completely out of the property by the Possession Date and Possession Time listed in the contract. You are subject to monetary penalties and other legal action if you fail to be out by this date and time.

The exception is when you are selling a property and the buyer is taking it subject-to-the-lease of that existing tenant. In those cases, you will be turning over the property to the buyer with the tenant and the tenant’s belongings still on the premises. This does not automatically apply to every tenant occupied property. We sometimes sell a property that is tenant occupied but still agree to have the tenant out prior to closing.

As they begin to make final plans for their moves, clients sometimes ask if they can change the closing and/or possession dates. Theoretically, this is possible — we just have to get everyone to agree to it.

From a practical point of view, however, it is often difficult. Everyone is making plans for movers, etc. and it gets harder and harder to get people to agree to a change. It is best to make all your plans based on the dates, as currently specified in the contract — these are the only dates you can be sure are going to work.

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