Answers · The process
What can delay a closing, and what can I do about it?
Most delays come from four places: a slow or low appraisal, documents that arrive late or incomplete, a title issue on the property, and changes to the buyer's finances during the process. The first two are the most common, and the second is the one you can control.
Written by Andrew Malm, Senior Loan Originator, NMLS# 2663426. Last reviewed .
The appraisal is the step nobody controls. The lender orders it, an independent appraiser schedules it, and in a busy season that can take longer than anyone wants. If the value comes in low, there is a negotiation to have before anything else moves.
Documents are where buyers lose the most time without realizing it. A statement with a missing page, a letter of explanation that takes a week to write, a pay stub that expired while the file was waiting. Each one is a day or three. They add up.
Title problems are rarer and uglier: an old lien that was never released, a boundary question, a seller who is going through a divorce. These are not your fault and they can still cost you your rate lock. A good title company and an early title order are the protection.
The last one is self-inflicted. A buyer opens a store credit card for the furniture and the final credit check before closing catches it. Now the numbers have to be run again.
What I'd do
- Send documents the same day they are requested, complete.
- Ask when the appraisal was ordered and when it is scheduled. Do not assume.
- Keep your rate lock date in front of you and ask what happens if it is missed.
- Do not change anything about your money until the keys are in your hand.
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