Closing is a series of transfers between lawyers that you play almost no part in. Understanding the sequence explains why you cannot have the keys at breakfast.
The sequence
A few days before: you sign your mortgage documents and the transfer with your lawyer, and provide your certified funds. This is the appointment people mistake for closing.
Closing morning: your lender advances the mortgage to your lawyer, usually late morning and sometimes not until afternoon.
Your lawyer sends the funds to the seller's lawyer and the two of them register the transfer electronically.
Registration completes. The seller's lawyer authorises release of the keys, normally held at the listing brokerage.
Mid to late afternoon is normal. Book your movers accordingly, and do not book them for the morning of a Friday closing.
Everyone closes on the last business day of the month, and lenders process advances in a queue. A Friday month-end closing is the highest-risk slot in the calendar. If you have a choice, take a Tuesday mid-month.
What delays it
- Late mortgage advance from the lender. By far the most common cause.
- The seller's discharge figures arriving late from their bank.
- Last-minute title problems raised on the requisition date.
- A failed final walkthrough: chattels removed that should have stayed, damage, or the property not vacant.
- Wire delays and bank cut-off times.
A failure to close is a breach, but a short delay is usually resolved with an amendment extending the closing date, sometimes with per diem interest payable by whichever side caused it. Your lawyer handles this. It is stressful and it is not normally fatal.
Ask to view the property in the day or two before closing, empty. You are checking that what stays has stayed, nothing has been damaged in the move, and the place is broom clean. Once you close, the leverage is gone.