Worse Than Friday The 13th

by Darrin DeRoches July 19 - 25, 2012

What is the busiest day for real estate closing this year? August 31st. This year August 31st falls on a Friday and most people in the industry book their closings on Fridays so the lawyers and banks can take the week to get everything in order. The busy spring market tends to have closing all lining up for possessions for September. This being true plus the end of the month being on a Friday with the long weekend on the same weekend, you must be crazy to even consider this date.     The possibility of many closing failing to occur on such a date increases due to delays in getting mortgage advances for buyers which will have a chain reaction causing delays to other closings. You will be under enough stress looking to move into your new dream home but add the factor the bank was unable to complete your deal and the seller’s lawyer screaming at you about the delay. You will be unable to move your belongings into the new home since the deal did not close. It is a long weekend and the offices are closed on Monday, plus it will take a long time on Tuesday to “catch up” with the mess left from Friday. This scenario does happen and you “legally” cannot move into the new home unless the lawyers have them money from the bank and the bank will not be working past five o’clock on a Friday – especially on a long weekend.      Let’s also remember that all moving vans will be booked out and if you live in a building with an elevator – they too will be booked on this day. Everyone wants to be ready for the new school year and be in their new property but at what costs? Most real estate agents would not even think to look ahead and in all reality they will not have to deal with any of this stress, unless you are calling them freaking out that you cannot close on your new home and you are homeless for at least the weekend. There are other dates that come up throughout the year but Augusts 31st on a Friday this year will be the absolute worst – to date. Again if you already have this date booked a van booked and you think it will not affect you think again.     The person who is selling their home to you may not have a truck booked and their bank or lawyer may not be able to process their deal and you will find yourself sitting in your moving van out on the street unable to take possession of your new home. The problem may not be you, your lawyer, your bank, their bank, their lawyer it may just be the processing at the ministry who has all their staff booked off for the last long weekend. This is not a Y2k thing where all the computers may stop working it is more of a long hot summer thing where August 31st Long Weekend may be more important to someone in the chain of closing and while they are at the cottage enjoying the weekend you are stuck sleeping in a moving van someone else has booked for the next day! V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at mail@uniquerealty.ca.