Moving Day

When can you actually take possession of your home and move into it? That depends on the terms of your contract. “Close of Escrow plus 3 days” is typical.

Can you move in the same day escrow closes? This is fine if the sellers have already moved out. Usually, though, sellers don’t want to move out until they are 100% certain the escrow has closed.

For two moving vans to occupy the same driveway at exactly the same time borders on the impossible. There are easier ways to go crazy!

Why should you move in three days after escrow closes? The sellers need at least a day for moving. More importantly, your escrow has to close first, so that the sellers can collect their cash and close on their next home. This transfer of ownership usually takes three days.

After the sellers vacate, but before your movers bring your belongings into the house, check your new home carefully for damage that may have been caused by the sellers’ movers. When movers are involved, accidents can happen.

This is a tricky time period. You have the opportunity to do a “final walkthrough” before escrow closes. If there’s anything wrong with the house, you can stop escrow until the problem is resolved. But if you do the final walkthrough and the sellers haven’t yet moved out, you may lose your opportunity for this correction. (Sometimes the sellers don’t physically move until after the close of escrow, and then you’ll have to depend on good faith.)

Whether you move into your home the day that escrow closes or the three days later, you start paying for utilities and homeowners insurance effective the day that escrow closes. Don’t forget to coordinate phone installation and utilities a couple of weeks prior to the scheduled close of escrow.

When you're ready to start house hunting, visit www.GoFindRealEstate.com