This question has pretty much been beaten to death. Where I live, the seller typically gets 3 days though the trend is toward a shorter period. I have never heard of a final walk through. That is foreign to me. I can't imagine leaving until everything is signed and done because sometimes these things fail at the 11th hour and then you are there with a moving truck, a signed lease or whatever and you have to move back into your house. My insurance has always covered my house from the date I specify. I guess we in the NW are just more trusting of our fellow man. I have never had a problem.

We sold last fall in SoCal (Orange County) and it's generally a 3-day period there too. It protects the seller, I think, in case the buyer cancels at the last minute or the closing doesn't go through.

Also, in Orange County, there is no closing in person - happens via FedEx, email, and faxes to the escrow company. So the 3-day wait is to make sure it's all over with, I guess. Our closing was scheduled for Nov 15 and we were to leave by Nov 18. We did but the actual close didn't go through until Nov 21, due to last minute problems the buyer (or buyer's agent) had with getting all the papers in. We were moving out of state so went ahead and left, hoping it would work out. Got a phone call from the escrow company on Nov 21 saying the sale had been recorded and was final. I don't know when the buyers moved in.

We bought in Oregon but this house had been vacant for a few months, so I don't know what the standard practice is here. We went to an actual closing in person at the title company and then after all the papers were signed we were told where to find the key - the listing agent had put it under a flowerpot out front! We started moving in immediately.

sewhappy, I hope it works out for you. This forum is littered with sad stories of what happens if you don't do a final walk though on an empty home.

As far as the legalities of who owns.... consult an attorney. Those are excellent questions though. Make sure your insurance is in place, and pray I guess.

All but one of the homes we've purchased was vacant when we put in an offer so possession was not an issue with those homes. The one home that was owner occupied, the sellers asked for 10 days after closing to move. They were a lovely older couple, original owners of the 50's ranch we were purchasing. We had no issue with the 10 days and allowed it. We had our final walk through the day before closing, boxes were everywhere and we could only do a superficial walk through. At closing however we had a sum of money put into escrow to hold over in case there was any damage done to the home in the few days the sellers occupied the home after closing. Our understanding at the time (back in the early 80's) was that once closing had ocurred, the home was ours and if something happened to the home such as fire etc, our insurance would cover it.

Three of the homes that we sold, we occupied for as much as a few months after closing, renting back from the buyers. This was pre agreed upon in the purchase agreement and no issues ensued. Again in those instances, the buyers had us put a sum of money into escrow to cover any damage we may have caused to the home after closing.

At closing however we had a sum of money put into escrow to hold over in case there was any damage done to the home in the few days the sellers occupied the home after closing. Our understanding at the time (back in the early 80's) was that once closing had ocurred, the home was ours and if something happened to the home such as fire etc, our insurance would cover it.

that's how it was when we alaowed our sellers a week to get out after closing. That'snot "standard" in NYC, but we thought it could work. And it did.

I would be interested to know if, in those states or regions where it is standard to allow the old owners a day or three of grace period, whether there is money in escrow to coverstuff that shows up on the *real* "walk-through."

There was no money held in escrow in our case. It was not mentioned at all.

In some states like where I am in NC, the house technically is not yours (the buyer's) until the deed is recorded after closing down at the courthouse. In most cases the deed is recorded within hours of closing so many sellers will just hand over the keys at closing. But if you close late in the day it is possible the Deed will not be recorded until the next day. Even after you close and the sellers hand over the key, technically until the deed is recorded it still belongs to the seller.

Sewhappy, I would have been asking those questions BEFORED I signed on the dotted line. I hope you have a good attorney in GA that you can consult, cause no matter what is said here it all depends on the area you are buying into.

My seller stayed for a week after closing- they asked for two but luckily were able to get moved sooner. This was the only sticking point in our entire negotiating process- I was coming from out of state and had nowhere to stay and had daily ($100 a day) truck rental fees to pay while it sat waiting. They insisted on it as it is custom here to stay on the property so I had no choice but to do it if I wanted the house.
There was no money placed in escrow for this but I did make absolutely sure that my insurance was in place the moment we closed.

It's very regional- in the home we sold we were expected to be out at closing (with a truck full of family and pets sitting and running at the curb I guess), but were very lucky that they allowed us until the next morning to leave.

Sewhappy, I would have been asking those questions BEFORED I signed on the dotted line. I hope you have a good attorney in GA that you can consult, cause no matter what is said here it all depends on the area you are buying into.

Being from NJ, this isn't something I would have thought to ask either; it's not common here.

Maybe we need a new tip post for people moving to other states

When we originally bought our house, it was new construction so there was no problem taking immediate possession after closing. However, now I'm getting ready to sell and the issue of when the buyer takes possession has been in the back of my mind. I will never forget a couple I knew of who had "sold" their home and, early on the day of closing, were loading their belongings into a moving van when the "buyers" stopped by to tell them they would not be able to close on the house after all - the sale fell through. Fortunately the couples plans were to live with a relative on an interim basis and they were not yet financially obligated for another mortgage. A second couple I knew actually purchased a new home on the basis that a buyer had signed a contract on their old home, only to have the sale on their old home fall through. With 2 mortgages they had several months of financial hell and extreme anxiety till the house in New York finally did sell. Is there some means (barring money-sucking lawsuits) by which a seller in those states requiring immediate surrender of the property on closing is protected financially in the event the sale falls through at the last minute? As for me, having known 2 couples to whom it actually happened, I'll be pretty much ready to go, but not actually vacated until the papers are signed and the check is in my hand. As for Sewhappy, if having to wait 24 hours (24 WHOLE HOURS!) is such a mind-blowing event for you, you have truly led a blessed life to this point.

We need Dave to explain wet and dry ink states again. We all tend to think that transactions happen the same all over and that isn't true. It's also fine to ask, even if it has been beaten to death, because most people don't read this board forever. It's hard to ask a question you don't realize needs to be asked.

In my state you do not get possession until recording. That could be between 1-3 days, depending on the day of closing and the work level in the recording office. Our seller was still moving for two days past closing. They were kind enough to let us in the day before recording. We were kind enough to allow our buyer in right after closing. None of the parties involved had any right to the property until recording was complete. I always smile when people on this board demand an empty house prior to closing. Doesn't happen that way here.

Gloria

In Oregon signing and closing are two different things. The buyer and seller go to the title/escrow company at different times and sign their paperwork. After the buyer signs their loan documents the paperwork is sent back to the bank for review. Once it is determined that all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed the bank releases the funds. At that time the title is transferred to the new owner and recorded with the county. Only then is the deal actually closed. The time between signing and closing can be as short as a few hours if the bank is local, to several days or longer, if there were any errors in the mortgage documents. Most commonly though, closing occurs the day after signing.

If your not expereinced in buying and selling in a particular state I would have thought at some point you would have asked either the agent or your lawyer exactly what the process was and when each step is done OR that knowing you are from out of state your RE or lwayer would have explained it to you.
We've moved in and out of several very different states and ALWAYS either the agent explained the process to us because they knew we were from out of state or we simply asked what it was and they gave us a break down. Most of the time they explained it, complete with how long each step took before we had a chance to ask.
I think your RE and/or Lawyer owes you a big time apology for not making sure you knew exactly what was happening and when.