Here is a Metro Detroit real estate tip about closing dates.  On every purchase agreement you sign whether you are a buyer or seller you will have a closing date on the document.  The only time you do not have a date is if the buyer has a contingent sale on their home and it has not been specified because you are waiting on the close date of the buyers house.  So every purchase contract usually has a closing date on it.  The closing date is no longer a drop dead date.  It used to be, however Michigan courts have decided that if the parties are working toward a closing that the closing date is just a target date.  What I mean by that is a seller cannot just arbitrarily cancel the contract if the buyer goes past the closing date if they are working towards closing.  

So if the home inspection, the negotiations for the home inspection, mortgage lender delay the closing the seller cannot cancel the contract because you did not make the closing date.  So if the lender is taking a long time, or keeps asking for more paperwork then it is no problem.  So long as you are working to get it closed in good faith.  It's not good faith to go on vacation, or refuse to cooperate with the lender.  Then if you miss the closing date you may have given the seller a way to get out of the contract.  If you get denied at one lender and start another lender right away you should be okay.  It's when you wait for a week to start with another lender, or if you change the whole loan program, or decide to change because you do not like the rate any more.  Then you may have issues with the seller and they could possibly cancel the deal.  In your purchase agreement you usually state what type of mortgage and how much down.  If you start changing lenders and programs at the last minute then the seller may decide to void the contract.

It's all about moving towards the closing, trying to get it done as fast as possible.  There are sometime mortgage delays and that is why they say it is a "target date".

Usually on the contract you put on or before "May 29" (or any date) for the closing date.  What that really means in simple terms is that we are going to try to close it by May 29th.  Sometimes the mortgage gets done sooner and the buyer wants to close earlier.  If everybody is in agreement we could close earlier.  We have to have everybody on board.

•                     *  The Title company has to have a closer, a room, and be able to close on the date requested
•                     *  The lender has to be able to have documents ready and shipped out before the closing date
•                     *  The buyer has to be available for 2 hours on the closing date
•                      *  The seller has to be available for the closing too
•                      *  Of course both the listing agent and the buyers agent have to be available too
• So there are a lot of moving parts when we get the clear to close.  We have to check with everybody to see if it fits in their schedule.  Uusally you have to schedule the closing between 9 and 5 Monday through Friday if there is a mortgage involved.  Banks/lenders only work those hours and sometimes documents have to be sent to the bank and the banks money has to be at the title company at the time of closing.  So doing a closing with a mortgage after hours usually has issues.  Title companies prefer to work during the banking hours when they can reach somebody if the documents are not right or if there are issues.  We usually try to schedule closings between 10 and 4 for that reason.  The money is not usually there first thing in the morning and no seller likes to close and not receive their check right away.   So when scheduling a closing work schedules, travel schedules, vacations and more come into play.  So sometimes we get multiple times and dates to see what works. 
• One of the common things that happens is the buyer wants to move in and close earlier than the closing date.  That is not always possible.  I know they are excited, but the seller has the ultimate decision on when the closing is.  They can hold out to the closing date.  They do not have to close even a day earlier.  So if the seller has moving trucks, and other scheduling issues you usually have to revolve around the seller's wanted close date.

I hope these Metro Detroit real estate tips explained a little more about closing dates.  For more information about buying or selling go to  http://www.southeasternmichiganhomes.com/Home-Buyer-Tips