I've heard of it before. This one is to benefit them and their rate, but usually when it happens, the occupants rent back. You are lucky!

Mostly it's because the seller has bought another, but can't move in because it won't close for a week or two.

Suzi

Sometimes sellers rent back (at the sellers' request, which doesn't apply in your case).

In some areas people traditionally close then move out in the next few days.

There are discussions here occcasionally about this and how to handle any damage (or liability) that might occur.

Your homeownwers' policy would not be in force, naturally. And the utility bills would another thing to discuss.

It could be sticky if a problem cropped up, but on the whole I think I would do it. A written agreement would probably be advisable, especially regarding any incidental damage to the building. Your insurance agent could tell you if a floater policy on your stuff, and maybe for for 3rd party personal injury/liability could be organized. And of course the new owners should be carrying a homeowners' policy on the building.

I expect for the convenience of keeping the rate lock they'd be willing to pick up the utilities like power/gas. Phone and cable which are more personal are probably yours. But it wouldn't really matter much for a week or two.

Are the buyers the anxious, seeking problems type, or just laid back, we can work it out, sort of people?

The homeowners' insurance is the main issue as it is something that is specifically tied to actual ownership. And in the space of a week a major weather event could brew up, a big fire, or burglary, or serious injury to a visitor might happen. And any irregularlity would allow a window for the insurance wriggle away from paying up.

I sold a house FSBO, in an area where lawyers handle closings sort of at their convenience. The night before the "closing date" the new owners came to visit and caused a bit of damage to the house. I worked the whole damn last night I was there to remedy the problem. I had inherited the house from my late Mother and had planned to spend a quiet evening and morning saying goodbye to the house.

Anyway I got the situation sorted out "just in time" for the nominal closing hour, threw my last few things in the truck, bade a rushed good-bye to the farm and departed.on my long trip back home. When I got the paperwork a few days later I noted that the closing had actually happened before the damage occurred, so she had damaged her own house and by then I could have just let her deal with it. I was very annoyed!

I am, and the buyers' were, laid back, we can work it out sort of people, but this example just goes to show you that an unexpected event can crop up and cause problems. In this case just private angst on my part, but still it really added to my stress the last day. But then, Life's often messy.

(And in retrospect, if I known the closing had already happened, I would still have spent the time fixing the problem, but felt much less pressure as it would have been voluntary on my part, not as I was thinking at the time, a legal obligation.)

Godd luck!

L.

It's common in our area for possession to happen after closing, from a few days up to a month, with no compensation. I was horrified as a buyer, and a big advocate as a seller. :-) But we had no problems waiting for the sellers to pack up and move out (other than the fact that we were paying the mortgage on a house we couldn't yet live in).

This is one of those things that must vary a lot by region.

Around here, keys are handed over at closing. It is expected that the sellers will have vacated the premises prior.

I actually wanted to stay in my prior house for a few weeks after closing and the buyers were fine with it too - but the buyer's bank (and bank attorney) wouldn't allow it. I didn't press the issue as I came up with a plan "b", but I was left with the general sense that it just isn't done around here.

I can see why too though - the possibilities for problems seem endless. Yet I've seen this come up a few different times on the forum here, and obviously it is common practice in other parts of the country.

This is what's happening with us, but we are the buyers. We are closing any day now, but the sellers can't move for another few weeks. It's kind of a win-win because we get to hold onto our rate lock, they can stay until they can close on their new home and we have a temporary apartment that is flexible. In our case, we BOTH have to have homeowners insurance. We have our policy and they have theirs. They will be paying rent to us (in advance) in the amount of our mortgage and the utilities will stay in their name until we move in.

You'll want to check with your insurance agent.
You may need to switch to a renters policy.
And, you may need to "pay" the seller to make it an official contract. Even $10 counts.
Good luck!

Where we live, there often is a few days/weeks of leeway and the seller pays the buyer rent for those days/weeks if both parties agree. The real estate agent generally handles this type of situation with standard verbiage on the document in our area.

we recently bought a home as a rental. There was no bank involved since we paid cash and financed later as a HELOC. The sellers stayed more than 6 months as renters. They were remodeling their new home. They signed a lease agreement at the time of closing. We did a walk through at the beginning of the lease and at the end of the lease just as you would do with any lease. They had the yard in a terrible mess near their leaving. We told them that they had to 'clean it up' before they left and they did.

Insurance just needs to be notified and clarified. The insurance does NOT pay for the damage to the contents of the building if it is a rental. (we require renters to buy their own renter's insurance)

After the closing, the sellers insurance is no longer valid since the seller is NOT the owner of this property. He/she has no legal obligation to the house. The insurance premium is often refunded to the seller at the time of the closing... The reason buyers and seller both need insurance organized is so that there is no lapse of coverage. You are not double covered during the period of rent. The house is insured under the owner's insurance. The contents needs to be insured under the renter's insurance.

good luck.

We are under contract to sell our house with an after-closing vacate date. We have 10 days after closing to leave. I think it's the most gloriously civilized thing I've ever heard of, real-estate wise. It must be a custom (although not a requirement) here in Tennessee, because the standard statewide real estate contract has a section where buyers can elect to do that, with a space to fill in the number of days. There's also another box that buyers can check where possession is at closing, so it's not a requirement.

We received three offers on our current house. Two of them gave us 10 days to leave after closing. The third did not. I found that it was worth some money to me to have the 10 days after closing written into the contract. Just makes things much easier to coordinate.

As a seller I needed to rent back for a few weeks. All the utilities remained in my name until move out. Not sure why they would be someone else's responsibility? I switched to renters insurance. We had a 2 page renters agreement that is standard for my state. I was responsible for any new minor repairs before I moved out. A sprinkler head started leaking just after close and that was a couple hundred that I wouldnt have paid if I moved at closing. The other thing to think about is they will likely ask you to pay the daily rate of what their payment is. Hopefully you had appreciation so their's is more than your's, so you may want to clarify that first because you shouldn't pay more since they are making the request. Lastly I'd be clear about expectations of coming by. Our buyers were good and never made a request, but others on the board have had issues with buyers wanting to come throughout for measurements, contractor bids, show friends/family, take pics, etc. All very disruptive when you are trying to move.

We sold our Northern Virginia home to a neighbor and without a realtor. Reached agreement about 45 days ago; closed one week ago; and can stayin home, rent-free, until end of August.

I wish I had your buyers, OP! A lease-back would have been great for us, but our buyers wouldn't even discuss it. So, off we go at the end of the month to our 1300 sq ft rental!
Hopefully our build will not experience any inordinate delays....!!

Been there, done that, from both sides. As a seller, I'd avoid if if you can. Yes, you may be a little inconvenienced by having to move up your relo plans but it can be done. In one instance, I got the sellers to pay for a hotel for two weeks so I could move out when they wanted.

If you must stay past closing, I suggest a short-term rental agreement to clearly limit your liability during the period. Even if you just pay $1 for rent, it makes it valid and protects both parties. If a meteor hits the house during your "rental period," it's not your issue.....and neither is it your liability when the AC compressor or HW heater just decides to finally give out.

Well I have heard this first time and I read all replies, Interesting..!!