The short version
- If your seller is buying another home, the two closings are linked.
- Their loan has to clear before yours can close, even if your file is perfect.
- Keep a few days of cushion in movers, lease and move-out dates.
- Your agent should track both sides of the chain, not just yours.
Most buyers think of their closing date as theirs. You picked it with your agent, your lender is working toward it, the movers are booked. But a lot of the time, your closing is one link in a chain, and the links ahead of you matter just as much as yours.
I watched that happen this month on a purchase in Norwich. Our buyer's file was in great shape. Appraisal done, conditions cleared, everything signed on time. And the closing still slid a few days. The reason had nothing to do with our buyer: the sellers were buying their next home at the same time, and their own loan wasn't cleared to close yet. They couldn't hand over the keys to our buyer until they had somewhere to go.
Nobody did anything wrong. That's just how linked closings work. Here's what I want every buyer in eastern Connecticut to know about it before they sign.
Ask early: is the seller buying too?
This is one of the first questions I ask on any offer. If the sellers are moving to another home, their purchase and your purchase are now tied together. Their lender's timeline becomes part of your timeline, even though you'll never talk to that lender.
Knowing it up front changes how you plan. It doesn't make the house a worse choice. It just means you go in with your eyes open.
Their loan has to clear before your closing can happen
When the sellers need the money from your purchase to buy their next place, the two closings usually happen the same day, one right after the other, or theirs depends on yours finishing first. If their file hits a snag (a late document, a re-check, an underwriter question), the whole chain waits.
That's why "clear to close" on your side is great news, but it isn't the finish line. Your agent should be asking the seller's agent how their clients' purchase is going, every week, not just checking on yours.
Build a few days of cushion into everything you control
You can't control the other side's lender. You can control how tight your own plans are. When the seller is buying too, I tell buyers to:
- Keep the movers flexible. Ask whether they can shift a few days without a big change fee, and book a mover who will.
- Don't give notice on a lease for the exact closing day. A few days of overlap costs far less than a week of scrambling.
- Keep your last day at the old place loose if you can. Same idea: a little overlap is cheap insurance.
- Have a short-term plan ready, even if you never use it: where the boxes go and where you sleep if the date moves by a few days.
What a good agent does on a linked closing
On a chain like this, my job is to track both sides, not just mine. That means staying in touch with the seller's agent about their purchase, knowing the other closing date, and warning you the moment anything looks shaky, so a delay is a heads-up days ahead and not a surprise phone call the morning of.
In the Norwich deal, that's what kept it calm. The buyer knew it might slide, had a cushion in the move, and we closed a few days later without anyone panicking. A delayed closing that you saw coming is just a change of plans. One you didn't see coming is a crisis. The difference is almost always communication.
Buying this fall?
If you're starting a search in Killingly, Plainfield, Putnam or anywhere in eastern Connecticut, ask me how we protect your move date before you ever write an offer. Start your home search and we'll plan the timeline together.
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Robbie Greene Santos
REALTOR® · RE/MAX ONE — Next Level Team
860-864-5442 · robbie@sellwithsantos.com