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How to Coordinate a House Closing and a Move

ForSaleByOwner July 23, 2024

Great news: You’ve sold your old house and found a new home to move into! Now, it’s time to close both deals. Coordinating your move and your closing can be a tricky process, laden with possible delays and costly complications. Here are four smart tips for how to keep your closing and moving process quick and easy.

1. Make Your Move

The best way to coordinate your move and your closing is to align your move with the moves of the people involved in your transaction and closing. Yes, that is easier said than done. Getting everybody in the chain on the same page can be complicated, especially when dealing with real estate agents, lawyers and banks; but, the initial effort will save you time, and potentially money, too. Making sure everybody can move in and out on the same days means that your belongings will spend less time trapped away in boxes and in the possession of movers, who may charge you to hold your items. When dealing with a process as time and money-consuming as moving, anything you can do to conserve these valuable resources is worthwhile.

2. Communication Is Key

Life happens, which means bad things can happen. Just in case something delays your ability to move or close at a certain time, make sure you keep open the lines of communication with the buyers of your home, the sellers of the home you’re buying, your movers and the lawyers involved in the process. If an unforeseen expense is hampering your ability to pay the closing fees, or a snag in the packing process requires more time than you budgeted for, be sure to let everyone else involved in the move know. Giving everyone a heads up means that the problem can be resolved faster and more successfully than if it was left unmentioned. Murphy’s Law may seem to apply directly to your move, but that doesn’t mean you can’t undermine it with a little creativity and communication.

3. Time It Out

Once the moving and closing date has been decided, you can coordinate the process even further by drawing up a rough timeline of events. The more you know about how the day should unfold beforehand, the easier it will be to budget your time. Thinking about a day-of timeline ensures that you realistically give yourself enough time for each step in the process, and it gives you the opportunity to avoid any major time snags. Prevention is the best medicine, and stressing out on moving day because of poor timing is not a place you want to be.

4. Keep Back-Up in the Bank

There are several costs that come along with moving and closing, and you don’t want to be unable to pay them. That’s why it’s important to have enough easily accessible money in the bank, or on hand, to cover these charges if an unexpected expense comes up. Additionally, know how much your mover charges to hold your boxes overnight, just in case a problem in the closing prevents you from moving into your new home right away.

Please note that this editorial content was produced by staff of SALESBOXER formerly Moveboxer.com , who are not employed by ForSaleByOwner.com or by Tribune Digital Marketplaces. This article has been republished for additional education purposes. This article is not affiliated with any links or products that appear on the on the same pages.

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