When the Seller Refuses to Move Out on Time

When the seller refuses to move out on time, it causes complications for everybody.

One of the worst things that can happen in any escrow is dealing with adversarial buyer possession that can arise when the seller refuses to move out on time. The reasons a seller may refuse to move out are numerous. The seller might not have been made aware of the date of closing. Although our transaction coordinators send out an estimated timeline, not every listing agent will respond to the timeline. Some will not send it to their sellers. Some listing agents don’t hire a transaction coordinator, either. Or, sometimes listing agents don’t know how to count the days to closing in a purchase contract. In which case they give the wrong date to the sellers.

When the seller refuses to move out on time, it can hold up the closing. It can also put the entire transaction at risk. Once the buyer issues a Demand to Close escrow, if the seller doesn’t close on the contractual date, the buyer is free to cancel the transaction without putting the buyer’s earnest money deposit at risk. The buyer might decide the seller is in breach of contract. If the buyer suffers financial consequences as a result, well, let’s just say I would not want to be that listing agent or that seller.

The other issue that arises is the buyer’s final walkthrough. Our California purchase contract allows for such an inspection within 5 days of closing. Sometimes buyers make unreasonable requests such as they might insist that the seller remove all items from the house prior to closing. However, a seller is not required to completely move out until the date in the contract. The date in the contract, for better or worse, is the day of closing at 6 PM, unless otherwise agreed to in writing.

The time to think about when buyers expect a seller to vacate the house is at the time the buyer’s agent prepares the offer. That is the time to negotiate an early move out if that is what the buyer desires. A buyer should not demand the seller move out early when the buyer has only a few days left until closing. That is being unreasonable. Completing the final walkthrough can be more difficult when the sellers’ belongings are still in the house, but that’s what a buyer gets when the buyer does not negotiate an early move out upon contract inception. The buyer is stuck.

Your best bet is to work with the seller when the seller refuses to move out on time. Either move the closing date to accommodate the seller’s move or play hardball and cancel the escrow after issuing the Demand to Close escrow. There are no seller move-out police. You can’t call the cops.