GAR Changes on Closing Costs – Part II Closing Date Extensions
The standard contract used by licensed real estate brokers and agents is the form provided by the Georgia Association of Realtors (GAR) and known as the GAR Contract. This form is tweaked from year to year to clarify any terms that may have caused confusion in the past.
The GAR contract allows either the buyer or seller to unilaterally extend the closing date for specific reasons. One accepted reason is that the lender or closing attorney is delayed and is not ready to close the transaction. The paragraph clarifies that the party may extend the contract for eight days due to a delay with the mortgage lender, even if the financing contingency has expired or if there was no financing contingency.
If given two to three weeks to prepare everything, the closing attorney should be ready by the closing date. Once we receive the sales contract and title order, we start our full title search to make sure we can correct any possible title issues well before closing. Getting the title search completed and sent to the lender will also reduce the chance that the lender will not be ready to close by the closing date.
John C. Bennett is a real estate closing attorney and owner of Origin Title and Escrow, Inc.. Since 2003, Origin Title has handled real estate transactions – purchases, refinances, reverse mortgages – quickly and professionally. There will be no surprises, nothing misunderstood. Title searches are thorough and well-reasoned, to avoid unpleasant surprises later down the road. Calculate your closing costs in Georgia or Florida using our calculator or contact Origin Title using this form.