It would be nice to live in a perfect world in which a contract was written on a home and everything proceeded according to plan, with no glitches on the way to closing. But you’d better be prepared because stuff happens.

Financing is a huge contingency, and many contracts are written with the contingency date on the financing bumping right on top of the closing date. That means that neither the buyer nor seller may know if the property is going to close until the last minute. A seller could end up paying a mover and then not moving or moving out unnecessarily. A buyer could plan on moving in on the last day of his lease only to have the closing delayed and nowhere to go.

Inspections can result in delays if the repairs required are not completed on time.

The best way to avoid surprises is to write the contract with those possibilities in mind and allow an adequate time for each step to be completed. ANYTHING in a contract can be negotiated so either the seller or buyer can counter any terms written they feel will allow the process to go more smoothly. The key is to write the terms into the contract in the beginning so that the contract doesn’t have to be amended later and run the risk of falling apart.