Sandy and Your Closing, How Does The Hurricane Affect Your Transaction

If you are wondering how Hurricane Sandy will affect your closing here are a few things you will want to do.

One, reach out to your mortgage rep, once you or they have power, to ask how far out will your closing date be pushed back if at all. 

Of course if you were due to close this week, you are undoubtedly delayed. 

When natural disasters strike, mortgage companies will require an appraiser to do an inspection of the property, usually from the exterior, to see if any damage to your property was sustained before moving forward.  

This typically happens very quickly after a disaster, and many times the agents and people involved in transaction are not notified. Your mortgage company will update you and let you know the inspection was done.

If your property did sustain damage due to flooding or fire or sewage etc, you will need to discuss with your attorney your options so you can best make a decision on how to proceed. 

If property was not damaged, and all is ok your transaction will move forward as planned.

For Hurricane Sandy, the biggest hurdle right now from a real estate perspective, is the lack of power, this means documents can't be printed, communication lines are blocked and the obvious location of the actual closing is an issue. 

If timing is of critical importance, you should reach out to your attorney or your agent to contact other side. Perhaps an arrangement can be made, such as buyer moving in early or just moving in furniture and boxes until actual close. 

This is when, being nice and reasonable throughout a transaction can help in the face of a terrible stress filled situation as the case with Hurricane Sandy and the devastation to Hoboken and Jersey City.

Remember, there are many people involved in a closing, title company, insurance company, mortgage company, attorney's, buyer's, seller's and real estate agents, they all have to be able to participate in your close.