In this VERY competitive market, would-be buyers are going to great lengths to try to be the winning buyer selected by a home seller.  In many larger markets (think cities larger than Harrisonburg) where the housing market is even more competitive than it is here, many buyers are offering sellers the option of staying in the home they are selling after settlement - often for a few weeks or a few months.  Wow!

But... sometimes it's happening here in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County as well!  I have now been a part of three transactions thus far in 2022 where this was the case -- where the buyer let the seller stay in the house after closing -- and I don't think those will be the last three this year.

So how does it work?

[1]  Sometimes a seller will ask to be able to stay in the house after closing when they put their house on the market.  This will often work for many but not all buyers.

[2]  Sometimes a seller won't ask to stay, but a buyer will offer it.

[3]  Sometimes a seller ends up staying for a few days or weeks... and sometimes several months.  Every situation will be different as to what a seller desires and what works for a buyer.

[4]  In this market, currently, it seems that sellers are typically paying (rent) for the right to stay in the house after closing.  In some other markets, buyers are offering sellers the right to stay without paying for that post-settlement occupancy.

So... if you're buying (or hoping to) in 2022, perhaps we should chat about whether you would be able to work with a closing and moving timeline where the seller stayed in the home for some period of time after settlement.

If you're selling a home in 2022, we shouldn't assume that many or all buyers will be willing to let you stay in the house after settlement, but there is a decent chance that it will work for some or many buyers, especially given the highly competitive current housing market.