Moving from renting to buying means coordinating three outside timelines too: landlord, seller, lender. Each can speed up or stall your move.
When closing slips past a lease end, buyers may face lease-break penalties, lost deposits, pricier month-to-month rent, or overlapping rent and mortgage payments.
Financing delays often come from appraisals, title work, or seller response times. If a rate lock expires, an extension can cost $Ks.
Housing gaps bring storage, double moves, utility resets, and short-term rentals costing ~1.5x to 2x standard rent. A rent-back can sometimes reduce that squeeze.
Protect yourself by reading your lease early, getting extension terms in writing, asking lenders about turn times, and using Early-Q4's typical payment gap.