What happens if closing is delayed?
The party who caused it pays. If your funds or your mortgage advance are late, you owe the seller interest at the rate in the agreement plus their carrying costs, and in a serious delay they can terminate and pursue you.
Delays happen for ordinary reasons: a lender advances late, a discharge from the seller's lender does not arrive, a title problem surfaces, funds do not clear.
If it is your side, the costs are yours. That means interest on the unpaid balance at the agreement's rate, the seller's additional carrying costs such as interest and taxes, sometimes accommodation and storage, and legal fees for the amendment. A short delay is usually resolved with an amendment and a payment.
If it is the seller's side, the mirror applies and your costs are recoverable from them, which is why keeping receipts for movers and hotels matters.
Most of the buyer-side risk is avoidable by moving money early. Certified funds in your lawyer's trust account two business days before closing, and a confirmation from them that it arrived, removes the most common cause. Also avoid the last business day of the month if you can, because that is when the entire province is closing.
Next questions
How much cash do I actually need on closing day?
Your down payment plus closing costs, which this app's own estimate puts at roughly one and a half to three percent of the price outside Toronto and above four percent inside it, because Toronto charges a second land transfer tax.
Ontario
Can I back out of an accepted offer?
Only through a condition, before its deadline. Otherwise you are in breach: the seller keeps your deposit and can sue for their loss on resale, which Ontario courts have awarded well beyond the deposit amount.
Ontario