Nobody at the buyer's lender was still at a desk to put it in writing

Small house, tired, tenant gone, seller wanted out fast. I had it locked at a number and an end buyer at a higher one, and I was doing a double close because I take title on these instead of selling the contract.

My transactional funder had one condition. He wanted a written confirmation from the second closing that the B buyer was clear to fund before he'd wire the A side. Reasonable. His money is out there for a couple of hours and he wants to know it comes back.

Problem is my B buyer had a lender, and that lender's funding desk stopped answering at two. Nobody would put clear to close in an email. The closer had the file, had the loan docs, had everything, and would not say the words in writing because it wasn't hers to say.

So I sat in the parking lot of the title office from two until four twenty, calling a loan officer who kept saying she'd "check with funding." Seller was at the office the whole time. Sweet guy, seventy something, kept coming out to ask if we were okay. Twice.

It closed the next morning instead. Cost me an extra day on the funder's fee and a rescheduled seller who had to take a second morning off. Nobody died. But I'd built the whole day around a piece of paper that one person wasn't authorized to write.