It can, and who pays depends on why the closing slipped and what your contract says. When a purchase runs past the agreed close-of-escrow date, the seller's side will sometimes ask for a per-diem credit, a daily charge to compensate them for the wait. Whether you owe it comes down to responsibility. If the holdup is genuinely on the lender's side, the lender often covers that cost rather than you. We've had a transaction where the other side pushed for a per-diem credit and we negotiated it away entirely because the delay wasn't the buyer's doing. Two things protect you: - A realistic timeline in the contract, with a little cushion, so a normal underwriting hiccup doesn't put you in breach. - Getting ahead of a likely delay. Your agent can request a formal extension in writing and document where the responsibility sits. A delay caused by the lender is a very different negotiation than one caused by a buyer who sat on document requests. Keep your paperwork moving and the fault rarely lands on you.