If you cannot reach the agent that you hired, you should be able to reach the broker that they work for. The broker, which may have different titles depending on the market or state that you are in, is the one that is ultimately responsible for your transaction, and for the actions or inactions of the agents that work them. If you have tried to reach them, left voicemails, but have not had any response, you might be able to see if you can speak to them in person at their office, or ask the receptionist if they have a cell phone that they can connect you to. If you've tried to reach them, and your agent, and neither are responsive at all, you may want to contact the local Realtor Association or state licensing/regulations department that issues, renews and oversees real estate licenses. They will usually try to assist in resolving a matter like this without having to have you file formal complaints. If you have the cell phone number for the broker, you may also want to try sending a text message to the agent and broker together, on the same message, and just ask for a conference call regarding the transaction. It's a little harder to avoid you when they are both on the message thread, and it's in writing, and you are making a reasonable request. Don't get into any of the details and expressing anger over the matter via text message, just ask for a brief conference call when they are both available to discuss the status of the closing, and possible next steps.
I'd encourage you to "stay in your lane" as much as possible, and not overstep traditional boundaries within the transaction, such as trying to contact the buyer, buyer's agent, or buyer's lender directly. The lender will not provide you with any information since the buyer's loan, details of their loan application, outstanding conditions, etc is all confidential information, and not even shared with their own agent. When transactions aren't going smoothly right before closing, it is easy for one or more of the people involved to become emotionally charged and react in ways that either anger or embarrass one or more of the others involved and can be inappropriate or unprofessional. Transactions can unravel right before closing, as a result, and the damage from losing a sale like that can be costly. If you are uncomfortable about any advice you receive from your agent or the broker, as far as getting out of this sale and into another, or replacing the agent, or what options you have, you may want to contact an experienced real estate attorney in the area where the property is located.
If your sales contract or purchase agreement, which you and the buyer both signed, is similar to many different states, there will be a series of deadlines within the agreement. Each of the deadlines will have to do with a condition of the sale, which must be satisfied, waived, or resolved, in order for the sale to continue moving towards closing. The contract is structured to protect the buyer from the seller, not the seller from the buyer in nearly every aspect of the contract. The exceptions being odd situations where the buyer simply fails to show up to closing, or blatantly ignores deadlines, or changes their type of loan to one that delays closing and/or adds to the seller's expenses. Most contracts allow the buyer to do their due diligence prior to closing on the property, including conduct inspections, review disclosure documents and public records, receive title work showing clear & marketable title, have the property appraised, secure financing, obtain homeowner's insurance, make sure the property is in the same condition at closing as when the offer was accepted, and a variety of others. Each condition must be satisfied by a certain date, or # of days into the sale. Conditions are usually deemed to be satisfied when any issues that come up are resolved between the 2 parties, both having signed off on whatever the resolution was. If a buyer is satisfied with something, they normally do not need to take action, and when the deadline passes, the condition is considered resolved. If, for example, one of the conditions is a termite inspection with a final deadline of 8/15. The report is delivered to the buyer, and house does not have any termites. They do not need to do anything, and once 8/15 has passed, the sale is no longer conditioned upon the termite inspection. On the other hand, let's say that the report came back, and the inspector found termites, and recommended termite treatment. The buyer sent a request to the seller, asking them to have the house treated before closing. On 8/13, 2 days before the deadline, the seller rejected the buyer's request and said they weren't paying for any treatments. If the buyer didn't want to proceed with the purchase based on that, it would be their responsibility to notify the seller in writing by the end of the day on 8/15. An unresolved request does not automatically terminate the transaction. The buyer could also ask for more time, and if the seller agreed, both parties would sign an extension before the end of 8/15. If the buyer received the seller's rejection in response to their request, didn't get an extension on the deadline, then decided they wanted to cancel the purchase and get out of the sale on 8/20, 5 days after the deadline, they may be in default on the agreement and jeopardize some or all of their deposit, or be on the hook for other expenses. Final loan approval must usually be received several days or more before the closing date, and if your contract has a clause like this in it, it is usually towards the end. Even if it does not have a specific deadline for final loan approval, the lender and escrow officer must balance the closing statement (ALTA), a few days before closing, and buyer has to approve their "Closing Disclosure" (verifying that fees charged by the lender are the same as what was quoted) 3 business days before they sign their closing documents. In order for the title company/escrow to prepare the ALTA Settlement Statement, which you will sign at closing, they will have to have received the closing instructions from the buyer's lender. If the buyer was not planning on closing, most likely the instructions would have never been sent to the lender and the title company would not be able to prepare a final ALTA statement for your closing. If you are within a few days of closing, or even 4, 5 or 6 days, you may want to call the escrow officer handling the closing and ask them if you can schedule your closing appointment, review a copy of the ALTA Statement, and if they are aware of any delays or issues with your closing. You are a customer of the escrow company, as is the buyer, so there is nothing wrong with you contacting the escrow officer and finding out where they are at with the file or closing.
