04/01/2026
Nobody warns you about this one until it is already too late, and it is ending closings across the country right now at the absolute worst possible moment.
Everything is in place. Offer accepted, appraisal clean, loan fully approved. And then right before closing the whole deal collapses without warning. The reason almost nobody sees coming is homeowners insurance. Insurers have been pulling back and tightening underwriting guidelines in higher risk areas nationwide, and the problem has expanded well beyond Florida and California into markets most buyers never thought twice about.
In February 2026, Malibu made major headlines filing legal action tied to wildfire damages, a sobering and very public signal of just how serious and geographically widespread the risk and cost conversations have become across the entire industry.
When an insurance quote comes back dramatically higher than expected, that premium gets calculated directly into the monthly housing payment. Even a loan that passed every single checkpoint can fail at the final moment if that number pushes the debt to income ratio past the lender's maximum limit. And without confirmed insurance actively in place, no mortgage closes, period, under any circumstances.
Researchers have been documenting how rising insurance costs are directly and measurably restricting mortgage access through debt to income limits, and buyers are consistently getting blindsided at the single worst moment of the entire transaction.
Before you remove contingencies, particularly in any elevated risk area, get a real confirmed insurance quote from an actual carrier. Not an estimate. A quote. And identify a backup option before you need one. Comment "INSURANCE" and I will give you the exact timing I use with clients so this never sabotages your closing.