The clock that isn't legal, but acts like one
Most home insurance policies limit or void coverage after a set number of days unoccupied — commonly around 30, sometimes 60 — unless the insurer is told and a vacancy permit is arranged. That's the practical deadline families run into first, long before any legal one, and the exact day count sits in your policy wording, which is why the first call goes to your insurer.
What it actually costs to wait
Property tax, insurance, heat, hydro and upkeep continue whether anyone's decided anything yet. Working out that number — even roughly — turns a vague sense of urgency into an honest one, which is the whole point of doing the arithmetic instead of guessing.
When waiting is genuinely the right call
A family that isn't ready, authority that hasn't been settled yet (see the note on Power of Attorney and estate trustees below), or a relative who needs real time to decide about the house are all legitimate reasons to wait. The carrying-cost number is what makes that decision an informed one instead of an accidental one.