I contacted the host asking for a later check out. She responded saying that the reservation was canceled because she's selling the house. She blamed AirBnB for not contacting me, but we believe she was trying to run away with the money.
We had to scramble to find another place, which wasn't easy. We needed a house to accommodate 15 people. Luckily we did find something, which turns out to be bigger than the previous place but for sure cost more.