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Please look at the following two sentences.
I understand this means we are talking about now.
Does this mean he is home now? Or does it mean he came, stayed and left before now? I don't understand when I use this sentence and what difference there is between #1 and #2.
The present perfect would emphasize that the point-of-timeliness was in the past
For example, you could go to the tailor's shop on Friday to pick up your new suit. It's not ready. You could then complain to the shop that it was supposed to be ready by now. It was supposed to have been ready by Wednesday.
or that the referenced point-in-time was in the past:
The winner of the November election ten years ago was supposed to have been inaugurated the coming January but was indicted for tax fraud and went to prison instead.
Many native speakers would choose the simple tense:
... was supposed to be ready by Wednesday
... was supposed to be inaugurated
