What are Contingencies?

There is no shortage of real estate lingo and legal terminology. Some of which, providing you have a competent agent, you can successfully navigate through a sale or a purchase without thinking much about it. Contingency isn't one of them. And three contingencies are really paramount.

First, you have your inspection contingency. You get to approve the condition of that house.

Number two, you have a finance contingency, which means if you can't get a loan for the home, you don't have to buy it.

And number three is an appraisal contingency. If the house does not appraise for what you're offering, you're out. You don't have to buy the house. Your contingencies are your safety net. It's your exit out of the transaction. If for some reason you can’t meet the contingency, they're vital for your protection. It Is also important to remember that your contingency has an expiration date. Maybe there's 10 days for you to do your inspections and on day 10 that the contingency is up. But there is a caveat to that. On day 11, you still have a contingency because in California, contingencies have to be removed actively. You, the buyer, have to sign a document removing that contingency, or you still have it. It carries on. It continues. It lives to the end of the transaction.

That said, you're not going to be able to keep it that long. But on a certain date it doesn't just disappear because contingencies are your rights and you have rights when you're buying a home. If you have any questions, reach out. We are always here to help.