What are contingency periods and how do they effect me?

A lot of buyers today are not even aware of contingencies or contingency periods. Well the good news is they are protection clauses and they are protections for you and your deposit money.

A typical buyer contract has 3 contingencies; 1) Inspection/reports and disclosures contingency, 2) Appraisal contingency and 3) Loan approval contingency. These contingencies are 100% negotiable on the term and conditions between buyer and seller. A standard contact allows for 17 days for the buyer to satisfy number 1 and number 2 before having to remove these contingencies and 21 days for number 3.

The great thing about contingencies is they cannot be passively removed (unless previously agreed upon) when a timeline is met. An additional step has to be taken to formally remove the contingency which would require you signature.

Once contingencies are ALL removed, this is when your escrow deposit becomes non-refundable.