Hi, I'm Stephanie Martenzi, super mom super agent with Southland Properties.
The buyer now has to secure their loan and have the inspection period on the property to review all of the reports and seller disclosures. This typically takes between seven to 15 days, depending on what was initially agreed upon in the sales contract.
In some cases, when you're dealing with a very desirable property that has multiple offers, we can negotiate where there are no contingencies but this isn't quite as common as we would like.
During the contingency timeframes, the buyer can back out of the contract if they aren't happy with something that shows up in the reports or the disclosures or the inspections that they decided to have done. After reviewing the reports and having the inspections, this is typically when the buyer will be asking for repairs to be done on the property, or requesting a credit for items that they found during their inspection period.
The buyer also has the option to back out of the contract, if they choose; if we cannot come up with a mutually agreeable term between the buyer and the seller. Also, if for some reason, if they are not able to qualify for their loan, or if the home does not appraise and we can't come up with the mutually agreed upon price based on the appraisal, the buyer can also back out of the contract as well.
You need to understand that if the home does not appraise at the contract price, then the lender will only loan based on the appraised value. And obviously, they take into consideration what the buyers actually qualified for. Any additional money required would need to be made up from the buyer, or the seller would have to agree to adjust the contract price.
Again, unless you have countered out any of these contingencies, and they are not made part of the original contract or counter offer, the buyer has the right to back out of the contract and the seller cannot retain the buyer's initial contract deposit. This is why it is essential to hire a seasoned agent, like myself, who knows how to properly vet buyers and their offers, and who asks the right questions and has the right conversations with both the agent and the lender.
The buyer's deposit is only at risk if they have officially removed all of their contingencies.
So I always advise my clients not to start packing their bags until all the contingencies have been removed. Once the contingencies are removed, well now you can feel a little relief and have more assurance that the sale is going to go through.
You will be moving soon in no time.
This is Stephanie Martenzi, super mom super agent with Southland properties. Here to help you have a fun, empowered and informed real estate experience by guiding you every step of the way. If you see me out in the community, make sure to say hi.
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