Contingencies, contingencies, contingencies! What are they? Contingency is defined as: a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty. In real estate they are embedded into every contract and are used to protect you in a few specific circumstances. In residential contracts, contingencies are most commonly used to protect buyers during their escrow while they are investigating the property. The three standard contingencies used in residential real estate are: The Physical Inspection Contingency, The Loan Contingency, and The Appraisal Contingency, these protections are put in place to ensure the buyers right to cancel the sale while sill keeping their deposit. These three contingencies are released (via written consent from both the buyer and seller) at different stages of the escrow. Typically the inspection contingency is removed first, which occurs after you've received all of your inspection reports and are comfortable with the condition of the home. Next is the appraisal contingency, as you can imagine this one is released once the buyer(s) receive the appraisal report and are in agreement with the appraised value. Last but not least, comes the loan contingency, similar to the appraisal contingency, this one is removed once the buyer(s) has received the final green light from their lender and they know that their loan has passed through the underwriters review and is ready to fund. Once that final contingency is removed all that's left to do is sign the final sales documents, and have the sale recorded by our local recorders office, at which point your escrow is officially closed! | 
