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payments and the latest closing date. The contract will also list any exclusions
or inclusions to the contract (e.g., are the appliances included in the
sale? The window treatments?).
A typical contract includes several conditions that need to be met before the
deal is closed. These conditions are called contingencies. Both parties to the
contract will have contingencies protecting their interests. Some of the most
common ones include:
• An inspection contingency provides you with a frame of time in which to
conduct a home inspection and discuss the results with the seller. At that
point, if material defects are found, the seller will usually need to offer to
cure the defect, offer you a credit for curing the defect, or allow you to walk
away.
• A financing contingency allows you to walk away from the deal if you cannot
obtain financing by a set date.
• Some buyers add an insurance contingency which makes the contract dependent
on their ability to get homeowner’s insurance, which might be a
challenge in areas known to have specific problems, such as flooding or
mold.
• Other less standard contingencies that are subject to negotiation are contingencies
that make the contract dependent on the seller finding a new
home, the buyer selling their current home, or, in a brand-new development,
meeting and approving the other buyers.
62 | 2017 Lakewood Home Buyer’s Guide