Other contingencies are less the norm, and become a matter for negotiation. For example, the seller might ask that the deal be made contingent on his or her successfully buying another house. If you need to move quickly, you can reject this contingency, or demand a time limit (of course, you risk failing to reach a contract with the seller in this case). If, on the other hand, you can wait, accepting this contingency might provide grounds upon which to request other concessions from the seller, or at least assure that the deal will go forward. (Likewise, you can request that the deal be made contingent on your successfully selling your house.)

Here are details on some common contingencies found in purchase contracts:

Financing Contingency

The standard home purchase contract will be contingent upon you, the buyer, securing financing with which to buy the house. It will also state a period of time within which you intend to get the financing. (If you're fortunate enough to be able to make an all-cash offer, you can skip this contingency.)

Most contracts will also describe how much of adown payment you plan to make, and what type of financing you're willing to accept. For example, if the contract says you're planning to get a fixed rate loan at 6% interest (meaning that you'll have to get such a loan before you'll remove the contingency), the seller can't later demand that you accept one at 8%, or an adjustable-rate loan instead. To protect the seller, however, the standard contract will obligate you to start securing financing within a stated period of time, and to make reasonable efforts to complete the process.

Inspection Contingency

Your contract should give you the right to do one or more home inspections by a certain date. It should also specify that you must be satisfied with what the inspections reveal, and should explain your options if you're not satisfied -- that is, if the house needs more basic fixing up than you're willing to accept.