Why Did The Contingency Removal Time Frame Change?

We had a few changes in our Residential Purchase Agreement in California at the end of last year. One of the things I talked about was the termite inspection.

Today, it's about the Contingency Time Frame change.

Standard had been 17 days for everything. Buyer was to do all of their investigations, confirm value, have loan fully approved. All in that window of time. Frequently we would ask for shorter time period for inspections, but we all know it's the dang loan that takes the longest. No matter how much pestering we do to that buyers lender.

It's going to get harder, but that's not the point of this post.

The full loan approval is not given until every T is crossed and every I is dotted. One of the last things to get cleared can be the appraisal.

Let's say that appraisal doesn't get done until a week or 10 days into escrow. Trust me, it happens. Sometimes a lender is remarkably fast, sometimes it's that longer period. The borrower has to sign their official loan application, disclosures from lender to borrower have to be read and signed. The appraisal gets ordered, the appraiser calls the listing agent, the appointment to view property is scheduled.

Once the appraiser views the property, he/she generally has a couple days to submit their value report. It's a lengthy report, seen plenty of them. Even once the appraiser submits the report it has to go back to the lender before the buyer even hears of the value. Once they finally hear the value they can generally remove that contingency, along with all the other ones....except their final loan contingency.

The reason for the extra 4 days on that final contingency? Because, it's damn difficult to remove appraisal and loan contingency when it's just barely been received.

Quite honestly, listing agents spend several days nagging, threatening, paper-work shoving, to the buyers agent to get Full Contingency Removal.

Removing all buyers contingencies is confirming that buyer is definitely buying and seller can breathe a sigh of relief that the transaction is going to close.

As a listing agent, I'm the nagger. As a buyers agent, I'm the one that confirms those T's & I's for my buyer and still make the lender give the final go ahead. Then I ask buyer "Are You Sure You Want This Home?" one final time!