What Do Your 17 Days of Contingencies Protect When You Buy a Home in California?

They protect your right to find out what you are buying, and to walk away or renegotiate if you do not like what you learn. In California, a standard purchase contract usually gives you 17 days after your offer is accepted to investigate the home, check the appraisal, and confirm your financing. Those 17 days are your contingencies, and each one protects something different.

Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Lafayette and across the East Bay. A lot of buyers do not fully understand what they are protecting until the clock is already running. This guide explains each contingency in plain words, so you know what you are using and what you are giving up when you remove one.

A contingency is a condition in your contract. It says your purchase depends on something being true. If it turns out not to be true, you have a way to renegotiate or cancel.

The standard California contract usually sets 17 days for these conditions, counted from the day your offer is accepted. The 17 days are not a law. They are a starting point in the contract, and they are negotiable. They can be shorter or longer, depending on the deal.

The inspection contingency. This is your time to inspect the home, read every disclosure, get repair estimates, and check what insurance will cost. If something comes up that you cannot live with, this is when you can ask for repairs or a credit, or walk away.

The appraisal contingency. If the home appraises for less than your price, this gives you room to renegotiate or cancel.

The loan contingency. If your financing falls through, this protects you. I am a Realtor, not a lender, so your lender handles the loan details. What I do is make sure your dates line up with theirs.

This is the part that matters most. When you remove a contingency, you sign it away in writing. After that, that protection is gone.

If you back out later for one of those reasons, your deposit could be at risk. The contract has a section on what happens to your deposit if you cancel, and California law has rules about how much of a deposit a seller can keep. Because it depends on how your contract is filled out, I walk through that section with you before you sign, and I suggest asking a real estate attorney if you have questions.

The simple version: remove a contingency only when you know what you are giving up.

In competitive situations, some buyers shorten these periods or waive them to make their offer stronger. Sometimes that is the right call. A buyer who knows the home well, or who has a recent pre-inspection report from the seller to rely on, may be comfortable with less time.

In the East Bay, sellers customarily order pre-inspections before listing. An offer with few or no contingencies is much more reasonable when pre-inspections were done and the home was marketed properly. Without that, you may be guessing about the home you are buying.

You should know exactly what you are giving up before you do it. I explain the trade-off on every offer, and I never push a buyer to waive protection they are not comfortable losing.

Here is the order I follow with buyers. I build your calendar on day one:

1. Day one: confirm the dates. I write down every deadline, from the inspection to the removal date, and share them with you.
2. Book inspections right away. Home inspection, and any specialist the first inspector recommends, such as a sewer line camera or a roofer.
3. Read every disclosure. I read them with you, and we mark anything that needs a follow-up question.
4. Get repair estimates. Real numbers from contractors, not guesses.
5. Check insurance. Get a quote for the home, since the cost and availability can differ from house to house.
6. Follow the appraisal. If it comes in low, we talk about renegotiating before the deadline.
7. Confirm the loan. Stay in touch with your lender so nothing surprises you.
8. Decide what to ask for. Repairs, credits, a price change, or nothing.
9. Remove contingencies only when you are ready. In writing, and only after you understand what you are giving up.

My job is to make sure you use every one of those days well, so when you remove your contingencies, you know what you are buying.

The 17 days go fast, and each city has its own items. Here is what I put on the checklist for each area.

• Oakland: Find out where the sewer lateral and sidewalk certificates stand and who is taking each on. Those are written into the purchase agreement. If the home is in the hills, ask for proof of a defensible space inspection.
• Berkeley: Ask for the Home Energy Score and for how any upgrade work is being handled, since that can be negotiated. Berkeley also has a City sewer lateral certificate to settle.
• San Francisco: The seller orders the 3R report, which shows the permit history, and you sign it. Check the energy and water certificate too. For a condo, read the building documents, and check parking and the HOA.
• Alameda: Find out whether the home has a sewer lateral compliance certificate or a time extension certificate, and who is handling the work. Ask about the age of the systems in homes built before 1940.
• Piedmont: The City requires a property records search, a sidewalk inspection, and a Home Energy Score at sale. Read them during your inspection period, not after.
• San Leandro: Confirm which sewer agency serves the address. Some addresses are in a district that asks for its own certificate.
• Lafayette: There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Lafayette, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. If the home is in a High or Very High fire zone, ask for the defensible space documentation. If the work is not finished by closing, the buyer and seller can sign an agreement for the buyer to complete it within one year.
• Walnut Creek: There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Walnut Creek, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. The City's weatherization disclosure comes with the sale, and the buyer signs an acknowledgment for the City. Confirm the address is inside city limits.
• Pleasant Hill: There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Pleasant Hill, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. The City has the same kind of weatherization disclosure, and the buyer signs an acknowledgment for the City.

I put these dates on your calendar on day one, so none of them sneaks up on you. As a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in San Francisco, Alameda, Piedmont, San Leandro, Pleasant Hill and across the East Bay, I check each city's steps before you write the offer. To see more, read my pages on buying in Oakland or Alameda.

Treating the period like a formality. It is the best chance you have to learn about the home before you are committed.

Not tracking the dates. Missing a deadline can change your rights. I keep every date in front of you.

Waiving what they do not understand. If I cannot explain what a contingency protects, you should not sign it away.

Skipping the insurance quote. A home can be hard or costly to insure. Find out before you remove your contingencies.

Hearing "negotiable" and assuming "free." You can ask for repairs or credits, but the seller can say no. The inspection period is also when you decide whether the answer changes your mind.

Here's a common situation. A buyer's offer is accepted on a Friday. The inspection finds an older sewer line and a few electrical items. During the 17 days, we bring in a sewer specialist for an estimate and an electrician to look at the panel.

With real numbers in hand, the buyer asks the seller for a credit on the sewer line and a repair on the electrical hazards. The seller agrees to part of it. The buyer decides the rest is fine and removes the contingencies in writing, knowing what they bought. That is what the period is for.

A past client of mine, a buyer on a 1031 exchange, wrote that I "uncovered important details about the home that I had not identified, and got us to a good solid offer." Finding those details early is what makes the rest of the process go well.

Start before you write the offer. Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in San Francisco, Alameda, Piedmont, San Leandro, Pleasant Hill and across the East Bay. I will plan your contingency period with you ahead of time, so you are protected from day one. You can read more about buying a home, see how I help you buy, learn about first-time buyers, see what to look for in a 100-year-old Oakland home, or text me before you make an offer.

This article describes my general process and is not legal, tax, or financial advice.