Risk Management Contingent contracts help manage and allocate risk between parties. They allow parties to protect themselves from adverse outcomes by tying obligations to specific events or conditions.
A contingency clause should clearly outline the conditions, how the conditions are to be fulfilled, and which party is responsible for fulfilling them. The clause should also provide a timeframe for what happens if the condition is not met.
Technically, yes — a seller can back out of a contingent offer. Before agreeing, they can choose to reject or counter the original offer with their own terms. Once the offer is accepted, if the contingencies aren't met, the seller can back out but there may be legal or financial implications involved.
A contingent contract is a legal agreement in which the terms and conditions only apply or take effect if a specific event occurs. Essentially, the parties involved agree to perform actions or obligations based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a particular event in the future.
The downside is that some sellers aren't interested in dealing with contingency clauses, as they worry that the deal may fall through. Therefore, if you want to make the offer more attractive – perhaps there are numerous offers in the same financial range as yours – one way to do it is to remove the contingency clause.
Contingent contracts to do or not to do anything if an uncertain future event happens cannot be enforced by law unless and until that event has happened. If the event becomes impossible, such contracts become void.
When two parties legitimately disagree about future outcomes that affect their deal, they should be willing to bet on their beliefs by negotiating a contingent contract. Contingency contracts are common in M&A, professional athletics, and building projects.
In the case of conditional contracts, conditions that need to be fulfilled are certain, i.e., bound to happen, which is not the case with contingent contracts, as such conditions may or may not happen.