What contingencies should you include in a Massachusetts real estate offer?

Massachusetts buyers should include an inspection contingency, a financing contingency, and an appraisal contingency in every offer. The appraisal contingency is the critical one — it's absent from both standard Massachusetts offer forms and must be added explicitly by your agent. If you're buying a property with a private septic system, add a Title V contingency as well. Each contingency protects your earnest money deposit, typically 5% of the purchase price in Greater Boston, if conditions aren't met before closing.

By John Hollis | July 13, 2026

Most Massachusetts buyers assume their offer automatically protects them against a low appraisal. It doesn't.

The two standard offer forms used across Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) Contract to Purchase Real Estate and the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) Offer to Purchase, do not include an appraisal contingency by default. That protection has to be added. If it isn't, and the home appraises for $50,000 below your agreed price, you have no contractual right to renegotiate or walk away without losing your earnest money deposit.

That's the most important thing to understand before you write your first offer in Massachusetts. Everything else follows from it.

Contingencies are provisions in your offer that create exit rights if specific conditions aren't met. They're how you protect yourself while still making a binding commitment to buy. But they're not automatic, and the decision about which ones to include, and which ones to modify in a competitive situation, is one of the most consequential calls you'll make in this process.

Here's a clear breakdown of what each major contingency does, and what you actually risk by removing it.

The Five Contingencies Massachusetts Buyers Should Understand

Inspection Contingency

This one is included in the standard Massachusetts offer forms. It gives you the right to have a licensed home inspector examine the property within a specified window, typically 7 to 14 days after you sign the Purchase and Sale agreement. If the inspection uncovers serious problems, you can negotiate repairs, ask for a price reduction, or walk away with your deposit.

One thing changed with Massachusetts' October 2025 inspection law: sellers can no longer require buyers to waive their right to an inspection as a condition of accepting an offer. You always have the right to inspect. What you can negotiate is what you do with the results.

In a competitive situation, buyers sometimes use a modified inspection contingency, agreeing in advance not to request repairs for items that cost less than a set dollar amount, often $5,000 to $10,000. This signals to the seller that you're not going to renegotiate over every minor finding, while still protecting you against anything serious — a cracked foundation, major roof failure, failed septic, or significant environmental issue.

What to avoid: agreeing to an inspection "for informational purposes only" with no right to act on the findings. That's not a contingency. It's a formality that provides no real protection. If an agent or seller is pushing you toward this framing, talk to your real estate attorney before you sign anything.

For a deeper look at what to expect during the inspection period — including add-on tests for radon, underground oil tanks, and Title V — here's our complete Massachusetts home inspection guide.

Financing Contingency

This protects you if your mortgage falls through. If you can't obtain a formal loan commitment by the agreed deadline, typically 21 to 45 days after the P&S, you can cancel the contract and get your deposit back.

Most buyers include this. The only situation where removing it makes sense is a fully underwritten pre-approval — meaning the lender has already reviewed your complete financial picture, tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, and all open debt obligations. That's materially different from a standard pre-approval letter, and experienced sellers recognize the distinction.

The financing contingency also covers you against rate shifts that affect your qualifying loan amount. In Greater Boston, where purchase prices regularly exceed $700,000, even a modest rate change can move the needle on what you can borrow. Keeping this contingency in place costs you nothing if the loan comes through. It's significant protection if it doesn't.

Appraisal Contingency

This is the one missing from the standard forms.

An appraisal contingency says: if the home's appraised value comes in below your purchase price, you have the right to renegotiate the price, negotiate a split, or exit the contract with your deposit intact. Without it, you're legally obligated to close at the agreed price regardless of what the appraiser concludes.

The gap can be substantial. Greater Boston purchase prices have regularly outpaced appraised values in competitive markets, partly because of tight inventory and partly because appraisers use closed comparable sales that may reflect the market from weeks or months earlier. If you offered $950,000 on a Framingham colonial and the home appraises at $900,000, you need an extra $50,000 in cash at closing that wasn't in your plan.

Your agent should add this contingency to the offer as a rider. Both the MAR and GBREB forms have provisions for it — it has to be explicitly requested.

The appraisal gap clause is a separate tool. Some buyers in competitive situations use an appraisal gap coverage clause instead of a full contingency. This says you'll cover the difference between the appraised value and the purchase price up to a specified dollar limit. "Buyer agrees to cover any appraisal gap up to $25,000" is a common framing on offers in Greater Boston right now.

A gap clause makes your offer stronger than a full appraisal contingency, because it signals to the seller that you're committed even if the appraisal comes in short, while still capping your out-of-pocket exposure. On a $900,000 South Shore or MetroWest property with multiple offers, this approach often wins the deal without eliminating your protection entirely.

The right choice between a full appraisal contingency, a capped gap clause, or no appraisal protection depends on your cash reserves, how competitive the specific situation is, and what your lender will allow. If you're buying with less than 20% down, your lender has a view on this too — a capped gap clause may require you to have additional funds verified. This is a conversation to have before you're sitting across from a deadline, not after. For a walkthrough of what happens when an appraisal comes in low, see our breakdown here.

Title V Septic Contingency

This one only applies to properties with a private septic system, but in MetroWest, the South Shore, Southeastern Massachusetts, and the North Shore's more rural communities, it's directly relevant.

Massachusetts Title 5 of the State Environmental Code requires septic systems to be inspected and meet standards at the time of a home sale. The Title V contingency gives you the right to renegotiate or exit the contract if the system fails inspection. A failed system costs between $20,000 and $40,000 or more to replace, depending on lot conditions, soil type, and local requirements. Some towns require the system to be replaced before the property can transfer.

Always include a Title V contingency when buying a property with private septic. If the seller has a passing inspection within the past two years, they'll typically provide it upfront. If they don't have one, schedule your own inspection early in the contingency period — Title V tests can take time to schedule depending on the season.

Home Sale Contingency

This protects buyers who need to sell their current home before they can close on a new one. It's a real option, but it comes with a real trade-off: most sellers in Greater Boston's competitive market won't accept an offer with a home sale contingency unless the buyer's existing home is already under contract.

Some sellers will accept a home sale contingency paired with a kick-out clause, which allows the seller to continue marketing the property. If they receive another offer, you typically get a 72-hour window to either remove the contingency and proceed or cancel and recover your deposit. It's a workable structure, but it keeps you in a somewhat precarious position — particularly if your own home isn't yet under agreement.

If you're in a move-up situation, a bridge loan or home equity line of credit may give you more flexibility than a home sale contingency and make your offer more competitive. We covered the full range of options for move-up buyers here.

What's Actually Safe to Waive, and What Isn't

In a competitive multiple-offer situation, buyers sometimes feel pressure to make their offer look as clean as possible. Here's a realistic assessment of each contingency.

Inspection contingency: You can modify the terms, such as setting a dollar threshold or doing a pre-offer inspection and waiving the contingency based on what you find. You should not eliminate your right to know what you're buying. The October 2025 law exists precisely because buyers were being pressured into this position.

Financing contingency: Safe to remove only with a fully underwritten approval. Removing it with a standard pre-approval is a significant financial risk, especially at Greater Boston price points.

Appraisal contingency: You can replace a full contingency with a capped appraisal gap clause. Waiving it entirely with no gap coverage is a meaningful commitment — you're saying you'll cover any gap in cash, whatever the number turns out to be. Know the exact dollar exposure before you agree to that.

Title V: Don't waive this on a property with private septic. The cost of a failed system is too high and the timeline to remediate can affect your ability to close.

Home sale contingency: Most competitive offers don't include this. If you need it, be direct about your situation with your agent before you start touring homes, not after you're already emotionally invested in a specific property.

There's a pattern to costly mistakes in Greater Boston offers. Buyers who don't fully understand their contingencies either write offers that look too risky and lose out to cleaner offers, or win the deal but find themselves overexposed when something goes wrong between accepted offer and closing. Understanding these protections — and knowing which ones to adjust carefully versus which ones to keep — is how you write a strong offer without taking on more risk than you can absorb.

For more on how the full offer-to-closing process works in Massachusetts, see our step-by-step breakdown from accepted offer through closing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to my earnest money if I don't have an appraisal contingency and the home appraises low?

Without an appraisal contingency, you're contractually obligated to close at the agreed purchase price regardless of the appraisal result. If you can't make up the difference in cash and your lender won't fund the full amount, you could be in default on the contract and at risk of losing your earnest money deposit, which is typically 5% of the purchase price in Greater Boston.

Can a seller require me to waive my inspection contingency in Massachusetts?

No. The October 2025 Massachusetts inspection law prohibits sellers from making acceptance of an offer contingent on the buyer waiving their right to an inspection. You can voluntarily agree to modified inspection terms, such as a dollar threshold below which you won't negotiate, but sellers cannot require you to give up the right to inspect entirely.

How long is the financing contingency period in a Massachusetts real estate contract?

The financing contingency period is typically 21 to 45 days from the date of the Purchase and Sale agreement, negotiated between buyer and seller. If you haven't received a formal mortgage commitment from your lender by that deadline, you can invoke the contingency and cancel the contract with your deposit returned.

What is a Title V contingency in Massachusetts and when do I need one?

A Title V contingency protects buyers purchasing a property with a private septic system. Massachusetts Title 5 of the State Environmental Code requires that septic systems be inspected and meet minimum standards before a home changes hands. If the system fails inspection, the contingency gives you the right to renegotiate the price or exit the contract. It's especially relevant for properties in MetroWest, the South Shore, Southeastern Massachusetts, and North Shore communities where private septic is common.

Is the appraisal contingency included in the standard Massachusetts offer forms?

No. Neither the MAR Contract to Purchase nor the GBREB Offer to Purchase includes an appraisal contingency by default. Your buyer's agent needs to add it explicitly as a rider to the offer. If you sign the standard form without this addition and the home appraises below your purchase price, you have no contractual right to renegotiate or cancel without forfeiting your earnest money deposit.

Contingencies are how you protect yourself in one of the largest financial decisions you'll make. Most of the time, none of them get triggered — the deal closes cleanly. But having them structured correctly, and understanding which ones to adjust when you're competing, is the difference between a deal that closes on your terms and one where you're scrambling after the appraisal report arrives.

If you're working through an offer and want to talk through the right structure for your specific situation, reach out to John Hollis Group at 617-431-1826 or visit johnhollisgroup.com.

About John Hollis

John Hollis is a Senior Real Estate Advisor and founder of John Hollis Group at Amo Realty, serving buyers and sellers across Greater Boston and surrounding Massachusetts for over 20 years. His team brings market insight, precise preparation, and strong advocacy to every transaction, from Boston to the North Shore, South Shore, MetroWest, and Southeastern Massachusetts.