STL Home Buyer Journey
George Kindler
13 Years Of Real Estate Experience At Your Fingertips
Last updated October 21, 2026
Inspection, financing, appraisal and sometimes the sale of your own home: each contingency is a way out of the contract that keeps your earnest money. Here’s what each one protects, when giving one up actually helps, and the middle-ground options I use instead of a full waiver.
For most financed buyers, all three: the inspection, the financing and the appraisal. Each one is a way out of the contract that keeps your earnest money, so giving one up is a decision about risk you can afford, not a default way to win. A modified version usually beats a full waiver. What each one protects ↓
It can work. I’ve had buyers waive the inspection, and in this market I don’t think one is a requirement. But it takes an agent who can read a house’s condition, because the risk is what’s beneath the hood: the sewer lateral, radon and termites. I usually prefer a modified version. The middle-ground options ↓
Very rarely. I’ve done it only for very strong borrowers whose file an underwriter had already reviewed and who understood their earnest money was at risk, usually on very clean houses. Underwriting approves the buyer and then the property, and an approved buyer doesn’t guarantee the house will qualify. Why it’s riskier than it looks ↓
Only if you have the cash to cover a gap. If the house appraises low, your lender lends on the appraised value, so you either pay the difference out of pocket or walk away from your earnest money. The same rule applies to an appraisal gap guarantee. What a low appraisal costs →
Usually, if you back out under a contingency before its deadline. Most buyers who walk away do it during the inspection period and get it back. Back out after your contingencies end, or miss a deadline, and the seller can ask to keep it. Earnest money at each deadline ↓
Sources: George Kindler’s buyer and seller transactions; Missouri Revised Statutes §339.105; 2026 expected repair costs from the St. Louis repair cost guide. Contract terms vary, and the dates and options in your contract control.
Each one lets you leave the contract with your earnest money if a specific thing goes wrong before its deadline. Your contract sets every date.
| Contingency | It protects you if | Waiving it means |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection | You find a condition you can’t live with or can’t negotiate | You buy the house as it is, including what you can’t see |
| Financing | Your lender doesn’t issue a written loan commitment | If the loan falls through, your earnest money is at risk |
| Appraisal (a rider on the St. Louis contract) | The house appraises below your price | You cover the gap in cash or lose your earnest money |
| Sale of your home | Your current house doesn’t sell in time | You may carry two payments |
The deadlines are where contingencies are won or lost. The inspection period is commonly about 10 days on a St. Louis contract, and the loan and appraisal dates run later. Let a deadline pass and that protection can end on its own. Your deadlines after an accepted offer →
You can give up most of the inspection’s leverage without going in blind. These are the options I use most:
To a seller, the second negotiation is what these remove. On a Wintergreen Estates listing I sold in Fenton, the $406,000 buyers kept every contingency, but their agent told me they wouldn’t ask for any repairs. I went on instinct about that agent and on knowing the house wouldn’t present any issues, and treated the offer as about as strong as $410,000 with a negotiation still ahead. A verbal promise isn’t binding. Giving up Option 3 puts it in writing. How that sale played out →
The conditions you can’t see at a showing. In St. Louis that’s mainly the sewer lateral, radon and termites, plus whatever an older house hides behind finished walls. In 2,872 St. Louis County sales in 2026, 74.8% of the homes were built before 1980.
| Beneath the hood | Why a showing misses it | 2026 expected cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sewer lateral | It’s underground; only a camera shows it | Scope $150–$300. Replacement typically $4,000–$12,000 and can exceed $15,000 |
| Radon | No smell or sign; only a test shows it | Test $100–$150. Mitigation system $800–$1,500 |
| Termites | Damage hides inside wood and walls | Depends on the treatment and the damage |
That’s why waiving takes an agent who can assess condition at the showing: the age of the roof and the mechanicals, signs of water in the basement, cracks in the foundation. Whatever you decide about the general inspection, I recommend a sewer scope on every St. Louis home, whatever its age or area. 2026 repair costs →
What to check at the showing before you decide how much inspection protection to keep. Walkthrough Checklist: What to Look For When Buying in St. Louis → →Because underwriting is two-fold: the lender approves you, and then it approves the property. A buyer whose file an underwriter has already reviewed has cleared the first half. The house still has to meet the loan’s property requirements and appraise, and if it doesn’t, the loan can fall through with your earnest money on the line.
So the agent has to know conforming property requirements well enough to spot a house that may not qualify, such as one with condition problems a lender will want fixed before it funds. It’s very rare for me to advise waiving financing. When we’ve done it, the buyers were very strong borrowers, an underwriter had already reviewed their file, they understood their earnest money was at risk, and the house was very clean.
What a lender checks before you write an offer, and what it checks after. Mortgage Pre-Approval in St. Louis → →When it removes a risk the seller is weighing against a higher offer. Sellers compare what each offer nets and how likely it is to close, so a waived or limited contingency can be worth a few thousand dollars of price. It doesn’t help when there’s no competition: on a house that’s been sitting, keep your protections and negotiate. What days on market tells you →
Strong terms and protection can go together. On a lake cabin in Ste. Genevieve County, my parents won with list price, cash and a quick close, but kept their inspection protections. The septic system became the whole negotiation. How the septic negotiation played out →
It’s safest while your contingencies are open and most at risk after they close. About 1% of the price is typical for a financed buyer in St. Louis, and that’s the money a waived contingency puts on the line.
Either way, it moves by mutual release, a form both sides sign. If they don’t agree, Missouri law requires the broker holding it to turn the disputed funds over to the State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division within 365 days of the projected closing date (RSMo 339.105.4).
Your loan and your house
Partly. FHA and VA hold the property to a higher safety standard than conventional loans, so the house still has to meet those requirements even if you skip the inspection. Both also require a clause that lets you out of the contract without losing your earnest money if the appraisal comes in below the price. VA buyers usually have more room to get a loan commitment than FHA buyers. FHA vs. conventional →
Usually. A seller who takes one is buying the risk that your house won’t sell, so you’ll typically pay list or more and have less leverage. First see whether you can get approved without it. Buying with a home-sale contingency →
Fewer. A cash offer has no loan or lender appraisal to protect, so it usually comes down to the inspection, which still matters. On cash deals I’ve always recommended 10% earnest money. How much earnest money to offer →
Inspections
No. Many St. Louis County municipalities require their own occupancy or point-of-sale inspection when a house changes hands. That’s set by the city, not your contract, and what it finds still has to be handled. Why the address matters →
This is one piece of the St. Louis home buying process. See how it all fits together:
📚 Complete St. Louis Buyer Guide →
Grew up in South St. Louis, lived in Dogtown for 6 years, now in South County. You'll find us at Wellspring on Lindbergh on Sundays. I'm not selling you a house — I'm showing you how to think about buying or selling a house.
Questions about what you are reading? I answer personally — no team, no handoff.