In most, but not all, kick out clauses will contain what is called a ‘right to refusal‘. This means that if a seller receives an offer from other buyers without any contingencies on a home, they must notify the original buyer and allow them to change their offer.
In most cases, buyers have 72 hours to recall their contingencies and decide whether to proceed with the sale. Otherwise, the original sale will be voided.
The buyer gets their earnest money back and the seller can proceed with a second non-contingent offer. If the original buyer accepts to remove the contingency, the second offer will be revoked and the original contract will exclude the contingencies.
It is also relatively rare for sellers to write blanket real estate kick-out clauses that allow them to accept good offers. Few buyers accept this.
For example, it is rare for a buyer to agree to this type of clause simply by accepting a higher sales price or waiving an important condition such as a home inspection.
Instead, most kick out clauses relates to special risks of sales contracts. The most common type of kick out clause is buyer home sale contingency.
In a home sale contingency, the buyer is given a certain amount of time to sell the home before completing the new home purchase, usually ninety days.
If the buyer fails to sell the house within the stipulated time, the purchase contract becomes void and the seller is free to put the house back on the market or accept the offer from other buyers.
Buyers like this situation because they avoid the risk of taking out two mortgages, and many believe they will use the proceeds from the sale of their previous home to pay down payment for their new home.
These clauses are rare when selling a home in a hot market, but even in a buyer’s market, few sellers may accept this type of clause.