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How to track contingency deadlines so none slip

Last updated October 29, 2026

A contingency lets a buyer back out or renegotiate if something is not satisfied by a set date. If the date passes without action, the contingency may be treated as waived. That makes contingency dates the ones worth protecting first.

This guide is general information for real estate professionals, not legal advice. Deadlines, names and rules differ by state, contract form and what the parties negotiated. Your contract and your broker or attorney decide what applies.

1. Pull the dates out of the contract the day it is accepted

Do this the same day, not when the first deadline is near. Read the contract and any counter offers and addenda together, since a later document can change an earlier date.

2. Record each date as a rule and a result

Write both "10 days after acceptance" and the calendar date it produces. If the acceptance date changes, you will know which dates to recompute.

3. Set a warning before each deadline, not on it

A reminder on the deadline day is too late to order a repair estimate or chase a lender. Build in a few days of warning for each contingency, more for ones that depend on other people, such as an appraisal.

4. Review every active deal weekly

Once a week, open every deal and ask three questions: what is due this week, what is overdue, and what are you waiting on from someone else. Ten minutes beats finding out on the deadline day.

5. Put every extension in writing and update the date

If a deadline is extended, get the amendment signed and change the date in your tracker straight away. An agreed extension that lives only in an email is easy to forget.

Doing this without a tool, and with one

A spreadsheet and calendar reminders work for a few deals. They get harder when you have many deals and amendments, because every date change means editing several places.

Bindalo reads your contract, saves each deadline as a rule, and moves dependent deadlines when you change a key date. It emails you what is due and overdue, daily or weekly. You review everything it reads before it is saved. Bindalo counts business days but does not know holidays, so adjust any deadline that lands near one.

Try Bindalo on your next contract

Upload a purchase agreement and Bindalo suggests deal details and deadlines for you to review. Free for up to 2 active deals, no credit card needed.

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