It mainly depends on the contract. Sometimes people include a clause that requires the deal to be attorney-approved. In that situation, you may be able to renege. Other times the buyer can only get out of the deal if they find out a seller misrepresented the house. And sometimes the buyer can bail but will lose the earnest money, which is about one percent to five percent of the purchase price that s given to the seller to reserve the house.
Earnest money is transferred from the buyer to seller when making an offer.
If the seller accepts the offer, it goes towards the down payment. But the seller can keep that deposit if the buyer doesn t follow through. By contract law, a seller can t just decide on a whim not to sell unless they included a special clause in the contract giving them the right to ditch in certain circumstances, such as not finding a suitable housing replacement. If it s a breach of contract, the buyer can take the seller to court, and most likely the judge will order the seller to follow through on the sale. If you re applying for a house loan, it s often required, just like house inspections.