What actually kills deals, ranked

Contracts fail for a small number of repeated reasons, and they are not in the order most buyers expect.

1. The appraisal gap

The lender lends against the appraised value, not the contract price. A house under contract at $520,000 that appraises at $495,000 leaves the buyer to cover $25,000 in cash or renegotiate.

In a market where prices move faster than comparable sales can record them, this is the most common failure point — and the most predictable. If you are paying meaningfully above recent comps, budget for it before writing the offer.

2. Inspection renegotiation

The inspection rarely kills a deal. The renegotiation after it frequently does, because both sides have now spent two weeks and have positions.

The fix: ask for credits rather than repairs. A seller who does not want to manage contractors will often give money instead, and you choose who does the work.

3. Title and survey surprises

Unrecorded easements, encroaching fences, an heir who never signed. Rarer, and usually fatal when they appear, because they take months to clear.

4. Financing

Actual loan denials are less common than the others, and usually trace to something the buyer did after pre-approval — a new credit line, a job change, a large deposit that cannot be sourced.

From application to closing, change nothing about your financial life.

General information, not personalised financial advice.

Reported at Inman; analysis ours.