Many metro Atlanta owners who are moving up or downsizing face the same timing problem: the next home is available now, but the money for it is tied up in the current one. A home sale contingency in Georgia is the contract tool built for that gap. It lets a buyer make a purchase conditional on selling (or leasing) the home they already own. This guide explains how the contingency generally works, how the seller's right to keep marketing fits in, how sellers read a contingent offer in today's metro Atlanta market, and the alternatives worth discussing first.
What Is a Home Sale Contingency in Georgia?
A home sale contingency is a condition in a purchase contract that ties your purchase to the sale or lease of a property you already own. If that sale or lease does not happen by the agreed deadline, the purchase contract can end instead of leaving you obligated to buy two homes at once. In Georgia, it is commonly documented with a separate exhibit attached to the purchase and sale agreement.
The standard form is the Georgia Association of REALTORS (GAR) exhibit titled "Sale or Lease of Buyer's Property Contingency." The version reviewed for this article makes the contract contingent on one of two events by a stated date: the buyer closing on the sale of the "Other Property," or the buyer leasing it for at least a minimum term the parties fill in.
Sale Versus Lease of the Current Home
The lease option suits owners who plan to keep the current house as a rental. For move-up and downsizing owners who need proceeds from the current home, the sale option is usually the relevant one, because a signed lease does not produce equity for the next closing.
How Does the GAR Sale or Lease of Buyer's Property Contingency Work?
The exhibit sets a deadline, called the contingency period, by which your current home must close (or be leased). You also describe the status of that home, including any contract you already have on it. If the deadline passes without the condition being met, the version reviewed here says the agreement terminates at that time. Every blank, from the deadline to the kick-out terms, is negotiated with the seller.
The Contingency Period
The contingency period is the most important number in the exhibit. A short period signals confidence that your current home will sell quickly. A long one asks the seller to hold their home while you find a buyer. This period runs alongside the rest of the contract's timeline, including the due diligence period in a Georgia home purchase, so the two should be planned together.
When Your Current Home Is Already Under Contract
The exhibit asks the buyer to state the status of the Other Property, including any existing contract and its scheduled closing date. According to a forms update published in the Fall 2025 issue of Georgia Realtor magazine, a buyer who enters into a contract to sell their existing property after the Binding Agreement Date is now obligated to disclose that promptly to the seller, and that new contract is treated as an "Existing Pending Contract." The same article explains that if an Existing Pending Contract terminates, the buyer must choose to either terminate the purchase or allow the seller to invoke the kick-out provisions (if the agreement includes them), which would require the buyer to remove contingencies or terminate.
Form Numbers and Versions Change
GAR revises its forms regularly. The exhibit is GAR Form F601, and the Fall 2025 issue of Georgia Realtor magazine lists it among the forms GAR modified in its midyear changes. Ask your agent which current version is being attached and have a Georgia real estate attorney review the language before you sign.
What Is the Seller's Right to Continue Marketing (the Kick-Out)?
The kick-out lets the seller keep marketing the home to other buyers while your offer is pending on your own sale. If the seller receives another acceptable offer, the seller gives you notice. You then have a set number of hours to remove the agreed contingencies and deposit additional earnest money, or the contract terminates and your earnest money is refunded under the exhibit's terms.
In the version reviewed here, the amendment removes either all contingencies and the due diligence period, or only the specific contingencies the parties selected. If the buyer does not deliver the amendment and additional earnest money in time, the agreement terminates and the buyer is entitled to a full refund of earnest money. GAR's 2020 change summary notes the exhibit was revised to add options for which contingencies are removed and for making the exhibit subject to a kick-out or not.
The Fall 2025 Georgia Realtor article adds that a later revision clarified the seller only has the right to exercise the kick-out if the parties made the agreement subject to a kick-out clause. It is a negotiated term, not an automatic feature.
What Removing Contingencies Means for You
Removing the sale contingency means committing to buy even if your current home has not sold. Depending on the amendment, you may also give up the due diligence period or other protections and put more money at risk. Before agreeing to any kick-out terms, understand how earnest money in a Georgia real estate contract is held and when it can be returned, and have a Georgia real estate attorney walk through the exact options checked on your exhibit.
How Do Sellers Weigh a Contingent Offer in Metro Atlanta Right Now?
Sellers generally weigh a contingent offer on certainty and time: how likely your current home is to sell, how long they must wait, and how much control they keep. In a market with more listings and slower pending activity, sellers have more reason to hear a contingent offer than in a tight market, but a well-structured offer still matters more than the contingency itself.
What the Current Numbers Show
The Atlanta REALTORS Market Brief for July 2026, compiled from First Multiple Listing Service data for 11 metro counties, reported 20,863 active listings, 4.7 months of supply and an average of 24 days on market (30 cumulative days on market) in July 2026. Closed sales were 4,824, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier.
For August 2026, Georgia MLS figures reported by Metro Atlanta CEO showed 22,897 active listings in the Atlanta Core market, up 3 percent from August 2025, while pending sales fell 7 percent from July and 28.9 percent from August 2025. The same report put the August median sales price at $400,000.
Read together, these figures describe more competing inventory and fewer new contracts than a year ago. For a buyer with a home to sell, that cuts both ways: the seller may be more open to a contingency, but your own home is also competing with more listings, which is exactly the risk the seller is being asked to share.
What Tends to Make a Contingent Offer Easier to Accept
A contingent offer generally reads stronger when the buyer's home is already listed or under contract, when the contingency period is grounded in current days-on-market data, and when kick-out terms are clear. Showing the Existing Pending Contract details, including the other buyer's closing date, gives the seller something concrete to evaluate.
What Are the Alternatives to a Contingent Offer?
The main process alternatives are to sell first and then buy, to sell and arrange a short stay in the sold home after closing, or to sell and move into temporary housing before buying. Some owners also use financing to buy before selling. Each changes who carries the timing risk, so the right choice depends on your finances, your flexibility and the market for each home involved.
List and Sell First
Selling first removes uncertainty about your proceeds, so your purchase offer can be written without a sale contingency. The tradeoff is needing a plan for where you will live between closings.
Stay Briefly After Your Sale Closes
If you sell first and need a little more time, a short post-closing occupancy agreement with your buyer is one option, covered in our guide on when an Atlanta seller stays after closing.
Temporary Housing
Some owners sell, move into interim housing, then buy without a contingency. This adds a second move but separates the two transactions completely.
Financing Options
Financing products exist that some buyers use to purchase before their current home sells. Fit for your situation is a lending question, and a licensed mortgage lender is the right person to ask.
How Should You Sequence Buying and Selling?
Start with numbers, not listings. Have a market analysis prepared on your current home, speak with a lender about what you can buy with and without those proceeds, and have your current home ready to list before you write a contingent offer.
From there, write the offer with a contingency period that matches the data, decide in advance how you would respond to a kick-out notice, have a Georgia real estate attorney review the exhibit, and keep both closing dates coordinated so proceeds from one arrive in time for the other.
FAQ
Can a Georgia seller use a kick-out after accepting my contingent offer? Only if the parties agreed to one. According to the Fall 2025 Georgia Realtor forms update, the seller has the right to exercise the kick-out only if the agreement was made subject to a kick-out clause.
What happens if my current home does not sell by the deadline? In the version of the exhibit reviewed for this article, if the contingency period ends without the sale or lease condition being met, the agreement terminates at that time. Review the exact language with a Georgia real estate attorney well before that date.
How long do I have to respond to a kick-out notice? The response window is a number of hours written into the exhibit and negotiated between the parties. Within that window you would typically need to deposit the agreed additional earnest money and sign an amendment removing the selected contingencies.
Is a contingent offer realistic in today's metro Atlanta market? Recent data shows more active listings and fewer pending sales than a year ago, which can make some sellers more receptive. Acceptance still depends on the home, the seller and how well your offer limits their risk.
Conclusion
A home sale contingency in Georgia can let you pursue your next home without committing to own two at once, but it works best when your current home is priced, prepared and moving, and when the contingency period, kick-out terms and earnest money are set with care. If you are weighing a move up or a downsize and want to talk through the timing of your sale and purchase, contact The Agency Atlanta for a conversation about your situation.
