You can cancel before closing, but once contingencies are removed, canceling puts your earnest money at risk. Under California's standard purchase agreement, for example, buyers typically get around 17 days to complete due diligence and release contingencies like appraisal, loan, and inspection. Confirm the exact timelines in your own contract; they are negotiable and vary by state and by deal. The key question is which contingencies are still open: - Everything released. The seller may be entitled to keep your deposit, and disputes over it can end up argued through the contract's mediation or arbitration process. - Something still in place. If you released your appraisal and loan contingencies but not the home inspection contingency, you can usually still cancel under that remaining one without losing your deposit. Before you decide anything, sit down with your agent and go line by line through what you have actually removed and what is still active. That review, rather than any general rule, tells you whether you have a clean exit or an exposed deposit. If real money or a possible dispute is on the table, get advice from a real estate attorney in your state.