The answer lives in the contingency, not the appraisal. Most Northern Virginia contracts written with financing include the standard NVAR appraisal contingency addendum. Once the appraisal comes in below the sales price, your agent delivers an Appraisal Contingency Notice to the seller with a copy of the appraisal, starting a negotiation period of a few business days set in your contract. In that window you have three real paths. You can proceed at the original price and cover the gap in cash. You can agree in writing with the seller on a new price, often between the appraised value and the original price, the most common outcome when sellers still want the deal to close. Or you can void the contract and get your full earnest money deposit back through the title company. In Fairfax, where contract prices can run ahead of comparable sales, buyers learn exactly how this sequence works when their appraisal lands.
If you and the seller cannot agree before the negotiation period ends, the standard NVAR forms give the buyer a short election period to void the contract by written notice. If you let it pass without acting, the contingency is removed and the contract stays in full force at the original sales price. Before you concede anything, ask your lender about a reconsideration of value: if your agent can show the appraiser missed comparable sales, a revised appraisal sometimes closes the gap. Read the contingency language in your ratified contract first: every version differs slightly, and the deadline is not one you want to miss. Arlington buyers in fast-moving pockets should be especially careful with this timing, since those comps are the most likely to be reconsidered.
When the contract has no appraisal contingency, the answer is stricter. The NVAR residential sales contract says that if the contract is not contingent on appraisal, the buyer proceeds to settlement without regard to the appraisal. A low number does not let you walk away or renegotiate: you close at the agreed price or risk losing your earnest money. In competitive bidding situations, some buyers waive the contingency or add a written gap guaranty to strengthen their offer, and that trade works only when they truly have the cash to cover a shortfall. If you offered in Ashburn with a waived appraisal contingency, the contract binds you to the price no matter what the appraisal says.
One more layer: a low appraisal can trigger your financing contingency instead. Lenders lend against the appraised value, not the contract price, so a low appraisal may mean the lender will not fund the original loan amount. If the contract still has a financing contingency, that protection may let you void and recover the deposit even when the appraisal contingency alone would not. This is why the two contingencies travel together in the standard NVAR financing and appraisal addendum. Talk through both with your agent before you ratify, so you know which exits your contract gives you before the appraisal ever lands.
FAQ
Does a low appraisal automatically void my contract?
No. The appraisal contingency in your contract controls the outcome, not the appraisal number itself. With the contingency, you can renegotiate the price, void the contract and recover your earnest money, or cover the gap with extra cash. Without it, you are generally bound to close at the agreed price.
Can I get my earnest money back if the appraisal is low?
Yes, if your contract includes an appraisal contingency and you follow its notice and deadline requirements. You deliver the Appraisal Contingency Notice with the written statement of appraised value, negotiate within the negotiation period, and void the contract in writing if no agreement is reached. The deposit comes back through the title company.
What is an appraisal gap guaranty?
A written promise, added to the offer, to pay up to a stated amount over the appraised value if the appraisal comes in low. It strengthens a competitive offer by telling the seller you will not renegotiate below your original price for that amount. The buyer pays the guaranteed amount in cash at closing.
Does the seller have to lower the price after a low appraisal?
No. The seller is not required to reduce the price. The appraisal contingency opens a negotiation period, and the seller can accept a new price, counter, or hold firm. If no agreement is reached by the end of the period, the buyer's election period decides whether the contract is voided or continues at the original price.