Actually the RPA for the state of california is very buyer friendly. There are a wide variety of ways for you to back out of the contract however you must do it in a timely manner as specified in the contract. You define those timeframes when you submit the contract.
There are formal contingencies referred to as appraisal, inspection and loan, however within the inspection contingency there is a wide berth for you. You can back out due to any sort of HOA restrictions, you can back out because of certain disclosures made by the seller, you can back out because you dont like the color of the leaves on the trees in the yard.
The reason for backing out is pretty much moot. The timing of when you back out is crucial.
Homes that are subject to multiple bids may send out counter offers asking for the appraisal contingency to be removed. You can remove it and if the appraisal doesn’t come in you can still walk or try to renegotiate PROVIDED YOU HAVE OTHER CONTINGENCIES that have not expired temporally. The thing is that usually the appraisal is one of the last pieces of information that is delivered. So an astute listing agent will look at a contract, note the appraisal contingency has been removed but then ask that all of the other contingencies get pulled in to 10 days so the buyer cannot sneak out of the deal for any other reason.
There are plenty of ways to skin a cat.
There really should be no reason for you to remove the appraisal contingency unless there are several competing offers.
