If a seller and a buyer enter into a real estate purchase agreement,?
This is not legal advice as that needs to come from an attorney. A standard home sale contract at least here in Florida contains contingencies and contractual obligations. As far as financing, certainly a buyer can pay cash instead of the financing shown on contract. Likewise a buyer with a cash contract can get a loan instead. A buyer can typically change the terms of financing to some extent. The key is still fulfilling the clauses and conditions on the contract. In the case of a buyer paying cash instead of financing, the buyer must waive or let lapse their loan approval contingency. Here it waives automatically if no loan denial is provided by contract date. The contract dictates those specifics. If a buyer decides to get a loan instead of cash as contract says, they are not protected by a loan approval contingency so if loan fails or they cant close on time, their escrow could be at risk. Another scenario is if a buyer changes type of financing. If they can still get by loan approval and close by contract date, there is likely no problem. The problem happens when a buyer tries to get a loan other than shown on contract and then gets a loan denial. In that case, the buyers escrow may indeed be at risk. Example, a buyer shows on contract they will get a 20% down conventional loan but then cant get approved for lack of funds. The seller is not obligated to extend loan approval date or close date to allow buyer to try different loan. This stuff happens often in real estate and good advise and care from a Realtor is needed not to let it get so far as require an attorney.