Contract to buy with escape clause for seller

[Jeff S.]

I have found an unlisted property that I really want to buy.  Seller wishes she could refi her balloon loan, but she can't - 3 rejections and counting. And the clock is ticking.  She promissed me verbally that if she can't refi she'll sell to me.  But now there's a cash buyer sniffing around....

I want to get this thing under contract ASAP.  My idea:  offer a contract to purchase, as-is, with my only contingency being that my loan comes through.  In the contract is a clause that if seller does succeed in getting financing in her own name by X date, she refunds earnest money and keeps the property.

Any comments or opinions?   The risk to me is that once the appraisal is done, I will have to eat that cost if seller gets funded.  I can live with that.

Would a lender have problems with this sort of a contract?