A financed California purchase moves through escrow in three stretches: a few days to open escrow and make your deposit, about two and a half weeks of disclosures, inspections, appraisal and underwriting ending in contingency removal, and a final stretch of loan documents, the walkthrough and recording.
Under the default terms of the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA), your initial deposit is due within 3 business days of acceptance, the seller's disclosures within 7 days, and your loan, appraisal, inspection and insurance contingencies run 17 days. Your Closing Disclosure must arrive at least three business days before you are bound on the loan, and the final walkthrough defaults to 5 days before closing.
Apart from the federal Closing Disclosure rule, each of those dates is negotiable and set by your contract. Here is each phase of a sample 30-day escrow.
Where the dates come from
C.A.R. redesigned the RPA in December 2025 and updates it periodically, so confirm which version you are signing. The 17-, 7- and 5-day defaults below appear in both the 2022 version and the redesign. Note how days are counted:
- "Days" means calendar days. Acceptance is Day 0, and each deadline ends at 11:59 p.m.
- A deadline landing on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next day that is not. The initial deposit is counted in business days.
- The RPA has no pre-printed closing date. You and the seller choose it.
Days 0 to 3: acceptance, escrow and your deposit
Acceptance happens when the final signed offer or counter offer is delivered back to the other side, and a copy goes to escrow within 3 days. Escrow, a neutral party, holds funds and documents under both sides' written instructions; you have 5 days after receiving its general provisions to sign and return them.
Your initial deposit is due within 3 business days, by wire directly to escrow unless your contract says otherwise. If not attached to your offer, your lender's prequalification or preapproval letter and verification of your down payment and closing costs are due within 3 days. In a homeowners association, the seller has 3 days to order and pay for the association's documents.
Wire fraud precautions
Wire fraud usually starts with an email, seemingly from your agent or escrow officer, that changes where to send money. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center says the best defense is to verify every request to change payment type or location. The California Department of Real Estate advises confirming payment instructions by phone and using multi-factor authentication on related email accounts.
- Get escrow's phone number at the start from a source you trust, and call it to confirm instructions before every wire.
- Treat emailed changes to account details as suspicious, and do not open closing-related links or attachments until confirmed by phone.
- If money may have gone to the wrong account, call your bank immediately to request a wire recall, then file a complaint at ic3.gov.
Days 1 to 17: disclosures, inspections, appraisal and underwriting
Seller disclosures and the title report
The seller has 7 days to deliver required disclosures and reports. Unless the seller is exempt, that includes the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS), the Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) statement, plus lead-based paint disclosures for homes built before 1978. You also receive the preliminary title report, showing how title is held and any liens, easements and restrictions found. It is an offer to issue title insurance, not a promise that it lists everything.
Your review of seller documents and the title report runs 17 days after acceptance or 5 days after you receive the item, whichever is later. State law adds a separate right: if a required statutory disclosure arrives after you sign your offer, you can terminate within 3 days after delivery in person, or 5 days after delivery by mail or electronically.
For condos and planned developments, California Civil Code section 4530 gives the association 10 days after a written request to provide the required documents. Our Orange County condo buying guide covers what to look for.
Inspections and insurance
The investigation contingency gives you 17 days by default to inspect and decide. The RPA lists a general home inspection and a wood-destroying pest inspection among your options; add specialists as recommended. The December 2025 RPA also carries a required advisory that an electrical system inspection may be advisable. Repair requests go to the seller within the same window, and the seller does not have to agree.
Request homeowners insurance quotes in the first week. The December 2025 RPA treats insurance as its own 17-day contingency, separate from the loan contingency, and your lender will require a policy.
Appraisal and underwriting
Your lender orders the appraisal and verifies your income, assets and credit. The appraisal and loan contingencies each default to 17 days, and removing the loan contingency does not remove the appraisal contingency. Without an appraisal contingency, a low appraisal alone does not let you cancel under the loan contingency if you otherwise qualify. Ask your lender, or our financing team, before opening new credit or moving large sums.
Removing contingencies, and what it puts at risk
Contingencies do not disappear on Day 17. They must be removed in writing, usually on C.A.R.'s Buyer's Contingency Removal form, and until you remove one or the seller properly cancels, you keep your right to cancel based on it.
Once you remove a contingency, the contract treats you as having finished your investigations, chosen to proceed, and accepted responsibility for repairs and for any inability to obtain financing tied to it. If you then fail to close for an unprotected reason, your deposit is at risk. If both parties initialed the liquidated damages clause, the seller keeps the deposit as its remedy, capped at 3% of the price for a one-to-four-unit home you intend to occupy. Releasing a disputed deposit takes signed instructions from both parties, a court decision or an arbitration award.
Do not remove a contingency until you have what it protects, such as inspection reports, the appraisal, insurance quotes or written loan approval. This is general information, not legal advice; for a deposit dispute or contract question, talk with a California real estate attorney.
How a Notice to Buyer to Perform works
If a contingency deadline passes without a removal or cancellation, the seller cannot cancel right away; it must first deliver a signed, written Notice to Buyer to Perform (C.A.R. Form NBP).
- It cannot be delivered earlier than 2 days before your deadline.
- It must give you at least 2 days after delivery, or until your original deadline, whichever is later. A notice giving less time is void.
- If you remove the contingency in time, the seller cannot cancel based on it. If you do nothing, the seller may cancel and must authorize the return of your deposit, less fees you incurred.
For a Day 17 deadline, a notice delivered on Day 15 still gives you through Day 17; one delivered on Day 19 gives you until 11:59 p.m. on Day 21. A failure to close is handled separately, through a Demand to Close Escrow giving at least 3 days.
The final week: Closing Disclosure, walkthrough and recording
Federal rules require you to receive your Closing Disclosure at least three business days before consummation, when you become contractually obligated on the loan. Compare it with your Loan Estimate, including the rate, monthly payment, closing costs and cash to close. A new three-business-day review is required only if the APR rises beyond a small tolerance (more than 1/8 of a percentage point on a fixed-rate loan), a prepayment penalty is added, or the loan product changes; other corrections can come at or before closing.
You sign loan and escrow documents before a notary shortly before closing and send remaining funds to escrow, verifying wiring instructions by phone again. The lender then funds the loan.
The final walkthrough, called the final verification of condition, defaults to 5 days before closing. It is not a contingency. It confirms the home was maintained, agreed repairs were completed with receipts, and the seller met its other obligations.
Under the RPA, close of escrow is the day the grant deed is recorded. The title company records the deed and your lender's deed of trust with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder, with a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, and the recorded deed is later mailed to the address shown on it.
By default, you take possession upon notice of recordation unless your contract sets another time or a seller rent-back. The seller hands over keys, garage door openers and codes for included alarms and smart-home devices.
A phase-by-phase checklist
This sample uses RPA defaults and a 30-day close. Your contract may differ; changing any deadline takes a written agreement signed by both parties.
- Day 0: Offer accepted. Calendar every deadline with your agent.
- By Day 3: Contract to escrow; lender letter and proof of funds if not with your offer; seller orders HOA documents.
- Within 3 business days: Wire your deposit after confirming instructions by phone.
- First week: Schedule inspections, request insurance quotes, return escrow instructions.
- By Day 7: Seller delivers disclosures and reports.
- By Day 17: Finish inspections, repair requests, appraisal and document review, then remove contingencies in writing or cancel.
- At least 3 business days before signing: Receive your Closing Disclosure.
- Day 25: Final verification of condition.
- Days 25 to 29: Sign, verify and wire remaining funds; the loan funds.
- Day 30: Deed records; keys on notice of recordation unless agreed otherwise.
How Remark Homes helps
When you buy with Remark Homes, your agent tracks every contract deadline, coordinates with your lender, escrow officer and inspectors, and reviews each contingency removal with you before you sign. See our home buying services, read our step-by-step guide to buying a home in California, or start your buyer representation agreement online. Questions about an open escrow? Contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Do contingencies expire automatically after 17 days?
No. They must be removed in writing, and after a deadline passes the seller must deliver a Notice to Buyer to Perform before it can cancel.
Can escrow close faster or slower than 30 days?
Yes. Buyer and seller choose the closing date and can shorten or lengthen contingency periods. Confirm your lender, appraiser and inspectors can meet a short timeline first.
When do I get the keys?
By default, upon notice that the deed has recorded. Your contract can set a different time or allow a seller rent-back.
Can I get my deposit back if I cancel?
If you cancel properly under a contingency still in place, you are generally entitled to your deposit, less fees and costs charged to you. Once contingencies are removed, failing to close can put it at risk.
Sources
- C.A.R.: Contingencies and Cancellation (Quick Guide)
- C.A.R.: Your Guide to the California Residential Purchase Agreement
- CFPB: You'll get 3 days to review your mortgage closing documents
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: Business email compromise and real estate wire fraud
- California DRE: Consumer alert on real estate and mortgage crimes
- Orange County Clerk-Recorder: Property documents
