Understanding Deadlines in the Utah REPC
The Utah REPC has strict deadlines for inspection, financing, appraisal, and settlement. These deadlines are not automatic. Miss one and you could lose your earnest money, lose your contingencies, or put yourself in default. Understanding what each deadline means and how to extend them when necessary is critical.
What's in This Article
Why Deadlines Matter So Much
In the Utah REPC, deadlines are legal benchmarks. They protect your interests, but they are not automatic. You must actively monitor them and take action before they pass. Once a deadline passes, you lose specific protections or may be in default of the contract.
Unlike some other states where contingencies automatically terminate on failure to perform, in Utah, you must affirmatively act within your deadlines to protect yourself. If you want to cancel based on the inspection, you must cancel before the due diligence deadline expires, not after.
Overview of the Three Major Deadlines
The Utah REPC has three critical deadlines that frame your entire transaction:
- Due Diligence (Inspection) Deadline: Your window to cancel for any reason
- Financing and Appraisal Deadline: Your window to secure a loan or cancel based on appraisal
- Settlement Deadline: Your closing date
Each deadline is typically a number of days after contract acceptance. Your agent should calendar all three dates the moment your offer is accepted and remind you as each approaches.
“Real estate rule number one. If the house smells like fresh cookies someone is definitely trying to distract you from something.”
Due Diligence and Inspection Deadline
This is the most valuable deadline in the REPC. Before this deadline expires, you can cancel for any reason and get your earnest money back.
What It Covers
The due diligence period is your inspection window. You hire a home inspector, review their findings, have any follow-up inspections or evaluations done, and negotiate repairs or credits with the seller based on what you learn.
Typical Length
This deadline is typically 10 to 14 days after contract acceptance. The exact number is negotiated in your offer and specified in the REPC.
What Happens When You Cancel
If you cancel in writing before this deadline, you get your earnest money back, no questions asked. The reason doesn't matter. You could find a major structural issue, discover you don't like the neighborhood, or simply change your mind. Your earnest money is refundable.
After the Deadline Passes
Once this deadline expires, you are committed to the purchase absent other contingencies. You can no longer cancel for inspection reasons and get your earnest money back. You're on the hook for the down payment and closing costs if you back out.
Negotiating Repairs or Credits
During this period, if the inspection reveals problems, you can ask the seller to repair them or provide a credit toward your down payment or closing costs. The seller can agree, refuse, or counter. If you can't reach agreement and the deadline hasn't passed, you can cancel.
Financing and Appraisal Deadline
This deadline typically runs 21 to 30 days after contract acceptance. It's your window to secure loan approval and handle appraisal issues.
Loan Approval
Your lender must issue a loan commitment (unconditional approval) before this deadline. If they deny your loan, you cancel within this window and get your earnest money back. If you waive this contingency, you lose this protection.
Appraisal Issues
If the home appraises for less than the purchase price, you have options within this deadline:
- Renegotiate: Ask the seller to lower the price
- Pay the difference: Bring more cash to closing to make up the shortfall
- Cancel: If you can't reach agreement, cancel within the deadline and get your earnest money back
After this deadline passes, you're locked in. If you back out without a valid reason or a valid contingency still in place, the seller can keep your earnest money.
What to Do If Time Is Running Out
If you haven't heard from your lender by a few days before this deadline, contact them immediately. Ask for a written extension from the seller if you need more time. Don't let this deadline sneak up on you.
Critical Alert: Track the Financing Deadline
Lenders sometimes move slowly. If your appraisal hasn't been ordered, your inspection hasn't been completed, or your underwriting is stalled, follow up with your lender immediately. Ask for a written extension from the seller before the deadline passes. Waiting until the last day to discover a problem can cost you your earnest money.
Settlement Deadline (Closing Date)
This is the day you close on the home and the seller transfers ownership to you. It's typically 30 to 45 days after contract acceptance.
What You're Committing To
By the settlement deadline, you must be ready to close. Your financing must be approved, your appraisal must be acceptable, your inspection and appraisal contingencies must have been cleared or waived, and all conditions of the contract must be satisfied.
If You're Not Ready
If you can't close by the settlement deadline, the seller has the right to declare you in default. They can cancel the contract and keep your earnest money. To prevent this, you must request a written extension from the seller before the deadline passes.
Funding vs Possession
Settlement (when documents are signed and funds transfer) and possession (when you get the keys) can occur on different days. This is negotiated separately. In Utah, it's typical for these to happen on the same day, but they don't have to.
Possession Date vs Settlement Date
The settlement date is when you close and the deed is recorded. The possession date is when you get the keys and can move in. These are negotiated separately in the REPC.
In most transactions, settlement and possession happen on the same day. However, a seller might negotiate to stay in the home for a few days after closing, so possession would be a few days after settlement. Or you might negotiate to move in a few days before closing if the seller needs time to vacate.
Understand which date applies to you. The settlement deadline in the REPC is about closing and legal transfer. The possession date is about getting your keys.
How to Extend Deadlines
If you need more time before a deadline expires, you must request a written extension from the seller. This requires a written addendum signed by both parties. Here's the process:
- Identify the deadline you need extended
- Determine how many additional days you need
- Ask your real estate agent to prepare an extension addendum
- Submit it to the seller through their agent
- The seller agrees or refuses; they can't be forced to extend
- Both parties must sign the addendum for it to take effect
Always request extensions early, not at the last minute. If you wait until the deadline is nearly expired, the seller is less likely to be cooperative.
Ask Early, Not at the Last Hour
The moment you realize you need more time, ask for an extension. If you wait until the day before a deadline to ask, the seller may refuse out of frustration. A request for a reasonable extension a week or so before a deadline is much more likely to be granted.
How Days Are Counted in the REPC
Days in the Utah REPC are counted as calendar days, not business days. The count starts the day after contract acceptance. So if your offer is accepted on January 10th, and your inspection deadline is 10 days, the deadline is January 20th.
Weekends and holidays are included in the count. If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, that's still your deadline (though as a practical matter, title companies and lenders don't work weekends, so you may want to request an extension).
Three Critical REPC Deadlines
Key Takeaways
Remember This About REPC Deadlines
- Deadlines in the REPC are not automatic; they're legal benchmarks you must actively manage
- Due Diligence Deadline gives you the right to cancel for any reason and get earnest money back
- Financing and Appraisal Deadline is your window to secure loan approval and resolve appraisal issues
- Settlement Deadline is your closing date; missing it puts you in default
- Calendar all three deadlines the moment your offer is accepted
- Days are counted as calendar days, not business days, starting the day after contract acceptance
- To extend a deadline, request a written extension from the seller before the deadline passes
- Always ask for extensions early, not at the last minute
Sources and References
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