Every Nevada purchase contract contains a set of escape hatches, and most buyers sign without knowing exactly how they open. A contingency makes your promise to buy conditional: you will buy the house if you are satisfied with its condition, if it appraises, if your loan funds, if the HOA documents hold no surprises. Use one correctly and you can walk away with your earnest money. Miss its deadline, or cancel the wrong way, and the protection disappears quietly, often without anyone telling you it happened.
This guide reads the two contracts Nevada buyers actually sign, clause by clause: the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Residential Purchase Agreement (Rev. 10/24) used across Southern Nevada, and the Sierra Nevada REALTORS Residential Offer and Acceptance Agreement (SNR 01/23) used in Reno, Sparks and the north. It adds the state laws that sit underneath both, the HOA resale-package right in NRS 116 and the seller-disclosure rules in NRS 113, and it answers the question buyers type into search engines word for word: if a contingency is not met before closing, do you get your money back?
A contingency lets a Nevada buyer cancel and recover earnest money if a stated condition fails, but only by written notice before its deadline; left unused, it is deemed waived. Fixed clocks: deposit within 1 business day (Las Vegas) or 2 (Reno), 5 days to review an HOA resale package, 4 working days under NRS 113.150. On the $432,250 median Las Vegas closing for the 90 days ending September 20, 2026, a 1% deposit is $4,323.
- The Las Vegas form deems each contingency waived unless you cancel in writing by its deadline.
- Deposits are due within one business day on the Las Vegas form and two on the Reno form.
- NRS 116.4109 gives HOA buyers five calendar days after receiving the resale package to cancel.
- NRS 113.150 rescission over a newly disclosed defect needs notarized written notice within four working days.
- NRS 119's five-day right skips licensed homebuilders, but NRS 116.4108 can apply in HOA communities.
What Is a Contingency in a Nevada Purchase Contract?
A contingency is a condition in the purchase agreement that must be satisfied, waived or used before you are obligated to close. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's guide to finding the right home, it is a good idea to make your offer contingent on obtaining financing and on a satisfactory inspection, so that if you cannot get a loan or the inspection turns up serious flaws, you are not contractually required to buy. That is the whole idea in one sentence. The Nevada forms turn it into dated, written procedures.
The key word in both Nevada contracts is waived. The Las Vegas form's due diligence, appraisal and loan clauses each end the same way: if the agreement is not cancelled in writing on or before the deadline, the buyer "shall be deemed to have waived" that contingency. The Sierra Nevada REALTORS form says it even more bluntly in its Satisfaction of Contingencies paragraph, which the buyer initials: all contingencies must be satisfied, expire or be waived in writing, and "If a contingency expires, it is waived." Nothing about a contingency is automatic in your favor. Silence works for the seller.
The same paragraph of the northern form states the payoff of using a contingency correctly: a buyer who terminates under a contingency "is not in default and is entitled to a refund of the EMD, less BUYER incurred expenses." The southern form's equivalent, Section 18, says a properly cancelled agreement entitles the buyer to a whole refund of the earnest money through executed cancellation instructions to escrow. Both forms also say time is of the essence, which is contract language for the rule that dates mean exactly what they say.
According to the CFPB's mortgage key terms, earnest money is returned to the buyer if the contract is terminated for a permissible reason, and may be forfeited to the seller if the buyer does not perform in good faith. Contingencies are the permissible reasons. The rest of this guide is about how each one works, what its clock is and how to use it without losing the house or the deposit.
Which Contingencies Are in the Las Vegas and Reno Contracts?
Both standard forms carry the same core protections, but they are organized differently and some clocks differ. The map below points to the clause for each one so you can find it in your own contract. Section numbers refer to the Las Vegas REALTORS Residential Purchase Agreement, Rev. 10/24; the northern form, the Sierra Nevada REALTORS Residential Offer and Acceptance Agreement, SNR 01/23, uses headed sections rather than numbers, so its column names the heading and page.
| Protection | Las Vegas form (Rev. 10/24) | Reno form (SNR 01/23) | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspection or due diligence | Section 8, Buyer's Due Diligence | Inspection Contingency, page 6 | Negotiated days from acceptance |
| Appraisal | Section 3(B) | Appraisal Contingency, page 2 | Negotiated days from acceptance |
| Loan | Sections 1(C) and 3(C) | Loan Contingency Removal, page 2 | Negotiated days from acceptance |
| Loan application and preapproval | Section 3(A) | Loan Application Requirement, page 2 | Blank business days (Las Vegas); 5 business days (Reno) |
| Sale of the buyer's home | Section 4, Contingent Upon Sale Addendum | Contingent on Sale and Conveyance, page 3 | Dates written into the addendum or section |
| HOA resale package | Section 11 and NRS 116.4109 | Common-Interest Community Disclosure, page 3 | 5 calendar days after receipt (Las Vegas); 5 days after receipt (Reno) |
| Seller's disclosure form | Section 12 | Seller's Real Property Disclosure Form, page 5 | Delivered within 5 calendar days (Las Vegas); at acceptance, 4 business days to respond (Reno) |
| Title | Sections 7 and 9(C) | Examination of Title, page 4 | 5 business days after the report (Las Vegas); 5 days (Reno) |
The negotiated blanks are where offers are won and lost. A shorter due diligence period makes an offer stronger, but only if your inspectors and lender can actually perform inside it. A deadline you cannot meet is a waiver with extra steps.
How Does the Due Diligence Contingency Work?
On the Las Vegas form, the inspection protection is called the Due Diligence Condition, and it starts with a checkbox. Section 8 says the buyer's obligation "is" or "is not" conditioned on due diligence; only if "is" is checked do the protections apply, for a negotiated number of calendar days after acceptance. During that period, Section 8(A) lets you investigate whether the property is satisfactory to you, including its condition, whether it is insurable to your satisfaction, flood zones, airport noise, zoning and "any other concerns Buyer may have." Section 8(B) is the heart of it: if you determine, in your sole discretion, that the results are unacceptable, you may cancel by written notice to the seller no later than the deadline and receive a whole refund of the earnest money, or resolve your objections with the seller in writing by the same date.
The details matter. Section 8(C) deems the condition waived if you neither cancel nor resolve in writing by the deadline. Section 8(D) says any inspection not completed, with repair requests delivered, inside the period is waived, along with the seller's liability for repairs that inspection would reasonably have found. If you cancel because of a specific inspection report, Section 8(A) requires you to give the seller a copy with the inspector's name, address and phone number. And Section 8(D) requires the seller to have the gas, power and water on within two business days of acceptance, so book inspectors immediately.
The Reno form works as a three-way choice. Inspections must be completed within the negotiated days, and by that deadline the buyer delivers approval without repairs, approval with a Notice of Required Repairs, to which the seller must respond in writing within five business days, or termination with a refund "less BUYER incurred expenses." An inspection not completed by the deadline is waived. Under its Repairs heading, the seller may refuse requested repairs, and the buyer then has the right to terminate.
According to the CFPB's home inspection guidance, if your contract is contingent on a satisfactory inspection, you have the right to cancel without penalty if you are not satisfied with the results. Nationally, the contingency is being given up more often: according to the National Association of REALTORS' August 2026 Confidence Index, 20 percent of buyers waived the inspection contingency, up from 18 percent a year earlier. Our guides to desert-specific inspection issues in Las Vegas and inspections for Northern Nevada buyers cover what to inspect in each climate.
How Does the Appraisal Contingency Protect Your Money?
When you finance, the lender orders an appraisal and lends against it, not against your contract price. The appraisal contingency is your protection when the two numbers diverge. On the Las Vegas form, Section 3(B) makes your obligation contingent on the property appraising for not less than the purchase price. If you receive written notice from the lender or appraiser that it appraised lower, you may renegotiate or cancel by written notice to the seller, with a copy of the appraisal, no later than the negotiated number of calendar days after acceptance, and receive a whole refund. If you do not cancel in writing by that deadline, the contingency is deemed waived.
The Reno form lets the buyer initial the appraisal contingency as included or waived. If the appraisal does not meet the price, the buyer may proceed anyway, renegotiate, or terminate; if a renegotiation is not successful within three business days, either party may terminate and the deposit comes back less buyer-incurred expenses. The form notes that FHA and VA guidelines may supersede it, and that a buyer may order an appraisal even if the lender offers an appraisal waiver. The Las Vegas form carries the federal version in Section 27: under the HUD/VA/FHA escape clause, an FHA or VA buyer is not obligated to complete the purchase or forfeit earnest money unless the appraised value is at least the contract price.
Here is what a shortfall does to your cash. The figures below are an illustration, not a quote.
| Line | Appraises at price | Appraises $15,000 low |
|---|---|---|
| Value the lender uses | $490,000 | $475,000 |
| Loan at 80 percent | $392,000 | $380,000 |
| Cash needed to close at $490,000 | $98,000 | $110,000 |
| Extra cash if you proceed | None | $12,000 |
With the contingency alive, that $12,000 is a negotiation. According to the CFPB's answer on appraisals below the sale price, buying above appraised value is very risky, and a lower appraisal is strong evidence for asking the seller to reduce the price. Federal rules also guarantee you see it: according to the CFPB's Regulation B, section 1002.14, your lender must give you a copy promptly upon completion, or three business days before closing, whichever is earlier. According to NAR's August 2026 index, 22 percent of buyers waived the appraisal contingency. Our Las Vegas appraisal guide and luxury appraisal guide cover how to challenge a low value.
How Does the Loan Contingency Work, and When Does It End?
The loan contingency protects you if, despite a good-faith effort, your financing fails. On the Las Vegas form it starts in Section 1(C), which makes the agreement contingent on the buyer qualifying for a new loan of the type checked: conventional, FHA, VA or other. Section 3(C) sets its end: by a negotiated number of calendar days after acceptance, you must remove the loan contingency in writing, attempt to renegotiate, or cancel by written notice for a whole refund. Miss that date without cancelling and the contingency is deemed waived, which means a loan that fails afterward puts your deposit at risk.
Two obligations run alongside it. Section 3(A) requires you, within a negotiated number of business days, to submit a completed loan application to a lender and give the seller a preapproval letter; if you do not, the seller may terminate, and both parties agree to cancel escrow and return your deposit. For cash offers, Section 3(D) requires written evidence of funds from a financial institution within a negotiated number of business days. The Reno form fills in the loan-application blank at five business days, adds that the buyer must authorize the appraisal, and gives the seller two business days to terminate if the buyer misses it. It also asks the buyer to lock loan terms within a negotiated number of days or accept prevailing rates, and to remove the loan contingency within a negotiated number of days.
The practical risk sits between the loan-contingency deadline and closing. A preapproval is a lender's review of your file, not a funded loan; our guide to pre-approval versus pre-qualification explains the difference. After you remove the contingency, a new car loan, a job change or a condo-project problem that surfaces in underwriting is your problem, not the seller's. Set the loan deadline late enough for your lender to clear conditions, respond to underwriting the same day, and do not open new credit until you have keys. If the lender needs more time, ask for a written extension before the deadline, not after it.
What Is Nevada's HOA Resale-Package Right?
This is the Nevada protection most buyers have never heard of, and it comes from statute, not the contract. When you buy in a common-interest community, and that is most of the Las Vegas valley and much of the north, the seller must give you a resale package. According to NRS 116.4109, it must include the declaration, bylaws, rules and regulations, a statement of the monthly assessment and any unpaid obligations, the association's current operating budget and year-to-date financial statement with a summary of its reserves, a statement of unsatisfied judgments and pending lawsuits, all transfer and other resale fees, all current and expected fees and charges, and proof of the association's required insurance.
The statute then gives you the right to cancel, by written notice, until midnight of the fifth calendar day after you receive the package, without penalty, with every payment refunded promptly. You may deliver the notice by hand, by prepaid U.S. mail or by electronic transmission to the owner or the owner's agent. The right ends once you accept the deed. The association must furnish its documents within 10 calendar days of the seller's written request, and the statute caps its certificate fee at $185, plus up to $100 to expedite delivery sooner than three business days, with annual inflation increases capped at 3 percent.
The contracts add their own timing. The Las Vegas form's Section 11 requires the seller to request the package within two business days of acceptance and deliver it within one business day of receiving it; if you have not received it within 15 calendar days of acceptance, you may cancel in full without penalty; and if you do not cancel in time, the package is deemed approved. The seller must pay any outstanding association fines at closing. The Reno form has the seller order the package within five days of acceptance and gives the buyer five days from receipt to review and, if unsatisfied, to cancel.
Use the five days. The reserve summary, the budget and the pending-litigation statement are the pages that most often change a decision, whether you are buying in a Summerlin village or a Sparks townhome community.
What Do Nevada's Seller Disclosure Rules Add?
The seller's disclosure form is not a contingency, but it creates rights that work like one. According to NRS 113.130, at least 10 days before a residential property is conveyed, the seller must complete the state's disclosure form and serve it on the buyer; the seller's agent may not fill it out for the seller. If the seller discovers a new defect, or finds that a disclosed defect has worsened, before closing, the seller must tell you in writing, and if the seller will not repair it, you may rescind or close and accept the defect. You cannot waive the disclosure requirement, and a seller cannot require you to. The Nevada Real Estate Division's Seller's Real Property Disclosure Form, revised June 1, 2023, is the form itself.
The rescission rights live in NRS 113.150. If the seller fails to serve the form, you may rescind at any time before conveyance without penalty. If the seller tells you, on the form or in another written notice, of a defect whose repair cost the contract did not limit, you may rescind before conveyance, but the rescission is effective only if it is in writing, notarized and served within four working days after you are informed, on the escrow holder or, if there is no escrow, on the seller or the seller's agent. A seller who conveys without disclosing a known defect can owe treble the repair cost plus fees. NRS 113.140 adds the limits: a seller does not have to disclose defects the seller does not know about, the form is not a warranty, and the buyer still has a duty of reasonable care.
The contracts set the delivery clock. The Las Vegas form's Section 12 requires the seller to deliver the disclosure form within five calendar days of acceptance. The Reno form requires it at the time of written acceptance and gives the buyer four business days after receipt to return an acknowledged copy or terminate in writing. One caution on a common myth: NRS 113.140 contains no five-day review period. The windows that exist are the contract's and the four working days in NRS 113.150. Our guides to seller disclosures in Las Vegas and disclosure requirements in Reno and Washoe County walk through the form question by question.
How Does a Sale-of-Home Contingency Work?
A sale-of-home contingency makes your purchase depend on selling the home you already own. It is financially sensible and competitively expensive, because a seller reads it as a second deal they cannot see. The two forms treat it very differently. The Las Vegas form's Section 4 says the agreement is not contingent on the sale of any property unless a box is checked incorporating a separate Contingent Upon Sale Addendum, so the terms live in that addendum.
The Reno form builds the contingency into the contract. The buyer chooses whether the home is already in escrow, with a closing date and a statement of whether that sale depends on a third party's sale, or is listed or will be listed in the MLS within a set number of days and must get an accepted offer by a set date. Several rules protect the seller: the seller may keep marketing the property and accept written backup offers; the buyer may not accept an offer on the old home that is contingent on a third party's sale without the seller's written approval; the buyer must report the listing, escrow, loan status and inspections on the old home within a set number of days of each event; and if the old home's escrow does not close by the stated date, the agreement terminates and the deposit is returned less buyer-incurred expenses.
In a competitive situation, that contingency usually loses to an offer without one, so buyers often restructure instead: selling first and negotiating time to move, arranging bridge financing with a lender, or lining up the sale so both escrows close together. Each option has costs and risks that belong in a conversation with your lender, and our seller services can price the current home first so you know what you have to work with. The contingency still has a place when the seller has no other offers or when your current home is already under contract with a clean buyer; in that case, the Reno form's escrow option, with the old home's closing date written in, reads far stronger than a home that is not yet listed.
What Other Protections Cover Title, the Walk-Through and Damage Before Closing?
Title is a contingency too. The Las Vegas form's Section 7 makes the agreement contingent on the seller delivering good and marketable title, insured by a title policy in your name for the purchase price. Section 9(C) sets the process: the title company provides a preliminary title report within 10 business days of opening escrow, you approve or object within five business days of receiving it, and if you object the seller has five business days to correct or address it. If the seller does not, you may terminate with a refund of the deposit or accept title as it is. The Reno form has the seller order the report within two business days of acceptance and gives the buyer five days from receipt to object; if the objections cannot be removed, the buyer may still buy or terminate, with the deposit returned less buyer-incurred expenses. Our title insurance guide explains what the report shows.
The walk-through is your last look. Under Section 14 of the Las Vegas form, you are entitled to a walk-through within a negotiated number of days before closing to confirm the home and its systems are as disclosed and in the same general condition as at acceptance, and that agreed repairs were done. If you skip it, all systems are deemed satisfactory. The Reno form gives the buyer the right to a final walkthrough before closing and requires the seller to maintain the property until possession.
Damage before closing is covered separately. Section 16 of the Las Vegas form applies NRS 113.040: if all or a material part of the property is destroyed before title or possession transfers, the seller cannot enforce the agreement and the buyer can recover what was paid. The Reno form's Destruction of Improvements clause lets the buyer terminate by written notice if the improvements are destroyed, materially damaged or found materially defective before closing. Our guide to how escrow works in Nevada follows these steps through to recording.
How Do the Reno and Las Vegas Contracts Differ?
The two forms reach the same place by different roads, and the differences change what you owe and when. This is the short version for a buyer moving between markets or buying in both.
| Term | Southern Nevada (Las Vegas form) | Northern Nevada (Reno form) |
|---|---|---|
| Earnest money deposited | Within 1 business day of acceptance, or a negotiated number if wired | Within 2 business days of acceptance, or a negotiated number |
| Refund after a proper cancellation | Whole refund of the deposit | Refund less buyer-incurred expenses |
| Inspection structure | Due diligence in the buyer's sole discretion; cancel or resolve in writing | Approve, request repairs (seller answers in 5 business days) or terminate |
| Low appraisal | Renegotiate or cancel with a copy of the appraisal by the deadline | Proceed, renegotiate for 3 business days, or terminate |
| Loan application | Negotiated business days | 5 business days |
| HOA resale package | Seller requests in 2 business days; 15-day non-delivery exit; 5 calendar days to cancel | Seller orders in 5 days; 5 days to review and cancel |
| Seller disclosure form | Delivered within 5 calendar days of acceptance | Delivered at acceptance; 4 business days to acknowledge or terminate |
| If the buyer defaults | Seller's sole legal recourse is keeping the deposit | Buyer initials liquidated damages or the seller's actual damages |
Two differences deserve emphasis. The refund language matters: on the Reno form, the refund is the deposit "less BUYER incurred expenses," while the Las Vegas form promises a whole refund on a proper cancellation. And the default clause changes the worst case. According to Section 19(C) of the Las Vegas form, if the buyer defaults, the seller's sole legal recourse is to keep the deposit as liquidated damages. On the Reno form, the buyer initials one of two options, and the second lets the seller pursue actual damages, which have no ceiling. Read that page before you initial it. Our Reno and Las Vegas teams work on both forms.
What Happens If a Contingency Is Not Met Before Closing?
This is the question behind a lot of searches, often phrased the way a homebuying quiz puts it: if a settlement contingency in your purchase offer is not met before closing, can the sale be canceled and can you get your earnest money back? The short answer is yes, with two conditions that decide everything. You must exercise the contingency the way the contract says, in writing, and you must do it before that contingency's own deadline, which is usually well before the closing date. According to the CFPB's key terms, earnest money is returned when the contract is terminated for a permissible reason; a contingency that has not expired is exactly that.
The mechanics in Nevada are precise. On the Las Vegas form, a cancellation notice goes to the seller's agent, and under Section 25(B) it must be delivered to escrow at the same time; under Section 18, a properly cancelled agreement entitles the buyer to a whole refund through cancellation instructions both parties sign. According to NRS 645A.175, at close of escrow, or on the scheduled closing date if escrow has not closed, unless the escrow agreement provides otherwise, each party must sign the documents needed to release the escrowed money, and a party may refuse only if a good-faith dispute exists over that money. If a party refuses for 30 days after the escrow holder's written request, the injured party can collect actual damages of $100 up to 1 percent of the purchase price, the money not held for a good-faith dispute, and attorney's fees.
If the deadline has already passed, the answer flips. The contingency is deemed waived, and walking away becomes a default. Under Section 19(C) of the Las Vegas form, the seller's sole legal recourse is to keep the deposit; on the $432,250 median Las Vegas closing in the 90 days ending September 20, 2026, a 1 percent deposit is $4,323 and a 3 percent deposit is $12,968, and at Reno's $590,000 median the same range runs $5,900 to $17,700. Section 19(A) requires mediation before a lawsuit to enforce the agreement.
Deadlines can move, but only in writing. Section 28 of the Las Vegas form makes time of the essence and requires any change to be in writing and signed by each party; the Reno form says the agreement may only be modified in writing, signed and dated by the parties. Ask for an extension before the deadline, with a specific new date and a reason. Nationally, according to NAR's August 2026 index, 7 percent of contracts were terminated in the last three months and 14 percent had delayed settlements, so extensions and cancellations are routine when they are handled on time.
Do New-Construction Contracts Carry the Same Contingencies?
Usually not. When you buy from a builder, you sign the builder's contract, written by the builder's lawyers, not the REALTORS forms above, and the due diligence, appraisal and loan protections may be different, narrower or absent. According to the CFPB, a builder may ask for an upfront deposit, and you should ask under what conditions it can be returned before you commit. In our experience, option and upgrade money is often a separate deposit with its own rules, so get every refund condition in writing.
The state-law protections are narrower than many buyers assume, and one widely repeated claim is wrong. Nevada's land-sales law, NRS 119, gives buyers of lots in a subdivision a five-day cancellation right under NRS 119.182, but NRS 119.120(4) exempts a sale by a person who owns the land and is licensed in Nevada to construct residential buildings, where the sale includes a residential building; subsection 3 separately exempts sales to licensed builders, and the exemption applies upon notification to the Real Estate Division. So NRS 119 gives no general five-day right to cancel a new home bought from a licensed homebuilder. In a common-interest community, a different five-day right often does apply. According to NRS 116.4102, any declarant or dealer (NRS 116.033 defines a dealer as a person in the business of selling units for his or her own account) who offers a unit must deliver a public offering statement, unless an exemption in NRS 116.4101 applies, and NRS 116.4108 then lets the buyer cancel until midnight of the fifth calendar day after signing if the buyer has not personally inspected the unit. That is common with to-be-built homes, because touring a model is not inspecting your unit.
Two new-home rules do help buyers. Under NRS 113.130, the standard seller disclosure form is not required on the first sale of a home built by a licensed contractor, but NRS 113.135 requires the seller, on signing with the first buyer of a new home, to provide copies of Nevada's construction-defect statutes and to notify the buyer of any soil report for the home or subdivision. If you ask in writing within five days of signing, the seller must provide the reports within five days, and you may rescind within 20 days after receiving them. Under NRS 113.135(3) you can waive that right in a signed writing, so check whether the builder's contract contains one. Browse current builder inventory on our new construction page, and use a pre-drywall inspection to replace the inspection contingency you may not have.
When Does Waiving a Contingency Actually Make Sense?
In competitive segments, waivers are how offers stand out, and NAR's August 2026 index shows how common they are nationally: 20 percent of buyers waived the inspection contingency and 22 percent waived the appraisal contingency. The difference between a calculated waiver and a reckless one is whether you can absorb the risk you are accepting. The matrix below is how I walk buyers through it.
| Contingency | Calculated version | Reckless version |
|---|---|---|
| Due diligence | Keep the period short but real, inspect on day one, and limit requests to material items | Check 'is not' on the due diligence condition for a 30-year-old home you never inspected |
| Appraisal | Agree in writing to cover a low appraisal up to a dollar amount your savings can absorb | Waive it entirely on a stretch budget |
| Loan | Shorten it only after underwriting has reviewed your full file | Waive it on a preapproval letter alone |
| HOA resale package | Cannot be waived (NRS 116.1104 bars waiving Chapter 116 rights); read the package inside the five days | Let the five days lapse unread |
| Sale of your home | Sell first or line up bridge financing with your lender | Promise to close without a plan for your current home |
The pattern in every row is the same: the calculated version keeps the information and caps the risk, and the reckless version gives up both. A short due diligence period with an inspector booked for the first morning still tells you about the roof. A capped appraisal-gap promise still bounds your exposure at a number you chose in advance. Our bidding-war playbook shows how appraisal-gap language is written, and across the 9,600+ closings we've represented, the buyers who waived well were the ones who decided their maximum exposure before the offer went in, not during the counteroffer.
How Can Our Team Keep Your Contingencies Working for You?
Contingencies are where representation pays for itself: deadlines that are real, inspections booked before the ink dries, resale packages read inside the five days, and cancellation notices delivered the way the contract requires, to the right people, before the clock runs out. Nevada Real Estate Group is the #1 real estate team in Nevada, with 9,600+ closings, $4.85B+ in volume and 150+ agents statewide, including 789 homes and $361.5M+ in 2025. Our agents write on both the Las Vegas form and the Reno form, which is how we know which blanks sellers in each market tend to accept and which deadlines lenders can actually meet.
Before you write an offer, we will help you choose each contingency period based on your inspector's and lender's real schedules, decide in advance what you would do with a low appraisal, and set a single calendar for every date in the contract. If you are selling a current home too, we will sequence the two transactions so a sale-of-home contingency is a choice, not a necessity. Our buyer resources walk through the full timeline, and the market report shows what homes are closing for in your target area.
Ready to write an offer with every protection intact? Call our Las Vegas team at (702) 637-1759 or our Northern Nevada team at (775) 277-2120, or contact us here, and we will review the contract terms with you before you sign, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a settlement contingency is not met before closing, can you get your earnest money back?
Generally yes. If a contingency in your contract is not satisfied, you can cancel and recover your earnest money, as long as you give written notice the way the contract requires and before that contingency's deadline. On the Las Vegas form, a proper cancellation entitles you to a whole refund; on the Reno form, the refund is less buyer-incurred expenses. If the deadline passes first, the contingency is deemed waived, and walking away becomes a default that can cost you the deposit.
What are the standard contingencies in a Nevada home purchase?
The core three are due diligence, which covers inspections and condition; appraisal, which covers a low valuation; and loan, which covers financing that fails. Nevada adds statutory rights on top: five calendar days to cancel after receiving an HOA resale package under NRS 116.4109, and rescission rights tied to the seller's disclosure form under NRS 113.150. Situational deals add a sale-of-home contingency, title objections, and well or septic inspections on rural property.
How long is the due diligence period in Nevada?
There is no statutory length. The Las Vegas form leaves the number of calendar days blank in Section 8 for the parties to negotiate, and the Reno form leaves the inspection period blank too. The right length is the one your inspectors can actually meet, because on both forms an inspection not completed by the deadline is waived. Book inspectors the day your offer is accepted and leave yourself days, not hours, to decide.
What is Nevada's five-day HOA cancellation right?
Under NRS 116.4109, a buyer in a common-interest community must receive a resale package that includes the governing documents, budget, reserve summary, fees and any pending lawsuits. The buyer may then cancel by written notice until midnight of the fifth calendar day after receiving it, without penalty and with all payments refunded promptly. On the Las Vegas form, if the package has not arrived within 15 calendar days of acceptance, the buyer may also cancel.
Can I back out of a new-build contract within five days in Nevada?
It depends on the community. NRS 119's five-day right does not reach a licensed homebuilder selling a house on its own land, under NRS 119.120(4). But in an HOA community, NRS 116.4102 requires a declarant or dealer offering a unit to deliver a public offering statement, and NRS 116.4108 then gives five calendar days after signing if you have not personally inspected the unit, which is common with to-be-built homes. NRS 113.135 also lets the first buyer rescind within 20 days after receiving requested soil reports, unless waived in a signed writing.
What happens if the house appraises low in Nevada?
With the appraisal contingency alive, you can renegotiate or cancel. On the Las Vegas form, you give written notice with a copy of the appraisal before the deadline and receive a whole refund if you cancel. On the Reno form, you may proceed, renegotiate for three business days, or terminate. FHA and VA buyers have a federal escape clause. If you waived the contingency, the gap between price and value is yours to cover in cash.
Do I get my earnest money back if my loan is denied?
Yes, if the loan contingency is still in effect and you cancel in writing before its deadline. On the Las Vegas form, Section 3(C) gives a whole refund on a timely cancellation, and on the Reno form the refund is less buyer-incurred expenses. After you remove or waive the loan contingency, a denial no longer protects the deposit, which is why the removal date should come after underwriting has reviewed your full file.
Which Sources Inform This Nevada Contingency Guide?
Contract terms are read directly from the two standard forms on September 27, 2026 and quoted by section or heading; your signed agreement, including any counteroffers and addenda, governs your transaction. Statutes were read at the Nevada Legislature's site on the same date. Median prices and deposit examples come from MLS data pulled through Repliers on September 21, 2026, covering closings in the 90 days ending September 20, 2026, as published in our earnest-money guide; that window runs into the last 40 days, when recent closings are still posting, so treat the medians as the reliable figure. They are not official Las Vegas REALTORS or Sierra Nevada REALTORS statistics. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Las Vegas REALTORS Residential Purchase Agreement, Rev. 10/24: Sections 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 25, 27 and 28
- Sierra Nevada REALTORS Residential Offer and Acceptance Agreement, SNR 01/23: deposit, contingency, disclosure, title and default terms
- NRS Chapter 116, including NRS 116.033, 116.1104, 116.4101, 116.4102, 116.4108 and 116.4109: resale package contents, five-day cancellation, offering-statement right and non-waiver
- NRS Chapter 113, including NRS 113.130, 113.135, 113.140 and 113.150: seller disclosures, new-home soil reports and rescission
- NRS Chapter 119, including NRS 119.120 and 119.182: subdivision cancellation right and builder exemptions
- NRS Chapter 645A, including NRS 645A.175: release of escrowed money and damages for refusing to sign
- Nevada Real Estate Division, Seller's Real Property Disclosure Form: the state form, revised June 1, 2023
- CFPB, find the right home: financing and inspection contingencies and builder deposits
- CFPB, schedule a home inspection: cancelling on an inspection contingency
- CFPB, mortgage key terms: earnest money returned on a permissible termination
- CFPB, appraisal below the sale price: negotiating or cancelling on a low appraisal
- CFPB, Regulation B section 1002.14: your right to a copy of the appraisal
- National Association of REALTORS, August 2026 REALTORS Confidence Index (PDF, September 10, 2026): waiver, termination and settlement-delay rates
This article is general information, not legal advice. Contract forms are revised periodically; check the revision on your own agreement. Chris Nevada, Nevada Real Estate Group, brokered by LPT Realty, Nevada license S.181401. Las Vegas (702) 637-1759, Reno (775) 277-2120. Equal Housing Opportunity.
