From Contract to Keys: Your Las Vegas Escrow Guide, Step by Step
Updated: 2 days ago
UNDER CONTRACT · THE SNOW GROUP
Your offer was accepted. Congratulations! Now we turn a signed contract into a closed sale, and I’m with you every step. Most Las Vegas escrows run about 30 to 60 days. Here’s exactly what happens between “we’re in contract” and “here are your keys,” what I need from you along the way, and the few mistakes that can quietly derail a closing.
Questions at any step? Call or text Antonio: 702-913-8442
Your escrow at a glance
Typical timing for a financed resale home. Your contract’s dates are the ones that count, and I’ll send you yours the day we’re accepted.
When | What happens | Your move |
Day 0 | Acceptance. Every signature is in and delivered, so the clock starts. | Save my number and watch for the escrow opening email. |
Days 1–3 | Escrow opens and your earnest money is due. | Call escrow at a number you verify yourself before you wire. |
Days 1–10 | Inspections and due diligence. | Book the inspection right away. I’ll meet you there. |
Days 3–15 | Disclosures, HOA documents and the title report arrive. | Read everything, then sign and return the seller’s disclosure. The HOA package has a 5-day review clock. |
Days 7–21 | Appraisal for your lender. | Nothing to sign. I’ll meet the appraiser with comps if needed. |
Days 14–30 | Underwriting and loan approval. | Answer lender requests the same day. Lock in insurance. |
3 days before closing | Closing Disclosure with your final numbers. | Compare it with your Loan Estimate and ask questions. |
Final days | Walk-through and signing with escrow. | Bring your photo ID. Verify wiring by phone. |
Closing day | Funding, recording and keys. | Celebrate. Then change the locks. |
Step 01 · Celebrate, then lock in the dates
In Nevada, your contract counts its deadlines from Acceptance, the date every signature is in and delivered to both sides. From that moment, the inspection, HOA, appraisal and loan deadlines are real dates on a calendar.
Your next move: Put the key dates I send you in your phone calendar with reminders.
How I help: I track every deadline with escrow, your lender and the other agent, and I’ll give you a heads-up before each one.
Step 02 · Open escrow and send your earnest money safely
Escrow is the neutral third party that holds the money and documents until closing. In Las Vegas, your escrow officer usually works at the title company that insures your title. Your earnest money deposit (EMD) goes to escrow within the days your contract allows, often 1 to 3 business days, and it’s credited back to you at closing.
Wire fraud warning: Before you send a single dollar, call your escrow officer at a phone number you look up yourself, not one from an email, and confirm the wiring instructions. Legitimate escrow companies don’t change wiring instructions by email. If anything feels off, stop and call me.
Your next move: Send your earnest money on time and forward me the receipt.
How I help: I send the signed contract to escrow and your lender and confirm your deposit lands.
Step 03 · Get your lender moving
Your lender needs the signed contract right away; many contracts require you to apply within a business day or two. Expect document requests: pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns and explanations of any deposits. Ask your lender when to lock your rate.
Your next move: Answer every lender request within 24 hours, and don’t change anything about your money or credit (see the list below).
How I help: I stay in touch with your lender so the appraisal and approval stay on schedule.
Step 04 · Inspections and due diligence
This is your window to learn everything about the home. Book a licensed home inspector as soon as we’re accepted. In Las Vegas I look hard at the A/C, the roof (tile roofs can hide aging underlayment), the pool and spa equipment, the water heater, stucco cracks and drainage. Add a sewer scope, roof or termite inspection when the home calls for it.
You’ll also review the Seller’s Real Property Disclosure (more on it in the next step) and any reports. Before the due diligence deadline, you decide: move forward, ask for repairs or credits, or cancel as your contract allows.
Your next move: Read the report and send me your top concerns within a day.
How I help: I schedule access, walk the home with you, and negotiate the repairs or credits you want.
Step 05 · The Seller’s Real Property Disclosure (SRPD)
On most resale homes, Nevada law (NRS 113) requires the seller to fill out the Seller’s Real Property Disclosure and give it to you at least 10 days before closing. It’s the seller telling you, in writing, what they know about the home’s condition:
Systems and appliances: electrical, plumbing, sewer, heating and cooling, the water heater, sprinklers and built-in appliances.
Structure, roof and land: water damage, settling or drainage problems, and work done without permits.
Pool or spa, pests and mold, plus environmental items like asbestos or radon.
The HOA: fees, assessments, liens or lawsuits.
Everything else: solar panels (owned, leased or financed), shared walls and fences, the water source and anything else that affects the home’s value or use.
Every “yes” comes with the seller’s explanation. The form is not a warranty, and it doesn’t replace your inspection: the seller only has to disclose what they know about, which is exactly why we still inspect. A few sales are exempt, like foreclosures, some estate and trust sales and a builder’s first sale, and I’ll tell you up front if yours is one.
Here’s how it works with me:
We wait for the seller’s form. The seller’s agent sends it once we’re in contract, and I watch the deadline.
I forward it to you the day it arrives.
You read it and sign. Your signature confirms you received it. It doesn’t mean you agree with every answer, and it doesn’t waive your inspection.
I send it back to the seller’s agent with your signature, and it goes in your file.
If the seller learns about a new problem before closing, or a known one gets worse, they have to tell you in writing. When a defect is disclosed and your contract doesn’t cap the repair cost, Nevada law (NRS 113.150) lets you close and accept it, or cancel with a written, notarized notice delivered to escrow within 4 working days. That clock is short, so call me the same day.
Your next move: When I forward the SRPD, read every answer, send me your questions, then sign it and send it back.
How I help: I watch for the form, flag anything that deserves a closer look at the inspection, and return your signed copy to the seller’s agent.
Step 06 · Your HOA resale package and the title report
If the home is in an HOA (Nevada law calls it a common-interest community), the seller has to give you the HOA’s resale package under NRS 116.4109. Think of it as the HOA’s rulebook and financial report card for the community you’re buying into. On the standard Las Vegas purchase agreement, the seller pays for it, orders it within 2 business days of acceptance, and gets it to you within 1 business day of receiving it from the HOA.
What’s inside the resale package:
The CC&Rs, bylaws and rules: what you can and can’t do with your home.
The money: current dues, any special assessments, and anything the seller still owes the HOA.
The HOA’s financial health: its budget and financial statement, including the reserves set aside for big repairs.
Lawsuits: any pending legal action involving the HOA.
Fees tied to the sale: what the HOA charges when the home changes hands.
Your review clock: you can cancel without penalty until midnight of the 5th calendar day after you receive it, and your earnest money comes back to you. If the package hasn’t arrived within 15 calendar days of acceptance, you can also cancel without penalty. If you don’t cancel in writing in time, the package is considered approved. This clock runs separately from your due diligence period, so it can still be open after due diligence ends.
What we look for together: the dues and what they cover, the HOA fees due at closing (your contract says who pays the capital contribution and transfer fees), rules on parking, RVs, pets, rentals and exterior changes, healthy reserves, and no surprise special assessments or lawsuits.
The title report: escrow also sends a preliminary title report showing liens, easements and CC&Rs that need to be cleared or understood.
Your next move: Read the resale package the day it arrives and send me anything that concerns you, well before the 5-day clock runs out.
How I help: I forward the package the moment it lands, go through it with you, and flag anything unusual in it or the title report so it’s handled before closing.
Step 07 · The appraisal
Your lender orders an appraisal to confirm the home’s value. FHA and VA appraisals also check the home against the program’s property standards, so safety items can come up. If the value comes in low, we have options: renegotiate, cover the gap, challenge it with better comps, or cancel within your appraisal contingency.
Your next move: Nothing to sign. Just keep the appraisal deadline on your radar.
How I help: When it helps, I meet the appraiser with recent sales and the home’s upgrades.
Step 08 · Insurance and utilities
Shop homeowners insurance early; your lender needs proof of coverage before closing. Then line up utilities for closing day: NV Energy (power), Southwest Gas (gas), water (the City of Henderson in Henderson; most of Las Vegas is the Las Vegas Valley Water District), Republic Services (trash) and internet.
Your next move: Get two or three insurance quotes and send the one you choose to your lender.
How I help: I’ll share the providers my clients like.
Step 09 · Loan approval and “clear to close”
Underwriting reviews your income, assets, credit and the appraisal, then issues conditions. Once those are cleared, you get final approval and a clear to close. Your contract has a loan contingency deadline, so we watch this one closely.
Your next move: Send anything underwriting asks for the same day.
How I help: I keep escrow, the lender and the other agent in sync so closing day doesn’t move.
Step 10 · Closing Disclosure and signing
At least three business days before closing, your lender sends your Closing Disclosure with your final loan terms and cash to close. Compare it with your Loan Estimate. Then you sign your closing documents with escrow, in the office or with a mobile notary, and send your funds exactly as escrow instructs.
Your next move: Bring a government-issued photo ID, and verify the wiring instructions by phone before you wire.
How I help: I review the numbers with you and I’m there at the signing.
Step 11 · Final walk-through
In the last few days before closing, we walk the home together. We check that agreed repairs are done (with receipts), the systems and appliances work, and the home is in the condition you bought it.
Your next move: Test the faucets, A/C, appliances, garage door openers and irrigation.
How I help: If something’s off, I get it resolved before you close.
Step 12 · Closing day: recording and keys
In Nevada, closing happens when your lender funds and the deed records with the Clark County Recorder in your name. Signing alone doesn’t mean you can move in. Once escrow confirms recording, the keys are yours, usually the same day.
Your next move: Keep your moving plans flexible until I call you with the words “you’re recorded.”
How I help: I hand you the keys, remotes, gate codes and garage openers.
Step 13 · After the keys
Change or rekey the locks and reset garage and gate codes.
Watch your mail for the Clark County Assessor’s tax cap notice. Return it so your primary home gets the lower residential tax cap.
Consider a Declaration of Homestead. Recording one with the Clark County Recorder protects equity in your primary home under Nevada law.
Keep your closing package and home warranty details together in one place.
Don’t do these until you close
These are the mistakes I see derail closings. Until you have your keys, please don’t:
Open new credit. No new credit cards, car loans or furniture financing, even “0% for 12 months.”
Make big purchases on credit. The furniture and appliances can wait until after closing.
Change jobs or how you’re paid without talking to your lender first.
Move money around or make deposits you can’t document. Every large deposit needs a paper trail, and gift funds need a gift letter.
Co-sign for anyone.
Pay a bill late or close a credit card.
Let anyone pull your credit without checking with your lender.
Wire money based on an email. Always call escrow at a number you verify yourself.
Miss a deadline. Inspection, HOA, appraisal and loan dates are hard dates.
Go quiet. Answer your lender, escrow and me within 24 hours.
Book movers or give notice on your lease until your closing date is confirmed.
Buying new construction? Here’s what’s different
Builder purchases follow the builder’s contract, not the standard Las Vegas purchase agreement, so the steps shift a little:
Deadlines are the builder’s. Deposits, design-center selections and lender deadlines are set in their contract.
Incentives come with conditions. Closing-cost help and rate buydowns usually require the builder’s preferred lender and closing on time.
Walk the home while it’s built. If your home is under construction, a pre-drywall walk and an independent inspection are worth it.
The orientation is your punch list. About a week or two before closing, we walk the finished home and mark anything that needs fixing.
Know your warranty. Keep the warranty booklet and submit requests in writing. Pulte, for example, includes a 10-year limited structural warranty.
No SRPD on a builder’s first sale. Nevada exempts the first sale of a home built by a licensed contractor from the seller’s disclosure form, so the builder’s own disclosures, your inspections and the warranty do that job.
I’m with you at every walk, from the frame walk to orientation and closing day.
Quick answers
How long does escrow take in Las Vegas?
Usually 30 to 45 days for a financed resale, faster for cash, and longer for new construction that’s still being built. Your contract sets the closing date.
When do I get the keys?
After your lender funds and the deed records with Clark County, usually on closing day. Signing alone isn’t closing.
Can I back out after we’re in contract?
Only within your contingencies and their deadlines, like due diligence, HOA review, appraisal and loan approval, as written in your contract. After a deadline passes, your earnest money can be at risk, so talk to me before any deadline.
Is signing the seller’s disclosure the same as accepting the home’s condition?
No. Your signature only confirms you received and read it. It doesn’t waive your inspection, your due diligence or your rights under Nevada law.
Do I get my earnest money back?
At closing it’s credited toward your down payment and costs. If you cancel within a contingency the way your contract allows, it’s typically refunded.
What’s the difference between the inspection and the appraisal?
The inspector reports on the home’s condition for you. The appraiser gives your lender an opinion of value.
What do I bring to signing?
A government-issued photo ID and your funds, sent exactly as escrow instructs.
Ready for keys?
You bring the questions. I’ll keep everything moving, from the first inspection to the day you hold your keys.
There’s No Tour Like a Snow Tour.
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Helpful resources
Your lender explains the loan, rate, payment and lending charges. Escrow explains the settlement statement, deposits, payoffs and disbursements. I help confirm that the real estate terms, negotiated credits and agreed items are reflected correctly and coordinate questions among the parties.
Every transaction is different. Your signed contract, its addenda and applicable law set your actual deadlines; your lender, escrow officer, attorney or tax professional can answer questions in their areas. This guide is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice.
Antonio Snow · Snow Group · Coldwell Banker Premier Realty · Nevada License S.0187906 · Updated November 6, 2026.
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