What Happens After You Accept an Offer in Nevada, Week by Week

The offer comes in, you say yes, and then there is a quiet moment where most sellers realize they have no idea what happens next. Here it is, in order, the way it usually runs in the Las Vegas valley.

Once both sides have signed, the contract goes to an escrow company, which in Nevada is usually part of a title company. The buyer sends their earnest money there. Escrow holds the money and the paperwork and, at the end, moves everything at once.

The contract sets a series of deadlines, and they run on calendar days from the day the last signature landed. The important one for you right now is the buyer’s due diligence period. That is their window to inspect, review the disclosures, read the HOA package, and decide whether they are going forward. I keep every one of those dates on a calendar and you will hear about each one before it arrives.

Your job in the first few days is the Seller’s Real Property Disclosure, if it was not done before listing. Fill it out carefully. A problem you disclose is a fact. A problem you did not disclose that shows up later is a fight.

The buyer’s inspector comes through, usually with the buyer, for a couple of hours. Leave, the same as a showing. Turn on all utilities, clear the water heater and the electrical panel and the AC unit so they can get to them, and leave the pool equipment accessible.

A few days later the buyer responds with one of three things: a request that you repair specific items, a request for a credit at closing so they can handle it themselves, or nothing. Then we negotiate that, the same way we negotiated the price. You are never obligated to agree to everything. The question is always what the house will do with the next buyer if this one walks.

If you read my piece on what an inspection turns up here, none of the report will be news. That is the point of dealing with it before listing.

If the buyer has a loan, their lender orders an appraisal. An appraiser comes through, measures, photographs, and compares your house to recent nearby sales. If the number comes in at or above the price, nobody mentions it again. If it comes in low, there are a handful of ways it gets resolved, and I have a separate piece on exactly that. Most of the time it is fine. When it is not, you will know within a day and we will have options.

If you are in an association, Nevada requires you to provide the buyer with the resale package: the rules, the financials, the reserve study, any violations. Ordering it is your side of the deal, and it takes time, so I order it the day we go under contract. The buyer gets a short window to read it and can cancel if they do not like what is in it.

At the same time, the buyer’s lender is working through the loan. That is the longest single piece of the timeline and the one neither of us controls. What we do control is answering anything the lender asks quickly. When the loan is fully approved, escrow is told, and closing gets scheduled.

A few days before closing, the buyer walks through the house one last time to confirm it is in the condition they agreed to and that any repairs were done. Have the receipts ready.

Then you sign. In Nevada that usually happens at the title company, or with a mobile notary who comes to you, a day or two before the closing date. You do not sign at the same table as the buyer. The buyer signs separately, often the same day or the day after.

The deal actually closes when the county records the deed and escrow releases the money, which is usually the day after everyone has signed and the lender has funded. That is closing day. Your proceeds go out by wire, the buyer gets keys, and the house is theirs.

If you negotiated a rent-back to stay a few weeks, this is where it starts. If not, you are out before the walkthrough.

Lender paperwork. Something the appraiser flags. A repair negotiation that drags. An HOA package that arrives late because it was ordered late. A buyer whose own house has to close first.

Most of those are handled by the same two things: dates on a calendar that somebody is watching, and information that moves the same day it is asked for. That is the job, and you will hear from me at every step without having to ask.

Call 702-881-6562 or email JArendt658@gmail.com. Tell me where you are in it.

I will walk you through what your specific contract says, which dates matter, and what you need to do this week. If you are listing soon and want the whole thing laid out before the first offer arrives, that is a better time to call, and I will do the same.

John Arendt, Realtor, has sold homes across the Las Vegas valley for 20 years, in Henderson, Summerlin, Southern Highlands, Anthem, Boulder City and North Las Vegas.

This article is general information about the sale process in Nevada, not legal advice. Your contract sets your dates and terms. Read it, and ask your agent or an attorney about anything you do not understand.