When a California deal changes

Where the clocks actually start

Almost every deadline in a California residential deal is measured from the date of acceptance, not from the closing date. That single fact explains most of the arguments below, because it means moving the closing changes none of them.

Two consequences follow, and between them they account for a large share of the deals that go wrong quietly. A closing-date extension does not extend a single contingency unless it says so, so a buyer who asked for two more weeks may have bought no additional protection at all. And because nothing expires on its own, a seller watching a calendar for a deadline to pass is waiting for an event that will never arrive without a signature.

The five changes that come up most

A repair credit, a closing-date extension, a price reduction, a contingency removal, a final verification. One page each, written for both sides of the deal.

• Repair credits after a California inspectionWhat a California seller must do after a repair request, what they can ignore, and which document actually changes the contract.
• Extending a California closing dateHow a California close of escrow is moved, and the trap that catches most extensions: the contingency clocks do not move with it.
• Reducing the price mid-escrow in CaliforniaRenegotiating a California price mid-escrow, why the appraisal contingency runs on its own clock, and what a change does to the loan.
• Removing contingencies in CaliforniaCalifornia removes contingencies actively, by signed form. A deadline expiring does not remove one — which surprises nearly everybody.
• The final walkthrough in CaliforniaCalifornia’s final walkthrough happens within five days of closing and is expressly not a contingency. What that means when it finds a problem.

When something has already gone wrong

The questions agents actually type at the moment a deal turns — the seller said no, the appraisal came in low, the deadline went by, the deposit is in dispute.

• When a California seller refuses to repair anythingA California seller can decline a repair request, or ignore it. What that leaves the buyer, and what the seller still owes regardless.
• Backing out after removing contingenciesWhat a California buyer is actually exposed to after signing a contingency removal, and the 3% rule in Civil Code § 1675 that limits what a seller may keep.
• Where the deposit goes when a deal endsWho gets the earnest money when a California transaction ends, why escrow will not simply hand it over, and the statutory rule that decides the argument.
• When a California appraisal comes in lowWho absorbs the gap when a California appraisal comes in under the price, and the timing detail that decides whether there is a conversation.
• When a California contingency deadline passesA passing deadline does not remove a California contingency or allow cancellation. What a seller has to deliver first, and how long it takes.
• How far a closing date can moveNo law caps how far a California closing can move — only what both sides will sign. The four things that actually constrain an extension.
• Who has to sign a change to the contractEveryone bound by the original contract signs a change to it. Where that catches California deals: trusts, estates, co-owners, and spouses.

The forms, and what each one does not do

What each C.A.R. form is for, when it comes up, and its limits. Named and explained, never reproduced.

• C.A.R. Form ADM — the AddendumWhat the C.A.R. Addendum form is used for, how it differs from an Amendment, and why it is the form most reached for at the offer stage.
• C.A.R. Form AEA — the AmendmentThe C.A.R. Amendment form changes a binding contract — and revokes itself if it is not accepted within three days. What that means in practice.
• C.A.R. Form RR — Request for RepairWhat the C.A.R. Request for Repair does, and the paragraph of the purchase agreement saying the seller need not answer it at all.
• C.A.R. Form RRRR — the seller responseHow a California seller answers a repair request, why a partial agreement is not an agreement, and what turns a response into a change to the contract.
• C.A.R. Form CR — Contingency RemovalThe only thing that removes a contingency in California. Why a deadline passing does nothing, and what signing this form gives up.
• C.A.R. Form NBP — Notice to Buyer to PerformThe form a California seller has to deliver before a stalled transaction can be ended, how long it gives the buyer, and when the clock starts.
• C.A.R. Form VP — Verification of Property ConditionThe form behind the California final walkthrough. What the buyer is verifying, when it happens, and why it gives no route out of the contract.
• C.A.R. Form CCA — ending the contractThe form that ends a California purchase agreement, and why ending the contract is a separate question from who receives the deposit.