A Californian who has bought a home knows the C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement. The deposit goes to escrow within three business days. Each contingency runs on its own clock. And if a buyer who planned to live in the home defaults, the seller can keep the deposit only if both sides initialed the liquidated damages clause, and keeping more than 3 percent of the price requires the seller to prove the amount is reasonable. A Las Vegas purchase uses a different contract, the Residential Purchase Agreement published by Las Vegas REALTORS. It covers the same ground in a different order, and most of the differences show up in one place: the earnest money.
Jimmy Nguyen is a California real estate attorney whose practice includes recovering deposits that escrow will not release, and a licensed Nevada broker who represents buyers in Las Vegas through Vegas VIP Me LLC. This is how he explains the Las Vegas contract to California clients before they make an offer. The paragraph numbers below are from the publicly available version of the Las Vegas REALTORS form (Rev. 10/24). Check the revision you are actually signing. For the market side of an out-of-state purchase, see Vegas VIP Me’s guide to buying a Las Vegas home from out of state.
The two contracts side by side
| Question | California (C.A.R. RPA) | Las Vegas (Las Vegas REALTORS RPA) |
|---|---|---|
| When the deposit is due | Within 3 business days after acceptance, to escrow | Within 1 business day after acceptance unless the parties write in a different number, to escrow or a broker’s trust account (§ 1(A)) |
| Buyer’s review period | Separate investigation, loan and appraisal contingencies, 17 days each unless changed | One due-diligence period, plus separate appraisal and loan deadlines; the number of days for each is written into the form (§§ 3, 8) |
| Cancelling during review | Under the terms of each contingency | During due diligence, if the results are unacceptable in the buyer’s sole discretion, with a full refund (§ 8) |
| Buyer defaults | Seller keeps the deposit only if both initialed; for an owner-occupied 1–4 unit home, more than 3% of the price is invalid unless the seller proves it reasonable (Civ. Code §§ 1675, 1677) | Seller may keep the deposit as its sole remedy; no separate initials and no percentage cap (§ 19(C)) |
| Deposit stuck in escrow | Refusing to sign a release for 30 days after a written demand, without a good-faith dispute: treble damages of $100 to $1,000, plus attorney’s fees (Civ. Code § 1057.3) | Refusing to sign for 30 days after the escrow holder’s written request, without a good-faith dispute: actual damages of $100 up to 1% of the price, plus attorney’s fees (NRS 645A.175) |
| Mediation | Required before suit; skipping it can cost the right to recover attorney’s fees | Required before legal action, except a buyer suing to close the sale; no fee penalty for skipping it (§ 19(A)) |
1. The deposit moves in one business day
Under the Las Vegas form, the earnest money is due within one business day after acceptance unless the parties write in a different number. Acceptance is when both sides have signed and the signed agreement and any counteroffers have been delivered to both parties. That is one day, not three. Have the funds ready, and the escrow officer’s wiring instructions confirmed by phone at a number you already have, before the offer goes out. A Nevada broker who receives a deposit check must deposit it by the end of the next banking day unless the purchase agreement says otherwise (NRS 645.630(1)(k)).
2. One due-diligence clock, and silence waives it
California splits a buyer’s protections into separate contingencies for the investigation, the loan and the appraisal, and each runs 17 days unless the parties change it. The Las Vegas form puts inspections, document review and the decision to go forward into one due-diligence period, and the number of days is whatever the parties write in. During that period the buyer may cancel if the results are unacceptable “in Buyer’s sole discretion” and receive a full refund of the earnest money.
The catch is how the period ends. A buyer who does not cancel in writing before it expires is deemed to have waived the due-diligence condition. After that, the deposit is at risk for everything the period was meant to cover. Calendar the deadline the day the offer is accepted, count calendar days, and send any cancellation in writing well before the last day.
3. The appraisal and loan periods are blanks too
If the home appraises low, the buyer may renegotiate or cancel by written notice, with a copy of the appraisal, within the agreed number of days and get the earnest money back. The loan contingency works the same way, and like the due-diligence period, it is deemed waived if the buyer lets the deadline pass without acting. The form is not contingent on the sale of the buyer’s California home unless a separate addendum is attached. If you need to sell first, say so in the offer.
4. If the buyer defaults, the deposit is the seller’s remedy, with no 3% cap
In California, a seller can keep a defaulting buyer’s deposit as liquidated damages only if both parties initialed that clause. For a home the buyer intended to occupy, an amount over 3 percent of the price is invalid unless the seller proves it reasonable (Civil Code §§ 1675 and 1677). Nevada has no equivalent statute. The Las Vegas form says that if the buyer defaults, the seller may keep the earnest money as liquidated damages as its sole legal recourse, with no separate initials and no percentage cap. Nevada courts generally enforce liquidated damages unless the party challenging them proves they are disproportionate to the actual damages (Mason v. Fakhimi, 109 Nev. 1153 (1993)).
The practical rule: in Las Vegas, the size of the deposit is the size of the risk. Put down what you are prepared to lose if you walk away after your deadlines pass.
5. Getting the deposit back when a deal falls apart
When a Las Vegas purchase is cancelled properly, the form calls for the refund to be made through cancellation escrow instructions signed by both sides. If the seller will not sign, Nevada has a statute that works much like California’s Civil Code § 1057.3. Under NRS 645A.175, a party may refuse to sign the release only if a good-faith dispute exists over the money. If a party refuses for 30 days after the escrow holder makes a written request, the other party may recover actual damages of at least $100 and up to 1 percent of the purchase price, the money not held for a good-faith dispute, and a reasonable attorney’s fee.
Two differences from California matter. First, the 30 days runs from the escrow holder’s written request, not from a demand letter you send, so ask the escrow officer to send that request as soon as the dispute starts. Second, the duty to sign is tied to the close of escrow, or the date escrow was scheduled to close, unless the escrow instructions say otherwise. Whether the statute reaches every title-company escrow in Clark County is less settled, which is one more reason to get the cancellation terms right in writing. If neither side will sign, the escrow holder may file an interpleader action, deposit the money with the court and step out (NRS 645A.177).
6. Mediation comes first, without California’s penalty
The Las Vegas form requires the parties to mediate before taking legal action, with a mediator they agree on and the cost split equally. A buyer suing to force the sale to close is exempt. The form has no arbitration clause, and unlike the C.A.R. contract it does not take away attorney’s fees from a party who skips mediation. A separate paragraph awards reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.
7. Two statutory exits that return the deposit
- The HOA resale package. For a home in an association, the buyer may cancel by written notice until midnight of the fifth calendar day after receiving the resale package, without penalty, and all payments must be refunded promptly (NRS 116.4109(2)). Under the Las Vegas form, if the package has not arrived within 15 calendar days after acceptance, the buyer may also cancel without penalty.
- A defect the seller discloses before closing. In most cases the buyer may rescind, but only in writing, notarized, and served within 4 working days after learning of the defect (NRS 113.150(2)–(3)). Line up a mobile notary in California before you need one. If the seller never served the required disclosure form at all, the buyer may rescind at any time before closing without penalty (NRS 113.150(1)). The Nevada and California disclosure comparison covers both rules.
8. What Jimmy does
On the Nevada side, Jimmy represents buyers as their broker through Vegas VIP Me LLC and reads the Las Vegas contract, its deadlines and its deposit terms before you sign. A deposit dispute on a California sale is a legal matter for this office, under its own engagement. For a deposit dispute in Nevada, you need a Nevada attorney. For how California deposit disputes work, see how to get your earnest money deposit back in California and earnest money deposit disputes.