From Offer to Keys: A Plain Guide to the L.A. Escrow Timeline

Once your offer is accepted, a California home purchase moves through a defined sequence that usually takes about thirty to forty-five days. We open escrow, work through inspections and your loan, clear the title, and finally record the sale — at which point the house is yours and the keys change hands. None of it is mysterious once you see the order, and that order is what this guide lays out.

The single most useful thing we can give a first-time buyer is the shape of the whole process before it begins. Anxiety in a transaction almost always comes from not knowing what happens next. So here is what to expect, in order, with each term defined the moment it appears.

The accepted offer

It begins when the seller signs the purchase agreement — the contract that sets the price, the terms, and the timeline you have both agreed to. The day that contract is fully signed by everyone is the day the clock starts. Most of the deadlines that follow are counted in days from that point, so it is worth marking on a calendar.

With the signed contract in hand, the next step is to open escrow. That is where the machinery of the sale actually begins.

Opening escrow

Escrow is simply a neutral third party — a licensed escrow holder — who sits between buyer and seller and holds everything of value until the deal is done. Your deposit, the loan funds, the signed documents, and eventually the deed all pass through escrow. The escrow holder works for the transaction itself, not for either side, and releases nothing until every agreed condition has been met.

In Los Angeles, opening escrow is largely a matter of paperwork and timing. The escrow holder receives the signed contract, assigns the file a number, and sends you instructions and a few forms to complete. You will not need to do much in the first day or two beyond responding promptly.

The earnest money deposit

Shortly after escrow opens, you will wire your earnest money deposit — a good-faith sum, often around one to three percent of the purchase price, that shows the seller you are serious. The deposit does not go to the seller. It goes into escrow, where the neutral holder keeps it safe and later credits it toward what you owe at closing.

A note of caution we give every buyer: wire fraud is real, and escrow wiring instructions are a target for it. Before you send a single dollar, call the escrow office at a number you have independently confirmed and verify the account details by voice. We would rather you double-check than risk it.

The contingency period

Now comes the heart of the timeline, and the part most worth understanding. A contingency is a condition that must be satisfied before you are obligated to complete the purchase — a built-in checkpoint that protects you. While a contingency is in place, you generally retain the right to cancel and recover your deposit if something genuinely does not work out. Each one has its own deadline.

There are typically three to track, and we will walk through them one at a time, in the order they tend to matter.

The inspection contingency

First, you have the right to inspect the property. You hire a licensed home inspector — and, for the houses we represent, often a roofer, a structural engineer, or a sewer specialist as well — to examine the condition of what you are buying. The inspection contingency is the window during which you can do this and respond to what you find.

If the inspections surface something significant, you have options: you can ask the seller to make repairs, request a credit toward the price, renegotiate, or, if the problem is serious enough, cancel within your window and recover your deposit. The point of the inspection contingency is that you commit to the house with your eyes open, not on faith.

The appraisal contingency

If you are financing the purchase, your lender will order an appraisal — an independent professional's estimate of the home's market value. The lender does this to confirm the house is worth what it is lending against. The appraisal contingency protects you if that value comes in below your agreed price.

When an appraisal comes in low, it is not the end of the road. You can renegotiate the price, cover the gap between the appraisal and the price in cash, or, within your contingency window, step away. Knowing this in advance turns a tense phone call into a decision you are prepared to make calmly.

The loan contingency

The third checkpoint is your financing. The loan contingency protects you while your lender completes its underwriting — the detailed review of your finances and the property before final approval. Until your loan is formally approved, this contingency gives you a way out if the financing falls through for reasons outside your control.

The best thing you can do here is be responsive. Lenders will ask for documents, sometimes more than once, and the timeline moves at the speed of your replies. A buyer who answers the same day keeps the loan contingency from becoming the bottleneck of the whole transaction.

Disclosures and the title search

Alongside the contingencies, two streams of paperwork run in the background. The first is disclosures — the documents in which the seller tells you, in writing, what they know about the property's condition and history. California asks sellers to be thorough, and reading these carefully is part of buying with your eyes open.

The second is the title search. Title is the legal record of ownership of the property. A title company researches that record to confirm the seller actually owns what they are selling and that there are no surprises — unpaid debts secured against the house, or claims from a prior owner — attached to it. You will typically buy title insurance, a one-time policy that protects you if a defect in that record surfaces later. Escrow coordinates all of this so it is resolved before you close.

Removing contingencies

As each contingency is satisfied, you remove it — a formal step, in writing, confirming that you are comfortable proceeding on that point. Removing your contingencies is a meaningful moment, because once they are gone your deposit is generally at risk if you walk away without cause. We never rush a buyer to this step; we make sure you have the answers you need first.

When the last contingency is removed, the transaction shifts gears. The investigating is done, and the closing is the only thing left ahead.

Signing and funding

Near the end, you will sign your loan documents, usually with a notary, and bring in the rest of your funds — your down payment and closing costs, wired to escrow. Your lender then funds the loan, sending the balance of the purchase price into escrow. At this stage escrow holds everything required to complete the sale: your money, the lender's money, and the seller's signed deed.

This is also when escrow prepares the final accounting, a line-by-line statement showing exactly where every dollar goes. You will see your deposit credited back, your loan applied, and the costs itemized. Read it; we will read it with you.

Recording, and the keys

The last step is recording. Escrow sends the deed — the document that transfers ownership to you — to the Los Angeles County Recorder, where the change of ownership is entered into the public record. The moment the sale records, the house is legally yours. In practice this usually happens in the morning, and keys are released to you that same day, often by early afternoon.

That is the whole arc: accepted offer, open escrow, deposit, inspections, appraisal, loan, disclosures and title, contingency removal, signing, funding, and recording. Each step has a name and a place in the order, and the calm we promise comes from knowing where you are on the line at any given moment.

Common questions

How long does escrow take in Los Angeles?

A typical financed purchase runs about thirty to forty-five days from accepted offer to recorded sale, and an all-cash purchase can move faster, sometimes in two to three weeks, because there is no loan to underwrite. The agreed timeline lives in your purchase contract, and the pace depends mostly on how quickly the loan and the contingencies are worked through. Responding promptly to every request is the surest way to keep it on schedule.

Can I get my deposit back if the deal falls apart?

Generally yes, as long as you cancel for a reason covered by a contingency that is still in place and within its deadline — a failed inspection, a low appraisal, or financing that did not come through. The earnest money sits in escrow precisely so a neutral party governs its return. Once you have removed your contingencies, however, walking away without cause usually puts that deposit at risk, which is why we treat contingency removal as a deliberate step.

What is the difference between the deposit and the down payment?

The earnest money deposit is the good-faith sum you place into escrow early, soon after your offer is accepted, to show you are serious. The down payment is the larger share of the purchase price you pay from your own funds at closing, with your loan covering the rest. The deposit is not separate money lost along the way — it is credited toward what you owe, so it becomes part of your down payment at the end.