What is the due diligence period in Utah real estate?
In Utah, the due diligence period is a negotiated window—most often 14 calendar days after your offer is accepted—written into Section 24 of the state's Real Estate Purchase Contract (REPC). During it, you can inspect the home, review disclosures and HOA documents, and advance your loan. If you cancel in writing before the deadline, your earnest money comes back to you in full, with no negotiation and no seller approval required. Miss that deadline, and the same deposit can become very hard to recover.
By David Lawson | June 19, 2026
Few things in a Utah home purchase carry as much weight as your due diligence deadline, and few are as misunderstood. It's one of the most common questions buyers across Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front are asking right now, especially first-time buyers seeing the REPC for the first time. So let's walk through exactly how it works, what's at stake, and the one mistake that turns a refundable deposit into the seller's money.
How the due diligence period works in Utah
When a seller accepts your offer, the clock starts. The REPC sets a Due Diligence Deadline under Section 24—a date you and the seller agreed to in the contract, typically landing around 14 days out, though it's fully negotiable. In a hot stretch you might offer a shorter window to strengthen your offer; in today's more balanced Wasatch Front market, where buyers have regained leverage, you often have room to ask for a little more time.
During this window, the home is effectively yours to investigate. You can:
- Order a home inspection (figure on $450–$600 for a standard single-family home, paid by you, taking two to four hours) and add specialty checks like radon, mold, or sewer scope.
- Review the Seller's Property Condition Disclosure (SPCD) for known issues.
- Examine title work and, in master-planned communities like Daybreak, the HOA budget, bylaws, and rules.
- Get your financing moving so the appraisal and underwriting stay on schedule.
At the end of the window, you have three paths. You can move forward and the deadline simply passes. You can cancel. Or, if you want to keep the deal alive but address something the inspection turned up, you submit a Resolution of Due Diligence—a written addendum asking the seller for repairs or a credit. The seller can accept, counter, or reject it, and you negotiate from there.
Here's the part that matters most: if you cancel in writing before the deadline, you get your full earnest money back. No haggling. No seller sign-off. Section 24 spells it out.
The one-day mistake that costs buyers their earnest money
Your earnest money in Utah usually runs 1% to 3% of the purchase price—on a $590,000 home near the Salt Lake valley median, that's roughly $6,000 to $18,000 sitting in escrow with the title company. That's real money, and the due diligence deadline is what protects it.
The danger is that protection has a hard expiration. Missing the deadline by even one business day can convert refundable earnest money into a forfeiture. Once the window closes, canceling generally means you walk away from that deposit unless another contingency still applies.
Two details trip people up:
- A phone call or a casual email doesn't cancel the contract. The REPC requires written notice, and the standard cancellation process calls for a signed document delivered to the seller before the deadline. Tell your agent early—don't wait until 4:55 on deadline day.
- Deadlines are dates, not feelings. If your inspection gets delayed or a report comes back late, the deadline doesn't move on its own. You either extend it in writing with the seller's agreement or you act before it passes.
This is exactly the kind of timing we manage for our clients so a deposit never slips away over a paperwork technicality. The rules around the REPC carry real legal and financial consequences, and for anything unusual it's worth looping in a Utah real estate attorney—we're happy to point you to one. (We're agents, not attorneys, and this is general information, not legal advice.)
Due diligence vs. the financing and appraisal deadline
The single biggest point of confusion is that Utah's REPC has two separate deadlines, and they protect you in different ways.
- The Due Diligence Deadline (Section 24) is about inspections and discovery—the condition of the home, the disclosures, the HOA, the title.
- The Financing and Appraisal Deadline (Section 25) is about your loan and the home's value. It's the date by which your lender's financing offer and the appraisal need to be settled.
They often sit a week or so apart, with financing and appraisal landing after due diligence. And critically, each one gives you its own cancellation right. If you let the due diligence deadline pass but your appraisal later comes in low or your financing falls through, you may still be able to cancel and recover your earnest money—as long as you cancel before the financing and appraisal deadline and cite that specific contingency. Between inspection, appraisal, and financing, those are your three built-in exits, each with its own timing and its own procedure.
If your appraisal does come in under your contract price, you generally have a few moves: ask the seller to lower the price, renegotiate terms, cover the gap with extra cash if you planned for it, or cancel under the appraisal contingency. Which one makes sense depends on the home, the competition, and your budget—and that's a conversation worth having before you're staring at the deadline.
Where this fits in the overall timeline
For context, most Utah closings run 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to keys (state rules cap it at 60 days absent good cause). A typical sequence looks like this:
- Offer accepted; earnest money deposited with the title company within about four business days.
- Inspections scheduled and completed in the first week.
- Inspection responses and the due diligence deadline around day 14.
- Loan underwriting and appraisal through days 10–21.
- Financing and appraisal deadline around days 14–21.
- Final loan approval and clear-to-close, then settlement at the title company.
Knowing where the deadlines fall lets you schedule inspections early, keep your lender moving, and never get boxed in.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the due diligence period in Utah?
It's negotiable, but most Wasatch Front contracts land around 14 calendar days from acceptance. You can ask for a shorter window to make your offer more competitive or a longer one when you need more time to inspect or review HOA documents.
Can I get my earnest money back during due diligence in Utah?
Yes. If you deliver written cancellation before the Due Diligence Deadline, your earnest money is refunded in full under Section 24 of the REPC—no seller approval needed. The key word is "before"; once the deadline passes, that automatic refund right ends.
What happens if I miss the due diligence deadline?
Canceling after the deadline usually means forfeiting your earnest money, unless you can still cancel under the financing or appraisal contingency before that separate deadline. Missing it by even a single business day can cost you the deposit, which is why written notice and calendar discipline matter so much.
Is the due diligence deadline the same as the financing and appraisal deadline?
No. Due diligence (Section 24) covers inspections and discovery; the financing and appraisal deadline (Section 25) covers your loan and the home's value. They're usually a few days apart, and each gives you a separate right to cancel and protect your earnest money.
How much earnest money do I need in Salt Lake City?
Typically 1% to 3% of the purchase price, held in escrow by the title company and credited back to you at closing toward your down payment or closing costs. In competitive situations buyers sometimes raise it to strengthen an offer, but the amount is always negotiable.
The bottom line
In Utah, the due diligence period is your protected window to investigate a home and walk away with your full deposit if it isn't right—but only if you act in writing before the deadline. Understanding how Section 24 works alongside the financing and appraisal deadline is what keeps your earnest money safe and your options open. First-time buyers especially benefit from mapping these dates out before the offer ever goes in, which is one reason it pays to work with a team that knows Salt Lake City's process and the most common buyer regrets to avoid.
If you're buying or selling in Salt Lake City or anywhere across the Wasatch Front, we're happy to consult on the market and help you assess your options. Schedule a private consultation with our team before your deadlines start counting down.
About David Lawson
David Lawson is the founder of the Lawson Real Estate Team, a real estate group serving Salt Lake City and the greater Wasatch Front, including Sugar House, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, and the fast-growing southwest valley and northern Utah County. He leads a team that has closed more than 3,920 transactions and earned recognition as the #1 eXp Realty team in Utah (2022–2025) and previously the #1 Engel & Völkers team worldwide (2019, 2021). David and his team work with buyers and sellers across the full market—from first-time buyers and move-up family homes to multifamily investments and luxury real estate—guiding clients through one of the fastest-growing housing markets in the country.
