Most Mississippi home sales with a real estate agent on either side use the Mississippi Association of REALTORS® Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Real Estate. The deadlines below are that form's preprinted defaults. Your contract can change them in its checkboxes, blanks, and special provisions, and your signed contract controls. When in doubt, ask us.
How the contract counts time
- Day 0 is the Effective Date. That is the date the last party signs and delivers a copy to the other side or their agent. Every deadline runs from it.
- Most deadlines are business days. The contract defines a business day as any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. Ten business days is about two calendar weeks.
- Time is of the essence. A missed deadline is not excused unless everyone agrees in writing. In practice, missing one usually means losing the right that came with it.
- Notices go in writing. Deliver them by hand or by email to the addresses written in the contract. An emailed notice counts as delivered the day it is sent.
The standard contract's deadlines at a glance
| Deadline | When | If it's missed |
|---|---|---|
| Earnest money to the broker | End of the next banking day | The contract terminates unless the seller extends it in writing |
| Seller's disclosure statement, if you don't already have it | 3 business days | You may terminate and get your earnest money back, or go ahead without it |
| Loan application | 5 business days | The seller may excuse it, give you 5 more business days, or terminate and keep your earnest money |
| Inspections and your election | 10 business days | Your inspection rights lapse and the sale goes ahead |
| Repair negotiation | The number of business days written in the contract | With no written agreement, the contract ends and your earnest money comes back |
| Termite letter | Dated within 30 days of closing and delivered at least 10 days before it | An older letter does not satisfy the contract |
| Closing | 11:59 p.m. on the Closing Date | Only a written amendment signed by both sides moves it |
Week 1 (Days 1–7): Contract signed
The contract becomes effective. What happens: The last party signs, and a copy reaches the other side. That date is the Effective Date. Your move: Write down every deadline in your contract the same day, counting business days where the contract says business days. If a box or a blank is unclear, ask your agent or us.
Earnest money goes in by the next banking day. What happens: Under the standard form, your earnest money goes to the listing broker or to your own broker, whichever the contract names, unless an escrow addendum names someone else. The broker deposits it in a federally insured trust account by the close of the next banking day. It stays there until closing, when it is credited toward your purchase, or until the contract ends. Your move: Deliver it on time. If you don't, the contract terminates unless the seller agrees in writing to give you more time. If you send it electronically, confirm the instructions by phone first. The contract puts the risk of a fraudulent transfer of earnest money on you, not on the brokers.
You get the seller's disclosure. What happens: Mississippi requires sellers of most one-to-four-family homes to give the buyer a Property Condition Disclosure Statement. If you didn't receive it before you signed, the standard form gives the seller three business days to deliver it. If the seller doesn't, you may terminate and get your earnest money back, or waive it and go ahead. Your move: Read it the day it arrives. State law gives you three days after it is handed to you, or five days after it is mailed, to terminate by written notice and get your earnest money back (Miss. Code Ann. § 89-1-503). The same right applies if the seller later delivers a material amendment. The disclosure also tells you where to point the inspector.
The loan application goes in within five business days. What happens: If your contract has the loan contingency, you must apply for the type of loan named in the contract within five business days and then pursue it in good faith. The seller may ask for written proof from your lender that you applied on time. Your lender sends you a Loan Estimate. Your move: Apply right away and send documents fast: pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements. A late application lets the seller terminate and keep your earnest money. Slow paperwork is also the most common reason closings slip.
Title work is ordered. What happens: The closing attorney orders a search of the county land records to trace the property's ownership and find liens, easements, and gaps in the chain of title. Your move: Nothing yet. This work runs in the background, and it is the part of the deal that protects you long after closing.
Inspections get scheduled. What happens: The standard form gives you ten business days to inspect and to decide what to do about it. Inspectors must be Mississippi-licensed home inspectors or qualified contractors. The seller must have the utilities on and give access on 24 hours' notice. For new construction, the ten days start when the seller gives written notice that the certificate of occupancy has been issued and the utilities are on. Your move: Book your inspector now. The ten days include the time it takes to read the report and decide. If your contract checks "Sale Without Warranty; No Home Inspection," you have no inspection period. You have agreed to take the property in its present condition.
Week 2 (Days 8–14): Inspections and your decision
The inspection happens. What happens: The inspector checks the structure and systems, such as the roof, plumbing, heating and air, electrical, and appliances, and writes a report. Your move: Attend if you can.
You make your election by the tenth business day. What happens: Before the ten business days run out, the standard form gives you three choices:
- Terminate and get your earnest money back. You can do this only for a material structural or non-cosmetic defect that the inspection identified and that was not already disclosed in the seller's disclosure statement or another written disclosure. A change of heart is not enough.
- Waive the inspection contingency and go on to closing.
- Ask for repairs. Send the seller your repair list with the relevant pages of the inspection report. You and the seller then have the number of business days written in the contract to agree in writing. A refusal by the seller does not end the contract, and during that time you can still terminate under choice 1 or waive under choice 2. If there is no written agreement when the time runs out, the contract terminates and your earnest money comes back.
Your move: Put your election in writing and deliver it on time. A repair request that is late or incomplete, for example one sent without the report pages, counts as a waiver, and the sale goes ahead to closing.
The appraisal is ordered. What happens: Your lender orders an appraisal to confirm the home is worth what it is lending against. If your contract checks the appraisal contingency, the home must appraise at or above the purchase price. If it doesn't, you are not obligated to buy and your earnest money comes back, unless you failed to pursue a timely appraisal in good faith. Your move: Nothing, unless it comes in low. A low appraisal usually reopens the price negotiation.
Title examination wraps up. What happens: An attorney examines the search results and issues a title commitment, which is a promise to insure the title once listed conditions are met. Problems found here, such as old liens, unprobated estates, and missing releases, get flagged for clearing. Your move: Ask for a copy of the commitment and read Schedule B, which lists the exceptions. If anything looks odd, ask. Explaining it is part of our job.
Week 3 (Days 15–21): Financing, insurance, and clearing title
Underwriting continues. What happens: The lender verifies everything and issues conditions, such as updated pay stubs and letters of explanation. Your move: Respond the same day if you can. And hold still financially: no new credit cards, no car loan, no job change, and no large unexplained deposits. Any of these can stall or kill your loan. If you are not approved for the type of loan in your contract, you may terminate and get your earnest money back. Switching to a different type of loan takes the seller's written consent, and the seller may ask you to waive the loan contingency and make your earnest money nonrefundable in exchange.
Homeowner's insurance gets bound. What happens: Your lender will not fund without proof of insurance effective on closing day. Your move: Shop for coverage now and get the insurance binder to your lender. Waiting until week 4 is a common cause of delay.
Title problems get cured. What happens: The standard form requires the seller to deliver good, marketable, and insurable title, subject only to recorded easements without encroachments, zoning ordinances, protective covenants, and prior mineral reservations. That last item means the contract does not promise you the minerals; an earlier owner may have kept them. The seller must pay off every loan and lien, and any past-due homeowners' association dues from prior years, at or before closing. The closing attorney gathers the payoff letters, releases, and estate paperwork to do it. Your move: Usually nothing. If a defect can't be cured by the closing date, the standard form lets you terminate and get your earnest money back, negotiate an amendment for the seller to cure it, or accept the title as it is. If a problem involves you, such as a judgment or a name mismatch on your ID, respond quickly.
The termite letter arrives. What happens: The standard form requires a wood-destroying insect report, usually called a termite letter, from a licensed termite company. The contract says whether the buyer or the seller pays for it; on a VA loan, the seller pays. The letter must be dated within 30 days of closing and delivered at least 10 days before closing. Your move: Read it. If it shows infestation or damage, the seller must amend the disclosure statement, and you then have the same three days (five if mailed) to terminate and get your earnest money back.
Week 4 (Days 22–30): Clear to close, then closing day
Clear to close. What happens: The lender signs off, and the closing attorney balances the settlement statement and gathers payoffs.
The Closing Disclosure arrives. What happens: If you have a mortgage, federal law requires the lender to deliver your Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Your move: Compare it line by line against your Loan Estimate. Ask about anything that changed. This three-day window exists for you, so use it.
You wire your funds. What happens: You'll receive wire instructions for your cash to close. The standard form requires the purchase price to be paid by Federal Reserve wire or cashier's check unless the seller agrees in writing to something else. Your move: Verify by phone before you send anything. Our wire instructions will not change during your transaction, so treat any "updated" or "corrected" instructions as fraud until you confirm them by calling us at the number listed on our website, not a number from an email. Wire a day early so funds are confirmed before you sit down to sign.
Final walkthrough. What happens: The standard form gives you the right to walk through the property before closing, even if you waived inspections. The seller must keep the utilities on through closing, and the electrical, plumbing, and heating and air systems must be in good working order as of the walkthrough. Your move: Walk it as close to closing as you can. Confirm that agreed repairs are done, that nothing was damaged when the seller moved out, and that everything that conveys is still there. The standard form conveys built-in appliances, ceiling fans, window treatments, light fixtures, and other items attached to the house unless the contract excludes them. Whether the kitchen refrigerator stays is a separate checkbox.
If the house is damaged before closing. What happens: If a fire, storm, or other cause outside the parties' control damages the property before closing, the seller must notify you in writing within three days or as soon as reasonably possible. Your move: You may cancel and get your earnest money back, waive the damage and close on the original terms, or try to agree with the seller on repairs, a later closing date, or other changes. If you try to agree and don't within five calendar days, the contract cancels and your earnest money comes back.
Closing day. What happens: Under the standard form, closing must take place by 11:59 p.m. on the Closing Date written in the contract. At the closing table, the closer verifies IDs and walks through the settlement statement line by line. You sign the note and deed of trust; the seller signs the deed. Funds move, liens get paid off, and property taxes, association dues, and similar charges are prorated as of the closing date. Your move: Bring a government-issued photo ID that matches the name on your loan documents. Ask questions freely. You should understand every document you sign.
Possession. What happens: Under the standard form, you get possession once closing is complete and fully funded, unless a separate pre-closing or post-closing possession addendum says otherwise.
Recording. What happens: The deed and deed of trust are recorded with the Chancery Clerk in the county where the property sits. Recording puts the transfer on the public record and protects you against later claims.
If your contract isn't the Realtor form
Sales without an agent, land purchases, and investor deals often use a contract an attorney drafted, and those usually work differently. Our own purchase contract, for example, provides for:
- A deposit with the closing attorney within three days, held in trust, instead of with a broker.
- The seller's documents up front. Within three days, the seller hands over any surveys, leases, environmental and foundation reports, repair estimates, plans, and title work in the seller's possession.
- One due-diligence period, 30 days in our form, during which the buyer may inspect, survey, and examine title, and may terminate and get the deposit back if not satisfied with the property.
- An as-is sale. The buyer relies on the buyer's own inspections, backed by a few specific promises from the seller about title and the property.
- A closing date no later than 45 days after the Effective Date.
The idea is the same under either form. Know your deadlines and act before they pass. For the actual dates, read your own contract, not this guide.
After closing: three things people forget
- Homestead exemption. If you own and occupy the home on January 1, file for Mississippi's homestead exemption with the county tax assessor between January 1 and April 1. If you close in late December, make sure your deed is recorded by January 7, or you lose the exemption for that year. The exemption lowers your property taxes.
- Your owner's title policy arrives later. The policy is issued after the deed is recorded, often weeks after closing. Store it permanently with your recorded deed.
- Taxes and insurance. If your loan doesn't escrow them, set up your own reminders or automatic payments now.
Maples Richey · 801 Baptist Drive, Suite 203, Madison, MS 39110 · 601-707-4114 · [email protected] · Mon–Fri 9:00–4:30 © Maples & Richey, PLLC. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.