Closing on a Sammamish home starts the moment the seller signs your offer, not on the day you pick up keys. That moment is called mutual acceptance, and it starts a series of clocks written into the contract. Most of the stress buyers feel in the weeks that follow comes from not knowing which clock is running.

This guide walks through the stretch from accepted offer to keys in the order it happens: earnest money, your review periods, escrow and title, the walk-through, signing, recording and possession. We read every rule below in the February 2026 revision of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) purchase agreement and in the Washington statutes on October 8, 2026. It covers the contract side only. Your loan has its own timeline, which your lender manages. This is a process overview, not legal advice, and your own contract controls.

The Clocks That Start When Closing on a Sammamish Home Begins

Most Sammamish sales are written on NWMLS Form 21, the Residential Purchase and Sale Agreement. Its "Computation of Time" paragraph sets the counting rules for everything else:

• A period measured in days starts the day after the event that triggers it.
• It expires at 9:00 p.m. on the last day.
• If the last day lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it rolls to the next business day.
• Any period of five days or less does not count Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays at all.

The same paragraph ends with "Time is of the essence." In plain terms, a deadline missed by an hour is a deadline missed. Ask your agent for a dated calendar of every deadline in your contract on the day of mutual acceptance. Our explainer on how buyer agent agreements work in Sammamish covers what your agent handles for you during this window.

Step 1: Deliver the Earnest Money

Earnest money is your good-faith deposit. The contract names the amount, the delivery date and who holds it, either your agent's brokerage or the closing agent. If the delivery date is left blank, Form 21 sets it at two days after mutual acceptance, and because that is under five days, weekends do not count. If you mail a check, it has to arrive by the deadline, not just be postmarked.

Two more points are worth knowing before you send it:

• Confirm wire instructions by phone. Form 21 tells both parties to "use caution when wiring funds to avoid potential wire fraud" and to confirm any wire instructions through an independently verified phone number. Use a number you looked up yourself, not one from an email.
• Know which default box is checked. If a buyer fails to close without a legal excuse, the contract applies one of two remedies. Under the forfeiture option, the seller keeps the earnest money, up to five percent of the purchase price, as the only remedy. That cap comes from RCW 64.04.005. Under the other option, the seller can choose among several remedies, including a lawsuit.

If a sale ends and the two sides disagree about the deposit, RCW 64.04.220 sets the process. The holder has 15 days after a written demand to notify the other party, who then has 20 days to object.

Step 2: Use Your Review Periods

The first two weeks carry most of the buyer's homework. Which periods you have depends on the addenda attached to your offer, so read your own contract. The common ones are:

1. Information verification. Unless it is waived, Form 21 gives you 10 days by default to verify information the seller or listing firm provided about the property. If you give timely notice that something was materially inaccurate, the agreement ends and your earnest money is refunded.
2. Inspection. If your offer includes the NWMLS inspection addendum, the default inspection period is 10 days. In Sammamish that window often has to fit a sewer scope or, on some lots, a septic inspection. Our guide to buying a Sammamish home with a septic system or well covers what that involves.
3. Homeowners insurance. The NWMLS insurance addendum warns that insurers usually issue only a temporary binder at first, and that "it is important for Buyer to apply for insurance as early as possible." Our guide to home insurance and natural hazards in Sammamish explains what local policies do and do not cover.
4. HOA documents. Many Plateau neighborhoods have an association, and its documents come with their own review rights. See buying a home in Sammamish with an HOA.

If the home was built before 1978 and you receive the lead-based paint disclosure after mutual acceptance, Form 21 lets you rescind for up to three days afterward.

Step 3: Escrow and Title When Closing on a Sammamish Home

Two neutral companies do the work between your review periods and signing day. Sometimes one firm fills both roles.

The closing agent, or escrow. Washington law defines escrow as a third party holding documents and money until the conditions in the instructions are met, then delivering them. Escrow agents are licensed by the state Department of Financial Institutions under RCW 18.44.021. The license requirement does not apply to title insurance companies or to Washington lawyers closing a sale as part of their practice, since both are regulated elsewhere. You can check an escrow license on the DFI escrow page. The closing agent named in your contract prepares the settlement figures, collects signatures and funds, pays off the seller's liens and sends the deed for recording.

The title company. Under Form 21, the seller pays for an owner's title insurance policy for the buyer, and the title company sends a preliminary commitment to both sides and both brokers. Read it when it arrives. It lists the easements, covenants and other recorded matters that will stay with the property, which matters on lots with shared access. Our guide to buying a Sammamish home on a private road covers the documents to look for.

The contract requires marketable title, conveyed by a statutory warranty deed. If title cannot be made insurable before the closing date, Form 21 gives the buyer a choice: waive the defect, or end the agreement and take back the earnest money.

Step 4: The Walk-Through and Signing

Form 21 requires the seller to keep the property in its present condition, normal wear and tear excepted, until you take possession. If a system or appliance stops working before closing, the seller must repair it or replace it with one of at least equal quality. To check, the contract reserves your right to walk through the property within five days of closing. Use it to confirm that agreed repairs are done, the included items are still there and nothing has changed since your inspection.

The form also points to two state laws on the seller's side: a carbon monoxide alarm requirement for owner-occupied single-family homes under RCW 19.27.530, and a smoke detection requirement under RCW 43.44.110.

Signing often happens before the closing date itself. You sign your documents with the closing agent, and the seller typically signs separately. Nothing has transferred yet.

Step 5: Recording, Keys and Possession

Form 21 defines closing precisely: it is "the date on which all documents are recorded and the sale proceeds are available to Seller." Until both happen, the sale has not closed, even if everyone has signed.

For a Sammamish home, recording happens at the King County Recorder's Office, which records deeds and collects the real estate excise tax. Recording is what protects your ownership against later claims. Under RCW 65.08.070, an unrecorded deed is void against a later good-faith buyer who records first, and a document counts as recorded the minute it is filed. If your closing date falls on a weekend, a legal holiday or a day the recording office is closed, the contract moves closing to the next open day.

Once the sale records, two contract terms decide when the house is yours to use:

• Keys. The seller delivers keys, garage door remotes and access codes on the closing date or the possession date, whichever comes first.
• Possession. You are entitled to possession at 9:00 p.m. on the possession date. If the contract says possession is on closing, that means 9:00 p.m. on closing day unless the seller is out sooner and agrees.

If the seller needs to stay after closing, or you need to move in before it, the contract calls for a separate written rental agreement and tells both sides to talk to their insurance companies about coverage for that period.

Frequently Asked Questions About Closing on a Sammamish Home