NVAR Contract – What Day is It?!

Our attorney team recently received two great questions about the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) Contract relating to HOA deadlines and what counts as a “Day.”

Scenario:

• We Ratified at 9pm on 2/11/26.
• EMD delivery is required 3 Business Days from Ratification.
• The Buyer wrote in 2 Days to cancel based on HOA resale certificate.
• Listing Agent delivered condo docs on 2/11/26 at 9:50pm.

Question 1: Would the HOA deadline to void now be 2/14 at 9pm based on the way the Contract was written?

Answer 1: Yes.

Why?

• If the Resale Certificate (or notice that Resale Certificate is unavailable) is delivered to the buyer or their agent on or after the contract is ratified, within a number of days agreed upon by the parties in the contract, begin counting the day after the delivery date and lasting until 9:00 PM the final day.
• Paragraph 27 Definitions – Residential Sales Contract:
  • “For purposes of computing time periods in response to Delivery, the first Day will be the Day following Delivery and the timer period will end at 9pm on the Day specified.”
  • Day(s) = calendar day(s) unless otherwise specified in the Contract. All reference to time of day shall refer to the time of day in the Eastern Time Zone of the United States. For purposes of computing time periods, the first Day will be the Day following Delivery and the time period will end at 9 p.m. on the Day specified.
• The Day ended at 9pm on 2/11/16, therefore, delivery is deemed to have occurred on 2/12/16. Time periods in response to delivery is the day following delivery, therefore:
  • Day 0 = 2/12 (2/12 is the date of delivery since resale docs were sent after 9pm on 2/11)
  • Day 1 = 2/13 (Day 1)
  • Day 2 = 2/14 (Day 2)

Question 2: The EMD delivery deadline is 3 days from ratification, what’s the deadline for delivery?

Answer 2: 2/17/26. Why? Unlike HOA resale which looks at calendar days, EMD delivery is counted in Business Days. Ratification was on 2/11, so Day 1 = 2/12, Day 2 = 2/13, (2/14 is a Saturday, 2/15 is a Sunday, 2/16 is a legal holiday), Day 3 = 2/17.

It’s very important to look at defined terms in a contract – small nuances can make a big difference to your client!