Counting the AS-IS Inspection Period Correctly (Weekends, Holidays, and the 5 PM Rule)

Ask five agents when a 15-day inspection period ends and you can get three different answers. The counting rules in the FR/BAR AS-IS contract are simple once you see them laid out — but the details are exactly where deposits get put at risk. Let’s count together.

Education for agents, not legal advice — when real money rides on an interpretation, loop in the attorney.

Rule 1 — Day zero is the Effective Date

The clock starts at the Effective Date (the day the last party signs and acceptance is communicated). The Effective Date itself is day 0, not day 1. If the Effective Date is Monday the 1st, day 1 is Tuesday the 2nd.

Rule 2 — Calendar days, not business days

The AS-IS contract counts every day — Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays included. A 15-day inspection period over the winter holidays is shorter in practice than it looks on paper. Plan inspections early, not “we have plenty of time.”

Rule 3 — The end-of-period exception (this is the one)

Here’s the part people miss. While counting uses all days, if a deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or national legal holiday, it extends to 5:00 PM local time on the next business day.

So:

Deadline math says the inspection period ends Saturday → it actually ends Monday at 5:00 PM (Tuesday if Monday’s a holiday).
Deadline math says it ends Wednesday → it ends Wednesday. The rule only helps when the last day is a weekend/holiday.

Rule 4 — 5:00 PM means 5:00 PM

When a period extends, it extends to 5 PM, not midnight. A cancellation notice sent at 9:47 PM “on the day it was due” is a problem you don’t want to have. Treat extended deadlines as end-of-business, always.

Worked example

Say the Effective Date is Friday, July 10 and the inspection period is 15 days (which is also the default the contract applies if the blank was left empty — more on that in my AS-IS deadlines guide):

Day 1 = Saturday, July 11.
Day 15 = Saturday, July 25 — counting straight through both weekends.
Saturday landing → extends to Monday, July 27 at 5:00 PM.

That Monday-5-PM answer is two days later than “the 25th,” and knowing it is the difference between a calm reschedule and a panicked one.

Why this is a system problem, not a memory problem

You can absolutely memorize these rules. The issue is you’re running eight files at once, each with its own Effective Date, and the counting has to be right every time — while you’re also showing houses. That’s why my process calculates every deadline the moment a contract comes in, puts it on a calendar, and sends reminders before each one. The rules above are baked in so nobody has to re-derive them on a Friday afternoon.

Rather not count days by hand ever again? Send me your next contract — dates on the calendar within 24 hours.