A homeowner signs a $9,000 home improvement contract at their kitchen table on a Tuesday and is handed a signed, dated copy the same day. By when must the homeowner deliver a written cancellation notice for the cancellation to be valid?

Explanation

Civil Code §1689.6(a)(2) gives the buyer of a home improvement contract until midnight of the third BUSINESS day after receiving a signed and dated copy of it. The clock runs from receipt, not from the stroke of the pen, and business days exclude Sundays and holidays - so counting three calendar days is the common error, and the next business day is no one's deadline. Seven business days is a real period, but §1689.6(c) attaches it to repairs after a declared disaster; five business days is the period for a buyer aged 65 or older.