Buying a home
How I Help You Buy
Buying a home in California, step by step. What you sign, what escrow does, how earnest money works, and where the real decisions are.
The short version
Buying a house in California follows a defined sequence, and almost every part of it is negotiable. Knowing which parts is most of the advantage.
Here's the whole thing. We sit down and work out what you actually want and what your budget really buys in these specific neighborhoods. You get pre-approved before we tour, for your protection rather than mine. We sign a written representation agreement so you know exactly what I do and what I'm paid. Then we search, write an offer, and if it's accepted we open escrow. You investigate the property, your lender finishes the loan, and escrow closes. Then you get keys.
This describes my general process in California and isn't legal, tax, or lending advice. Your specific transaction may differ, and I'll tell you when it does.
Start with a buyer consultation
What your money actually buys here
Before touring anything, we have a real conversation, in person or on Zoom. What you want, what your budget genuinely buys in the neighborhoods you're weighing, and how the path from today to closing works. Clear answers and no pressure to move faster than you want to.
Pre-approval comes early, and it's for your protection. I'll connect you with lenders I trust before active showings begin, so you never fall in love with a home you can't write on. In a competitive situation, a buyer without a solid pre-approval isn't really competing.
Pre-approval is also where surprises are cheapest. Finding out about a credit issue in week one is a problem. Finding out in escrow is an emergency.
The BRBC, and how I'm paid
Before I show you homes, we sign a Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement, the BRBC. This is now how buyer representation works in California, and it's a good thing for you: it puts in writing what I'm doing for you and what I'm paid, before you've seen a single house.
My compensation is set out in that agreement and agreed with you up front. Real estate fees aren't set by law, and they aren't fixed by any board, association, or brokerage. They're negotiable between you and the agent you hire, and mine is no exception.
Where it's possible, I work to have the seller cover all or part of that compensation on your behalf. Whether that happens is part of the negotiation on each individual property, not something I can promise in advance. You'll know exactly what you're agreeing to before you sign it, and I'll walk you through it line by line rather than handing it over to be initialed.
Touring with a purpose
The search is built around your criteria and refreshed as the market moves, with private and group showings on your schedule.
What I add is the part that isn't in the listing, and it's different in each market I work. Whether a Del Rey address that says Marina del Rey 90292 is actually in Del Rey. Whether a Playa Vista building is Phase 1 with Mello-Roos or Phase 2 without. Whether a Marina del Rey unit sits on County ground-leased land, which changes how it finances and how it resells. Whether a Westchester street is under a runway approach and whether the title carries an avigation easement. In Southwest Riverside County the questions change but the principle doesn't: which side of the I-15 and I-215 split you're on, whether a Menifee tract is new enough to have no deferred maintenance behind it, what acreage on the plateau does to resale.
None of that appears in the photos. All of it changes what a home is worth to you.
Writing something that wins without overpaying
An offer is more than a number. Price, deposit, contingency timelines, closing date, what you ask the seller to pay, and how credible the whole package looks to the other side.
The earnest money deposit I typically recommend is 3% of the purchase price, held by escrow. It isn't paid to the seller and it isn't paid to me. Escrow is a neutral third party that holds it until closing, when it's credited toward your purchase. If the deal falls apart while you're still protected by your contingencies, it comes back to you.
I've won for buyers in competitive situations, including a first-time buyer whose offer was selected out of thirteen. That's rarely about being the highest number. It's about being the offer the seller believes will actually close.
Your investigation period
Once the offer is accepted and escrow opens, you get a defined period to investigate the property. The length is set in the contract and it's negotiable, which means it's one of the things we decide deliberately rather than accept by default.
In that window you inspect. General inspection, and whatever specialist follow-ups it points to: roof, sewer, foundation, chimney, pool. You review the seller's disclosures, the preliminary title report, and any HOA documents. On a condo those documents matter enormously and most buyers skim them.
My years around a contracting business do real work here. I read the whole inspection report and the whole title report, and I'll tell you which findings are ordinary for a house of that age and which are the ones that should change your price, your terms, or your mind.
Then we decide together: proceed, renegotiate, or walk. Walking inside your contingencies is a legitimate outcome and your deposit is protected while they're in place.
The lender finishes the job
While you're investigating, your lender is working. The appraisal is ordered, underwriting reviews the file, and conditions get cleared.
Two things commonly go sideways here, and both are manageable if you see them coming. The appraisal can come in below the contract price, which becomes a negotiation about who covers the gap. And underwriting can ask for documents at short notice, which is why I tell buyers not to change jobs, open credit cards, or move large sums of money during escrow.
I stay on top of the lender rather than waiting to be told. You shouldn't be the person discovering a problem with your own loan.
Knowing what you can borrow is not the same as knowing what you want to spend every month. The second number is the one that decides how the next few years feel.
Escrow, not a settlement table
California closes through escrow and title. There's no closing attorney and no table where everyone sits down together, which surprises buyers who have bought elsewhere.
Escrow is a neutral third party holding the money and the documents until every condition is met. In the final stretch: contingencies are removed, you do a final walkthrough to confirm the property is in the condition you agreed to, you sign, funds are wired, the deed records with the county, and the keys are yours.
Recording is the moment ownership actually transfers, and it usually happens a day or more after signing. I'll tell you the specific dates for your transaction and chase everyone responsible for them.
After closing I stay reachable. Contractor referrals, questions about your paperwork, and help for whoever you send my way next.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What's a BRBC and do I have to sign one?
The Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement. It's signed before an agent shows you homes and it sets out what the agent does for you and how they're compensated. It's how buyer representation works in California now, and it works in your favor: it means nothing about compensation is a surprise later. I go through it with you rather than handing it over to be initialed.
How much is the earnest money deposit and who holds it?
I typically recommend an earnest money deposit of 3% of the purchase price. It's held by escrow, a neutral third party, not the seller or me, and it is credited toward your purchase at closing. A 3% deposit shows a seller you're serious and helps position your offer strongly. While your contingencies are in place, your deposit is protected.
Do I pay my agent, or does the seller?
My compensation is agreed with you in writing in the BRBC before we start. Real estate fees aren't set by law and aren't fixed by any board or brokerage; they're negotiable. Where it's possible I work to have the seller cover all or part of it on your behalf, but that's negotiated property by property rather than promised in advance.
Is there a closing attorney in California?
No. California closes through escrow and title rather than through an attorney, and there's no settlement table. Escrow holds the money and documents, the deed records with the county, and that recording is the moment ownership transfers. Buyers who have purchased in attorney states are often expecting something quite different.
What happens if the appraisal comes in low?
It becomes a negotiation. The gap can be covered by the buyer, by the seller reducing the price, by a split, or the deal can end depending on the contingencies in place. It's one of the more common bumps in a transaction and it's far less alarming when you knew in advance it could happen.
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