A checklist works best when it is in your hand. These are ours, one for each part of the job, ready to download and print. They follow the same order the steps come in, and each one leaves room for your own notes.
Printable Checklists
Your San Diego County Home Checklist Library
A small library of San Diego County checklists, each a printable PDF: buying, selling and moving, with local reminders.
Download the checklists
Each checklist is a one- or two-page PDF that prints cleanly. The same lists appear below, so you can read them here first.
- San Diego County Home Buyer Checklist (PDF) — From pre-approval to your first month: what to do, in order.
- San Diego County Home Seller Checklist (PDF) — From the first market report to the last box: what to do, in order.
- Moving to San Diego County: A Checklist (PDF) — Practical steps for a move, from three to six months out to your first 30 days.
San Diego County Home Buyer Checklist
From pre-approval to your first month: what to do, in order. Download the PDF.
Before you shop
- Get a pre-approval letter from a lender.
- Set a monthly budget that includes property tax, homeowners insurance and any association dues.
- List what you cannot live without and what you would trade.
- Look up typical values and recent price changes in the areas you like.
Touring homes
- See each home on a weekday and on a weekend if you can.
- Ask how old the roof, water heater, heating and cooling and windows are.
- Ask about HOA dues, special taxes and any planned assessments.
- Look for signs of water damage, cracks or uneven floors and ask about them.
- Ask what is included in the sale.
Making an offer
- Compare sold homes nearby before you decide what to offer.
- Agree with your agent on the deposit, contingencies and timeline.
- Have your pre-approval and proof of funds ready with the offer.
Under contract
- Deliver your earnest money deposit to escrow on time.
- Schedule inspections in the first days of the contract.
- Read the seller’s disclosures and the preliminary title report and ask about anything unclear.
- Get homeowners insurance quotes before your contingencies end.
- Answer lender requests fast, and do not open new credit or make big purchases.
Closing and after
- Walk the home before signing and check the repairs.
- Sign at escrow, including the ownership report for the county assessor.
- On day one, re-key the locks, arrange utilities and check smoke alarms.
- Claim the homeowners’ exemption and expect a supplemental tax bill in the months after closing.
San Diego County Home Seller Checklist
From the first market report to the last box: what to do, in order. Download the PDF.
Before you list
- Ask for a personal market report and talk through pricing.
- Plan your timeline, including your next home.
- Collect permits, association papers, warranties and receipts.
- Choose the repairs worth doing before you list.
- Declutter, clean and schedule professional photos.
Listing and showings
- Fill in the disclosures with care; they protect you as well as the buyer.
- Plan showing times and put away valuables and medications.
- Weigh price, contingencies, timing and rent-back terms together.
Under contract
- Meet the contract deadlines for escrow and disclosures.
- Expect an inspection and decide how you will respond to repair requests.
- Watch the appraisal and talk with your agent if it comes in low.
- Confirm your estimated net proceeds with the escrow officer.
Closing and moving
- Schedule the move, close out utilities and file a change of address.
- Leave keys, remotes and manuals, and clean the home.
- Keep the closing statement for your tax records and ask a CPA how the sale is treated.
- If you are buying next, ask the assessor whether you qualify to carry your property tax base to the new home.
Moving to San Diego County: A Checklist
Practical steps for a move, from three to six months out to your first 30 days. Download the PDF.
Three to six months out
- Talk with a lender and get pre-approved so your budget is real.
- Do not stop at the mortgage payment; add tax, insurance, HOA dues and any special assessments to see the real monthly figure.
- Coming from another state: Ask a CPA how a move to California changes your income taxes, especially if you are coming from a state without an income tax.
- Coming from another country: Ask a lender what income and bank records they need, and how long it takes to document money coming from another country.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: If you own a home now, ask what it would net with the seller net proceeds tool, and whether your move date depends on the sale.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: If you are 55 or older, ask the county assessor whether you could transfer your property-tax base under Proposition 19.
- If you are renting: Set a rent budget and a date to look at buying again; the rent-versus-buy tool compares the two.
- Visit at different times of day and in different seasons, and test the commute at rush hour.
- Coming from another state: Ask whether the home has air conditioning and how it stays comfortable; some coastal homes do not have it.
One to three months out
- Set aside cash for closing costs (the closing cost tool gives a starting estimate) in addition to your down payment.
- Request written quotes from a few movers, try the moving cost planner and confirm what their insurance covers.
- If you are selling: Request the property’s permit history and collect the HOA paperwork before you list.
- If you are selling: Ask for a personal market report, then plan repairs, staging and photos.
- Learn the neighborhood: groceries, parks, pharmacies and the routes you will actually use.
Once you are under contract
- Go through the disclosures line by line with your agent and note what to ask or inspect.
- Ask for the HOA’s CC&Rs, budget, reserves and meeting minutes, and read them before your contingencies end.
- Collect an insurance quote for the address before you remove your contingencies.
- Expect a stack of signatures at escrow, including a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report for the county assessor.
- Schedule the inspection and the pest (termite) report as soon as the contract is signed.
- Ask about smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms and water-heater bracing, which California requires to be in place at a sale.
Move week
- File a change of address with USPS and tell banks, insurers, your employer and any subscriptions.
- Walk the home one last time before closing to check repairs, appliances and condition.
- Measure doors, stairs and rooms for big furniture, and ask your HOA or building about moving-truck rules.
- Pack a first-night box with chargers, medications, documents, bedding and a few tools.
Your first 30 days
- After closing, watch the mail for a supplemental tax bill; it is separate from the regular one.
- Coming from another state: Check the DMV: new residents are generally expected to get a California driver’s license within 10 days and register vehicles within 20.
- Register to vote at your new address.
- Coming from another country: Open a U.S. bank account and ask a lender how to start building a U.S. credit history.
- If you are renting: Read the lease carefully for the notice, deposit and renewal provisions.
- Re-key the locks, test the alarms and learn where the shut-offs and the panel are.
- Set up utilities and internet ahead of move day and find out what a typical year of bills looks like.
- Find local health care providers and a vet and move your records over.
- Coming from elsewhere in California: Look up the pet license, trash, organics recycling and street-sweeping rules for your new address.
How to use them
- Print, or keep on your phone. The checkboxes work on paper; on a phone, the PDF opens in your reader.
- Skip what does not apply. Not every item fits every home or every move.
- Ask for the personal version. Rudy can add the dates, the addresses and the local details for your own plan.
Common questions
Are the checklists free?
Yes. Print as many copies as you like.
Are they legal or tax advice?
No. They are general orientation from a real estate agent. Your lender, an attorney and a tax professional advise on those questions.
How current are they?
They are redrawn when the wording changes, and each PDF shows the month it was prepared.
Keep exploring
- Closing cost estimator — Estimate the cash to close.
- Moving cost planner — Estimate the cost of the move.
Talk to a lender. Rates, loan programs and approvals come from lenders, not from websites or real estate agents. Talk to your own mortgage broker, or use our preferred lender, Point Mortgage Corporation (NMLS #231073), at (619) 475-4095. You are always free to choose any lender you like, and you can verify any lender’s license at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
General information for orientation, not legal, tax, financial or appraisal advice. Details change; confirm anything that matters with the official source, your lender and your agent.