California · Codes and the RPACalifornia real estate closing laws: a checklist for transaction coordinators

A California resale usually runs on the C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement, plus a long list of statutory disclosures. In the order a transaction meets them: the buyer-broker representation agreement must be signed no later than the buyer's offer and last no more than three months (Civil Code §1670.50). Contract timing under the RPA: the deposit within 3 business days, seller documents within 7 days, contingencies at 17 days by default, and final verification of condition 5 days before close of escrow. Disclosures: the Transfer Disclosure Statement (§1102) and the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement (§§1103–1103.7), with the buyer's right to terminate within 3 days after late delivery in person or 5 days by mail or electronically; the Megan's Law database notice in every contract (§2079.10a); the smoke alarm and water heater statement and carbon monoxide devices (Health and Safety Code §§13113.8, 17926); water-conserving fixtures (§1101.4); a Mello-Roos or 1915 Act notice where the home is in a district (§1102.6b); and the brokers' visual inspection duty for one-to-four unit homes (§2079). A death on the property more than three years before the offer need not be disclosed, but a more recent one may be material (§1710.2). Associations: the seller provides the Davis-Stirling documents, and the association has 10 days to deliver them after a written request (§§4525, 4530). Money: escrow withholds 3⅓% of the price, or an elected amount on the gain, from sellers unless an exemption is certified, such as a principal residence or a loss. After closing, the assessor sets a new base-year value and sends supplemental tax bills (Revenue and Taxation Code §§75.10, 75.11). Probate sales with court confirmation have their own minimum price and overbid rules (Probate Code §§10309, 10311).