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 Rancho Del Rey Home Checklist Library
A small library of Rancho Del Rey 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.
- Rancho Del Rey Home Buyer Checklist (PDF) — From pre-approval to your first month: what to do, in order.
- Rancho Del Rey Home Seller Checklist (PDF) — From the first market report to the last box: what to do, in order.
- Moving to Rancho Del Rey: A Checklist (PDF) — Practical steps for a move, from three to six months out to your first 30 days.
Rancho Del Rey 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.
- Write a must-have list and a nice-to-have list.
- 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.
- Check the age and condition of the roof, water heater, furnace and windows.
- Find out what association dues and special assessments apply.
- Note stains, cracks or sloping floors and raise them with the inspector.
- Confirm what stays with the home.
- Ask whether the home is in a Mello-Roos district or has another special tax, and the annual amount and end date.
- Ask which associations apply, community-wide and neighborhood.
Making an offer
- Compare sold homes nearby before you decide what to offer.
- Decide the deposit, the contingency periods and the closing date.
- Have your pre-approval and proof of funds ready with the offer.
Under contract
- Deliver your earnest money deposit to escrow on time.
- Book the home inspection and the pest inspection right away.
- Read the seller’s disclosures and the preliminary title report and ask about anything unclear.
- Line up insurance before you remove contingencies.
- Respond quickly to lender requests, and avoid new debt or large purchases until closing.
Closing and after
- Do the final walk-through and confirm agreed repairs.
- Sign the loan documents and the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report at escrow.
- After you get the keys: change the locks, set up utilities and test the alarms.
- File for the homeowners’ exemption, and set money aside for the supplemental property tax bill.
Rancho Del Rey 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
- Complete the seller disclosures carefully and completely.
- Plan showing times and put away valuables and medications.
- Weigh price, contingencies, timing and rent-back terms together.
- Have the special-tax and association details ready for buyers.
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.
- Clean, and leave keys, garage remotes and appliance manuals.
- Save the closing statement, and ask a tax advisor about the sale.
- If you are buying next, ask the assessor whether you qualify to carry your property tax base to the new home.
Moving to Rancho Del Rey: 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
- Get a pre-approval in hand first, so every home you see is one you know you can afford.
- 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: Talk to a CPA about California income tax before you arrive, particularly if your current state has none.
- Coming from another country: If your funds or income are abroad, ask a lender which documents they need and how long each takes.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: Find out what your current home would net, and decide whether the sale has to close before you buy.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: Ask the assessor about Proposition 19 before you list, if you are 55 or older, severely disabled or a disaster victim.
- If you are renting: Choose a rent you can sustain and set a date to reconsider buying, using the rent-versus-buy tool.
- 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.
- Price the move itself early: compare movers, check their coverage and use the moving cost planner.
- If you are selling: Collect permits, HOA papers and repair records so buyers see a complete file.
- If you are selling: Ask for a personal market report, then plan repairs, staging and photos.
- Walk or drive the neighborhood and note the shops, parks, and services you would use each week.
Once you are under contract
- Work through the Transfer Disclosure Statement and the Natural Hazard Disclosure with your agent and flag anything to inspect.
- For a home in an association, get the rules, budget, reserve study and meeting minutes and read them within your contingency period.
- Get insurance quotes (homeowners, and earthquake or flood if you want them) before your contingency period ends.
- At signing, one of the forms is a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report for the assessor.
- Schedule the inspection and the pest (termite) report as soon as the contract is signed.
- Check that smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms are installed and the water heater is braced, as California requires.
Move week
- Forward your mail with the postal service and update your address with your bank, employer, insurers and subscriptions.
- Walk the home one last time before closing to check repairs, appliances and condition.
- Check that large furniture fits, and reserve the elevator or loading zone if your building requires it.
- Keep a first-night box with chargers, medications, documents, bedding and a few tools.
Your first 30 days
- Keep some cash aside for the supplemental property tax bill California sends after a purchase.
- Coming from another state: Book the DMV early: license and vehicle registration deadlines for new residents are short.
- Update your voter registration with your new address.
- Coming from another country: Set up U.S. banking, keep copies of your documents and learn how credit history works here.
- If you are renting: Keep a copy of your lease and note the notice period, deposit terms and renewal dates.
- Re-key the locks, test the alarms and learn where the shut-offs and the panel are.
- Set up electric and gas, water, trash and internet, and ask for the last twelve months of bills to see typical costs.
- Choose a doctor, dentist and vet and have records and prescriptions sent over.
- Coming from elsewhere in California: Look up pet licensing and the local waste, recycling and street-sweeping rules.
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.
- Rancho Del Rey Real Estate Glossary — The terms in plain English.
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.