Find out what it's worth
Everything downstream depends on this number, so start here rather than with a phone call. You want two things: what similar homes near you actually sold for in the last few months, and what makes your home different from those.
Be careful with online estimates. They're a starting point, not an answer — they can't see that you redid the kitchen, or that the house backs onto a busy road. Treat any automated number as a rough bracket and expect the real one to move once someone walks through.
Think of it like this: an online estimate is the sticker price on a used car listing. Useful for narrowing the field, useless for what the car in your driveway is actually worth.
Work out what you'd keep
Sale price is the headline. What lands in your account is the number that decides whether selling is worth doing at all, and it's a different figure.
Coming off the top: whatever you still owe on the mortgage, the commission, escrow and title fees, a county transfer tax, and your share of property taxes for the part of the year you owned the home. If repairs get negotiated after the inspection, those come off too.
None of these are fixed. Commission is negotiable — always, by law and in practice. Escrow and title costs vary by provider and by what's customary in your county. The only way to know your number is to run yours.
Think of it like this: it's the difference between your salary and your take-home pay. Nobody budgets off the gross.
Decide what to fix and what to leave
This is where sellers most often spend money they didn't need to spend. Not every repair earns its cost back, and some of the cheapest work returns the most.
Usually worth doing: deep clean, clear out the clutter, fix anything that drips or sticks, paint what's scuffed, and tidy the front of the house — that's the photo everyone sees first, and it's the first thing a buyer sees in person.
Usually not worth it right before selling: a full kitchen or bathroom remodel. You rarely get all of it back, and you'll pick finishes the next owner may not want anyway.
Selling as-is is a legitimate choice, not a failure. It usually means a lower price or a smaller buyer pool, but if the alternative is months of work you don't have the time or cash for, it can be the better trade. Either way you still have to disclose what you know about the home's condition — as-is changes who fixes things, not what you're required to tell people.
Set the price
Pricing is the single biggest lever you control, and the most commonly misplayed. Priced sensibly, a home draws several buyers in the first couple of weeks and they bid against each other. Priced high, it sits — and sitting is expensive in a way that isn't obvious.
Buyers watch how long a listing has been up. Once it's been on the market a while, the questions change from "do we love it?" to "what's wrong with it?" You often end up accepting less than if you'd priced it right on day one, having paid several more months of mortgage in the meantime.
Think of it like this: the first two weeks are your opening night. That's when the most people are watching. You can lower a price later, but you only get one opening.
Go live
Photos get taken, the listing goes onto the MLS, and from there it flows out to the sites buyers actually browse. Showings start, usually with a lockbox and scheduled appointments, and there may be an open house.
Practical things that matter more than people expect: be easy to show. A home that's hard to get into gets skipped, because the buyer has four others to see that afternoon. Keep it presentable, take the pets out if you can, and leave during showings — buyers talk more freely when the owner isn't in the next room.
Offers and negotiation
An offer is more than its price. Read it for: how the buyer is paying and whether they're actually approved, how much they're putting down, which contingencies they've kept, how long they want, and whether they need anything unusual from you like a delayed move-out.
A slightly lower offer from someone fully approved with few conditions is often worth more than the top number from a buyer whose financing is shaky. The best price on paper is worth nothing if it falls apart in week five and you start again with a listing that now looks stale.
Think of it like this: you're not picking the highest bid. You're picking the one most likely to still be standing at the finish line.
Escrow
Once you accept, a neutral third party holds the money and paperwork until both sides have done what they promised. This is the longest stretch and where most deals wobble.
- Inspection. The buyer hires an inspector. Expect a list — every house produces one. They may ask for repairs or a credit, and that's a second negotiation.
- Appraisal. The buyer's lender sends someone to confirm the home is worth what's being paid. If it comes in low, the gap has to be closed by the buyer, by you, or by meeting somewhere between.
- Disclosures. California requires you to tell the buyer what you know about the property. Be thorough. Nearly every post-sale dispute traces back to something the seller knew and didn't write down.
- Loan approval. The buyer's financing gets finalized. Nothing is certain until this clears.
Think of it like this: escrow is the referee holding the ball while both teams prove they've followed the rules. Nobody scores until the checks come back clean.
Closing day
You sign, the buyer's loan funds, the deed records with the county, and the money moves. Your loan gets paid off out of the proceeds and the rest is wired to you, usually within a day or two of recording.
One rule that matters more than any other here: wire fraud is real and it targets exactly this moment. Criminals watch for pending sales and send convincing emails with changed wiring instructions. Before you send or accept any wire, call escrow on a number you already had — never one from the email — and confirm the details by voice.
What this has looked like in practice
Across John's own closed listings in CRMLS where he represented the seller:
These are his past results, not a forecast — every home, price point and market is different, and past results don't guarantee future outcomes. The underlying transactions are listed individually so you can check them yourself.
This guide is general information about how home sales typically work in California, not legal, tax, or financial advice for your situation. Costs, timelines, and requirements vary by property, city, and county, and change over time. Commission and fees are negotiable. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. For advice on your own sale, talk to John directly at 909.635.5813.