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
Quiet Sale Checklists You Can Print
Printable checklists for preparing a quiet sale, buying in San Diego County and the documents a lender will ask for.
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.
- Preparing a Quiet Sale Checklist (PDF) — What to have in place if you prefer a private sale to a public listing.
- San Diego County Home Buyer Checklist (PDF) — From pre-approval to your first month: what to do, in order.
- Documents to Gather for Your Lender (PDF) — The papers most lenders ask for, so you are ready when the request arrives.
Preparing a Quiet Sale Checklist
What to have in place if you prefer a private sale to a public listing. Download the PDF.
Decide
- Write down why you prefer a quiet sale: privacy, speed, fewer showings.
- Ask for a market report and discuss how a quiet sale compares with a public listing.
- Agree on a plan to go public if the quiet sale does not find a buyer.
Prepare the home and the papers
- Assemble the property file before anyone asks for it.
- Fill in the required disclosures as for any sale.
- Choose the fixes worth doing first.
Find and qualify a buyer
- Understand how buyers will hear about the home.
- Ask serious buyers for a pre-approval or proof of funds before a showing.
- Weigh every offer by price and by terms.
Close
- Ask escrow for the schedule and an estimate of what you will net.
- Line up the next home and the move before closing.
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.
- 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
- Visit at different times of day and note noise, traffic and parking.
- Ask how old the roof, water heater, heating and cooling and windows are.
- Find out what association dues and special assessments apply.
- 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.
- Attach your pre-approval letter and proof of funds to the offer.
Under contract
- Get the deposit to escrow by the date in the contract.
- Schedule inspections in the first days of the contract.
- Go through the disclosures and the title report with your agent.
- Line up insurance before you remove contingencies.
- 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.
Documents to Gather for Your Lender
The papers most lenders ask for, so you are ready when the request arrives. Download the PDF.
Income
- Two years of tax returns and the W-2s or 1099s that go with them.
- Pay stubs for the last 30 days.
- If you are self-employed: two years of business returns and a year-to-date profit and loss statement.
- Award letters for pension, Social Security or disability income you want counted.
Assets
- Two months of statements for every bank account, all pages.
- Statements for retirement and investment accounts.
- For a gift toward the down payment, a signed gift letter and proof of the transfer.
- Notes on where any large recent deposit came from.
Identity and history
- A government photo ID.
- Two years of addresses, and your landlord’s contact information.
- Court documents that affect your finances, such as a divorce decree or support order.
- When you have an accepted offer, send the contract and an insurance quote.
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
- The guide — The whole process, step by step.
- Closing cost estimator — Estimate the cash to close.
- Moving cost planner — Estimate the cost of the move.
- Off-Market Real Estate Terms Explained — 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.