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
First-Time Buyer Checklists You Can Print
Printable checklists for a first purchase in San Diego County: buying step by step, the documents your lender will ask for and a moving checklist.
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.
- Documents to Gather for Your Lender (PDF) — The papers most lenders ask for, so you are ready when the request arrives.
- 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.
- Decide the monthly payment you are comfortable with, including property tax, insurance and any HOA dues.
- List what you cannot live without and what you would trade.
- Read the market reports for each area you are considering.
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.
- Look for signs of water damage, cracks or uneven floors and ask about them.
- Ask what is included in the sale.
Making an offer
- Review recent sales of similar nearby homes with your agent before you choose a price.
- Decide the deposit, the contingency periods and the closing date.
- Have your pre-approval and proof of funds ready with the offer.
Under contract
- Get the deposit to escrow by the date in the contract.
- Book the home inspection and the pest inspection right away.
- Go through the disclosures and the title report with your agent.
- Get homeowners insurance quotes before your contingencies end.
- Respond quickly to lender requests, and avoid new debt or large purchases until closing.
Closing and after
- Walk the home before signing and check the 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.
- 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.
- Letters that show pension, Social Security or disability income.
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
- Your driver’s license or passport.
- Two years of addresses, and your landlord’s contact information.
- If it applies: the divorce decree, support orders and any bankruptcy papers.
- Once you have a contract: the purchase agreement and your homeowners insurance quote.
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
- Get a pre-approval in hand first, so every home you see is one you know you can afford.
- Add up the whole monthly cost, not only the loan payment: tax, insurance, HOA dues and special taxes.
- 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: Gather the financial documents a U.S. lender will ask for, and ask early how funds from abroad are documented.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: If you own a home now, decide whether your purchase depends on its sale, and estimate the proceeds.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: Before you sell, check with the county assessor whether Proposition 19 lets you keep your current property-tax base.
- If you are renting: Decide what you can pay in rent and when to revisit buying, with the rent-versus-buy tool.
- Spend time in the area on a weekday morning, a weekend and an evening, and drive the commute at rush hour.
- Coming from another state: Check heating and cooling: many older coastal homes have no air conditioning.
One to three months out
- Estimate closing costs and the cash you will need at escrow with the closing cost tool.
- Price the move itself early: compare movers, check their coverage and use the moving cost planner.
- If you are selling: Assemble permits, HOA documents and repair receipts so a buyer’s file is complete.
- If you are selling: Get a personal market report and a plan for preparing the home.
- Learn the neighborhood: groceries, parks, pharmacies and the routes you will actually use.
Once you are under contract
- Read the seller’s disclosure package closely, including the Transfer Disclosure Statement and the hazard report, and list your questions for your agent.
- For a home in an association, get the rules, budget, reserve study and meeting minutes and read them within your contingency period.
- Ask an independent broker for homeowners quotes on the exact address, and price earthquake or flood cover if you want it, before contingencies end.
- Expect a stack of signatures at escrow, including a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report for the county assessor.
- Order a home inspection and a termite (wood-destroying pest) report soon after the contract is signed; both are customary here.
- Confirm that smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms are installed and the water heater is braced; California requires both at a sale.
Move week
- Arrange mail forwarding and send your new address to your bank, employer, insurers and subscription services.
- Do a final walk-through before you sign, and confirm any agreed repairs are done.
- Measure doors, stairs and rooms for big furniture, and ask your HOA or building about moving-truck rules.
- Keep 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: Look up the California DMV rules for new residents: a license within 10 days and vehicle registration within 20 are the general expectations.
- Register to vote at 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 your lease handy and note the notice period, deposit and renewal dates.
- Change or re-key the locks, test the alarms and find the water shut-off and the electrical panel.
- Arrange utilities and internet before move day and ask for a year of past bills.
- Line up a doctor, dentist and vet and have your records and prescriptions transferred.
- Coming from elsewhere in California: License pets with the city or county and learn the trash, recycling and street-sweeping schedules.
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.
- First-Time Buyer Glossary: 22 Terms in Plain English — 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.