From Accepted Offer to Keys: The California Escrow Timeline

Your earnest money deposit — commonly around 3% of the purchase price — is wired to escrow, usually within three business days of acceptance.

This is the highest-risk moment for wire fraud in the entire transaction. Confirm wiring instructions by phone, using a number you already have, never one supplied in an email. Fraudulent instructions that look completely legitimate are common, and the money is rarely recoverable.

The seller delivers disclosures about the property's condition and history. Read them properly rather than skimming — they routinely contain the detail that changes what you want to negotiate.

Schedule inspections immediately. Your inspection window starts running from acceptance, not from when you get around to booking, and specialist inspections can take days to arrange.

Your lender orders the appraisal. Underwriting works through your file, often coming back with document requests — answer them the same day, because this is the most common source of delayed closings.

If inspections turned up problems, this is when repairs or credits get negotiated. Sellers are not obliged to agree to anything.

In California, contingencies are typically removed actively and in writing. They do not usually lapse on their own.

This is the decision point. Removing them signals commitment and puts your deposit genuinely at risk. Do not remove a contingency before the thing it protects has actually been resolved — loan approval in hand, appraisal received, inspections satisfied.

You walk the property again shortly before closing to verify condition and that agreed repairs were done. Loan documents are signed, funds are wired, and the deed records.

Recording is the moment the home is yours. Keys usually follow the same day.