What to Expect During Escrow in Santa Clarita

Published by Michelle & Jon Dubner | Dubner Real Estate Group | Equity Union

You accepted an offer on your Santa Clarita home, maybe from a buyer who has lived here for years, maybe from one relocating from Los Angeles. Either way, that is the exciting part. What comes next, the weeks between "we have a deal" and handing over the keys, is where most sellers feel the most uncertain. Michelle and Jon Dubner walk sellers through escrow on every listing, so here is exactly what happens and when.

Key Takeaways

• A typical California escrow runs 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to close, though the exact dates are whatever your contract says.
• Day 17 is the default deadline in the standard CAR contract for the buyer to remove inspection and appraisal contingencies.
• Sellers have real work during this window too: disclosures, repairs you agreed to, and staying ready for a final walkthrough.
• Nothing is final until signed loan documents fund and the deed records with the county.

If you want the practical version of this for your own situation, here is what your home is actually worth today.

Escrow opens within a day or two of your accepted offer, usually with the buyer's earnest money deposit going into a neutral third-party escrow account. From there, the clock starts on the contingency periods written into your contract. Jon and I walk every seller through the exact dates on their specific contract at this point, because those dates are what actually govern the transaction, not a general rule of thumb.

Under the standard California purchase agreement, the buyer typically has 17 days to complete their inspections, review your disclosures, and get their appraisal back, then either remove those contingencies or renegotiate. The loan contingency usually runs about 21 days. Once contingencies are removed, the deal is far more secure, though it is not truly done until the buyer's loan funds and the deed records.

This is the part that surprises a lot of sellers. Escrow is not just waiting around for a closing date. You will typically be signing and returning disclosure documents, coordinating access for the inspector and appraiser, and completing any repairs you agreed to during negotiation. If you agreed to a repair credit instead of doing the work yourself, that gets handled through escrow at closing rather than before it.

A day or two before closing, the buyer typically does a final walkthrough to confirm the home is in the same condition as when they agreed to buy it, and that any agreed repairs were completed. Keeping the home in showable, functioning condition through this entire window, not just through the listing photos, is part of what keeps a deal from hitting a last-minute snag.

An inspection report almost always lists something, and Jon and I tell every seller not to panic when it lands with ten or fifteen pages of items. Most are minor: a slow drain, a missing GFCI outlet, a water heater strap that is not up to current code. The buyer's agent will typically come back with a request, either for you to complete specific repairs, provide a credit toward closing costs, or some combination of both. You are not obligated to agree to everything on the list, and neither is the buyer obligated to move forward if you decline. This is a negotiation like any other part of the contract, and it usually gets resolved with a credit rather than a series of repairs, since most buyers would rather choose their own contractor after closing than trust the seller's quick fix. Jon and I review every inspection response with you line by line so you know exactly what you are agreeing to and why, rather than signing something because the clock is ticking on your contingency deadline.

Closing happens when the buyer's final loan documents are signed and funded and the deed records with the county. Your proceeds are typically disbursed by escrow shortly after recording is confirmed, often the same day or the next business day. Jon and I keep sellers updated at each milestone along the way so closing day is not the first time you hear where things stand.

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Thinking about listing your Santa Clarita home?

Jon and I walk every seller through their specific timeline before you ever sign a listing agreement, so there are no surprises once escrow opens. If you want to talk through what your escrow window would actually look like, reach out.

Call or text: 661-219-5517

Michelle & Jon Dubner · Dubner Real Estate Group · Equity Union

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