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
Coronado Printable Checklists: Buy, Sell and Move
Three printable Coronado checklists (PDF): buying a home, selling a home and moving, in the order you do the steps.
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.
- Coronado Home Buyer Checklist (PDF) — From pre-approval to your first month: what to do, in order.
- Coronado Home Seller Checklist (PDF) — From the first market report to the last box: what to do, in order.
- Moving to Coronado: A Checklist (PDF) — Practical steps for a move, from three to six months out to your first 30 days.
Coronado Home Buyer Checklist
From pre-approval to your first month: what to do, in order. Download the PDF.
Before you shop
- Meet a lender and get pre-approved so you know your budget.
- Decide the monthly payment you are comfortable with, including property tax, insurance and any HOA 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.
- Note stains, cracks or sloping floors and raise them with the inspector.
- Ask what is included in the sale.
- Ask whether the address is in the coastal zone, and whether any coastal permit could apply to your plans.
- Ask whether the home is a designated historic property, and whether a Mills Act contract applies.
Making an offer
- Compare sold homes nearby before you decide what to offer.
- 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.
- Schedule inspections in the first days of the contract.
- Read the seller’s disclosures and the preliminary title report and ask about anything unclear.
- Line up insurance before you remove contingencies.
- Respond quickly to lender requests, and avoid new debt or large purchases until closing.
Closing and after
- Do the final walk-through and confirm agreed repairs.
- Sign at escrow, including the ownership report for the county assessor.
- 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.
Coronado Home Seller Checklist
From the first market report to the last box: what to do, in order. Download the PDF.
Before you list
- Ask for a personal market report and talk through pricing.
- Plan your timeline, including your next home.
- Collect permits, association papers, warranties and receipts.
- Make a repair list and decide which fixes will matter to buyers.
- Declutter, clean and schedule professional photos.
Listing and showings
- Fill in the disclosures with care; they protect you as well as the buyer.
- Plan showing times and put away valuables and medications.
- Weigh price, contingencies, timing and rent-back terms together.
- Have the coastal-zone status of the address ready if a buyer asks about future plans.
Under contract
- Meet the contract deadlines for escrow and disclosures.
- Prepare for the buyer’s inspection and respond to repair requests.
- If the appraisal falls short of the price, talk through options with your agent.
- Ask escrow for an estimate of what you will net.
Closing and moving
- Book movers, transfer or stop utilities and forward your mail.
- Leave keys, remotes and manuals, and clean the home.
- Save the closing statement, and ask a tax advisor about the sale.
- Ask about Proposition 19 before you sell if you are 55 or older, severely disabled or a disaster victim.
Moving to Coronado: 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
- Sit down with a lender early; a pre-approval shows what you can comfortably afford.
- Build a full monthly budget: principal and interest, property tax, insurance and any HOA dues or special-tax charges.
- 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: Ask a lender what income and bank records they need, and how long it takes to document money coming from another country.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: Find out what your current home would net, and decide whether the sale has to close before you buy.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: Homeowners 55 and older, and some others, should ask the assessor about carrying their tax base to a new California home (Proposition 19) before selling.
- If you are renting: Choose a rent you can sustain and set a date to reconsider buying, using 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: Ask whether the home has air conditioning and how it stays comfortable; some coastal homes do not have it.
One to three months out
- Set aside cash for closing costs (the closing cost tool gives a starting estimate) in addition to your down payment.
- Price the move itself early: compare movers, check their coverage and use the moving cost planner.
- If you are selling: Collect permits, HOA papers and repair records so buyers see a complete file.
- If you are selling: Request a personal market report and plan the repairs, staging and photography for your listing.
- 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.
- Get insurance quotes (homeowners, and earthquake or flood if you want them) before your contingency period ends.
- Expect to sign a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report at escrow; it is filed with the county assessor.
- Order a home inspection and a termite (wood-destroying pest) report soon after the contract is signed; both are customary here.
- Check that smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms are installed and the water heater is braced, as California requires.
Move week
- Arrange mail forwarding and send your new address to your bank, employer, insurers and subscription services.
- Walk through the home before you sign to confirm repairs, appliances and overall condition.
- Measure doors, stairs and rooms for big furniture, and ask your HOA or building about moving-truck rules.
- Pack an essentials box you open first: chargers, medications, documents, sheets and basic tools.
Your first 30 days
- Expect a supplemental property tax bill a few months after closing, and set money aside for it.
- 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.
- Change your voter registration to your California address.
- Coming from another country: Open a U.S. bank account, keep copies of your documents, and ask a lender how a U.S. credit history is built.
- If you are renting: Read the lease carefully for the notice, deposit and renewal provisions.
- On day one, change the locks, test the smoke alarms and find the water shut-off.
- 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.
- A Coronado Home Buyer’s Glossary — 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, Rodrigo Ballon with CrossCountry Mortgage, at 858-735-0255. You are always free to choose any lender you like, and you can verify any lender’s license at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Sources
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.