Your offer was accepted. Congratulations! The next 21–30 days are mostly paperwork, and this chapter explains it, along with the two decisions in it that matter for decades: how you hold title, and how to send a big wire without it landing in a scammer's account.
The short version
- Your 3% deposit goes to escrow, not the seller. Civil Code §1675 generally limits what an owner-occupant forfeits to 3% of the price, but only if the liquidated damages clause is initialed.
- Escrow runs about 21–30 days in SF. All-cash deals can close in about two weeks. A neutral title/escrow company holds the money and records the deed.
- The seller customarily pays SF transfer tax, and the rate applies to the whole price. Crossing $5M moves it from 0.75% to 2.25%, so $4.99M costs the seller about $37k and $5.0M costs $112.5k.
- Buyer closing costs usually run about 1% of price (roughly 0.8–1.2%) on a financed purchase, not counting the down payment, impound deposits, points or any buyer-paid commission.
- For married couples, vesting matters at death. Community property with right of survivorship gets a full step-up in basis at the first death. Joint tenancy gets only half. Many buyers then deed the home into a revocable trust.
- Never trust emailed wire instructions. Real estate fraud losses reported to the FBI hit $275M nationwide in 2025, and about $42M of that came from California victims.
The timeline, from accepted offer to keys
"Escrow" is the stretch between an accepted offer and owning the house, while a neutral company holds the money and documents.
- Day 0: Acceptance. Both sides sign, and escrow opens with the title company named in the contract.
- Days 1–3: Deposit. Wire your earnest money (customarily 3%) to escrow. Call the escrow officer at a number you found yourself to confirm the wire instructions first.
- Days 1–7: Preliminary title report. Read it for liens, easements, CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions, the recorded rules that come with the property), and anything recorded that the disclosures didn't mention. If you kept contingencies, your deadlines start running now.
- Days 3–21: Loan. Appraisal, final underwriting, rate lock, and the Closing Disclosure (the lender's final statement of your loan terms and costs). Federal TRID rules (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure) require you to receive it at least 3 business days before signing.
- Insurance bound. Your lender needs proof of a homeowners policy (or an HO-6 policy, the version for condos) before funding. Shop for it in week one, not week three. See Insurance & earthquakes.
- About 5 days before close: Final walkthrough. Confirm the house is in the agreed condition and that included items stayed.
- 2–3 days before close: Sign and fund. Sign loan and escrow documents with a notary and wire your remaining funds. The lender then wires the loan.
- Close of escrow: Recording. Title records your deed with the SF Assessor-Recorder. Recording is the legal moment the house becomes yours. Keys follow, unless the seller is renting the home back from you for a while.
All-cash buyers skip step 4 and can close in about two weeks. When several buyers are competing, a fast close can help your offer stand out (see Winning an offer).
Your deposit and Civil Code §1675
Your earnest money deposit (EMD), the good-faith money you put down when the offer is accepted, is customarily 3% of the price: $45k on $1.5M, $90k on $3M, $180k on $6M. It sits in escrow and gets credited toward your down payment at closing.
The 3% figure comes from state law. Under California Civil Code §1675, when a buyer defaults on a 1–4 unit residential property they intend to live in, the seller's liquidated damages (a pre-agreed amount the seller keeps if you back out) are presumed reasonable only up to 3% of the price. Anything above that, the seller has to prove. The clause is binding only if it's separately initialed (§§1677–1678). In practice, this means the most you're likely to lose on a failed purchase without contingencies is the deposit.
Two things to keep in mind:
- Escrow can't release a disputed deposit on its own. If a deal falls apart, both parties usually have to sign cancellation instructions, or you end up in mediation or arbitration. If you've removed your contingencies and then walk away, expect to lose the deposit.
- Investment property is different. If you won't live in the home, for example a 2–4 unit building you plan to rent out, the 3% presumption doesn't protect you the same way. Talk to a lawyer.
Escrow and title companies in SF
In Northern California, the title company also acts as the escrow holder. It's a neutral third party that collects the money and documents, pays everyone, and records the deed. The national underwriters with big SF operations include Old Republic Title, First American Title, Chicago Title, and Fidelity National Title, among others.
When several buyers are bidding, the listing side usually chooses the title company, and buyers rarely push back. That's fine, because rates are filed with the Department of Insurance and differ only modestly between companies. Just remember the escrow officer isn't on your side or the seller's. Questions about the contract go to your agent or attorney.
Title insurance
Title insurance is a one-time premium for a policy that covers problems in the chain of ownership that existed before you bought: forged deeds, heirs nobody mentioned, recording errors, and old liens that were never cleared.
- Lender's policy: required by your lender, paid by you, and protects only the lender.
- Owner's policy: protects your equity for as long as you or your heirs own the home. In SF, the buyer customarily pays for it. In Southern California the seller usually does. Ask for the ALTA Homeowner's policy, which has broader coverage than the standard CLTA policy (both are standard policy forms used by title insurers). It's typically a small premium increase.
Read the preliminary title report when it arrives. Things that often come up in SF include shared-driveway and light-and-air easements, old Notices of Special Restrictions (often tied to unpermitted units or ADU agreements, ADU meaning an accessory dwelling unit like an in-law), and recorded Notices of Violation from the Department of Building Inspection (DBI).
Vesting: how you hold title
"Vesting" is the line on your deed that says how you own the home: who owns what, what happens when someone dies, and how much capital gains tax your heirs owe. It takes a minute to sign and can be a hassle to undo.
Your "basis" is roughly what you paid plus improvements. A "step-up" resets it to market value when an owner dies, which can wipe out the taxable gain.
| Vesting | Who uses it | Survivorship? | Tax basis at first death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sole ownership | Single buyers. Married buyers need the spouse to sign a quitclaim (interspousal transfer deed). | No; passes by will or trust | Full step-up | Without a trust, the home goes through probate. |
| Joint tenancy | Unmarried co-buyers; some couples | Yes | Half step-up for spouses (only the decedent's half) | Equal shares only. Any co-owner can sever. |
| Tenancy in common | Friends, unequal contributions | No | Decedent's share steps up | Pair it with a written co-ownership agreement (buyouts, exits). |
| Community property | Married / registered domestic partners | No; passes by will or trust | Full step-up on both halves | IRC §1014(b)(6) |
| Community property with right of survivorship | Married / RDP | Yes | Full step-up on both halves | Civil Code §682.1. Avoids probate and gets the tax benefit. A common choice for couples who aren't using a trust yet. |
| Revocable living trust | Anyone doing estate planning | Per trust terms | Depends on how property is characterized inside the trust | Avoids probate. Most lenders want you to close in your names and deed to the trust afterward, or will approve a trust vesting in advance. A transfer to your own revocable trust doesn't trigger a Prop 13 reassessment. |
(RDP: registered domestic partners. Probate: the court process for settling an estate.)
SF transfer tax: the tiers and who pays
San Francisco's real property transfer tax, a one-time tax on the sale, is customarily paid by the seller on resales, though it's negotiable. In new-construction sales the buyer often pays it. Unlike income tax, the rate for your bracket applies to the entire price, so there are sudden jumps at each threshold.
| Price | Rate | Tax at bottom of tier |
|---|---|---|
| $100–$250,000 | 0.50% | — |
| $250,001–$999,999 | 0.68% | — |
| $1,000,000–$4,999,999 | 0.75% | $7,500 at $1.0M |
| $5,000,000–$9,999,999 | 2.25% | $112,500 at $5.0M |
| $10,000,000–$24,999,999 | 5.50% | $550,000 at $10.0M |
| $25,000,000+ | 6.00% | — |
So $4,999,999 costs the seller about $37,500, and $5,000,000 costs $112,500. That $75k jump is why SF prices bunch up just under $5M (and under $10M), and why a seller might ask a buyer at $5M+ to share the tax. If you're bidding near one of these thresholds, think about what the seller actually walks away with, not just your price.
Rates are from Prop I (2020). The $10M–$25M tier is 5.5%, as the city's official 2026 title-and-summary of current law confirms. One June 2026 news report gave it as 5.75%, which doesn't match the city's figure. A 2026 proposal to halve the $10M+ rates (the BUILD Act) was paused indefinitely in June 2026 and would have excluded single-family homes anyway.
What closing costs for a $1.5M condo, a $3M house and a $6M house
Buyer-side planning estimates (not quotes) for a financed resale where the seller pays the transfer tax. Title and escrow premiums are filed per underwriter, so ask the escrow officer for an estimated statement.
| Line item | $1.5M condo (20% down) | $3M house (20% down) | $6M house (30% down) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loan amount | $1.2M | $2.4M | $4.2M |
| Lender fees (origination/underwriting, no points) | $2–4k | $3–6k | $5–10k |
| Appraisal (often 2 above about $2M) | about $0.7–1k | $1.5–2.5k | $2–3k |
| Owner's title policy | $2.5–3.5k | $4–5.5k | $6.5–9k |
| Lender's title policy | $1–1.5k | $1.5–2.5k | $2.5–4k |
| Escrow fee (buyer's share) | $2–3k | $3–4.5k | $4.5–7k |
| Recording, notary, misc. | $0.3–0.5k | $0.3–0.5k | $0.3–0.5k |
| Prepaid interest (15 days at 7.7%) | about $3.8k | about $7.6k | about $13.3k |
| First-year insurance (HO-6 / HO-3) | about $1.2k | about $4.5k | about $9k |
| Estimated total | about $13–19k (about 1.1%) | about $25–34k (about 1.0%) | about $43–56k (about 0.8%) |
| Seller's transfer tax, for reference | $11,250 | $22,500 | $135,000 |
A few other things can come through escrow:
- Points, if you pay upfront to lower your rate: 1 point = 1% of the loan.
- Impound deposits, if your lender collects your property taxes and insurance monthly and pays them for you. Many jumbo lenders let you skip impounds.
- Property tax prorations, which can be a charge or a credit depending on the closing date and whether the seller has paid the current installment.
- HOA transfer and document fees for condos (HOA is the homeowners association).
- Your agent's commission, if the seller isn't covering it under your buyer agreement. In SF that's typically about 2.5% of the price ($75,000 on a $3M house). See Assembling your team.
Wire fraud: the most expensive email you'll ever get
Home closings are a favorite target for email scammers, with big wires, many parties and tight deadlines. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) logged 12,368 real estate fraud complaints and $275M in losses nationwide in 2025, up from $173M in 2024. California alone accounted for 2,079 victims and about $42.4M in losses, per the IC3's 2025 state data. The FBI doesn't break the numbers out by city. Its report describes a homebuyer who wired more than $449k after an email that impersonated their attorney. AI-written emails and cloned voices make the fakes more convincing every year.
- Get wiring instructions once, in person or via the escrow company's secure portal, at the start of escrow
- Before every wire, call the escrow officer at a phone number you looked up independently, never one from an email
- Treat any change to wire instructions as fraud until proven otherwise; title companies almost never change them mid-deal
- Send a small test wire first and have escrow confirm receipt by phone
- Ask your bank to call you before releasing large outgoing wires
- If something goes wrong, call your bank's wire-recall line immediately and file at ic3.gov; recovery odds fall sharply after 24–72 hours
If your down payment is coming from savings, a family gift or selling investments, get it into the account you'll wire from early.
Final walkthrough
The walkthrough is your chance to confirm you're getting what you bought. It isn't a second inspection. Bring the contract's list of included items and check:
- Appliances, fixtures, and window coverings that were supposed to stay are still there.
- Any agreed repairs were done, with receipts and permits.
- No new damage from the move-out: walls, floors, doorframes.
- Water heater, furnace, plumbing, and every faucet and toilet work (SF requires water-conserving fixtures at transfer).
- Garage remotes, keys, mailbox keys, and alarm codes are available.
- The seller's belongings and debris are gone, unless there's a rent-back.
If something is wrong, ask for a credit or for escrow to hold back some of the seller's money before you sign off. Once you've signed, you have very little bargaining power.
Recording, and what to do in your first week
Escrow closes when the deed records with the SF Assessor-Recorder. Title will mail you the recorded grant deed weeks later. Along with the deed you'll have filed a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR), a short form telling the Assessor about the sale. File it, or the recorder charges an extra fee.
Then:
- File the homeowners' exemption with the Assessor ($7,000 off assessed value). The SF Assessor usually mails the form after a sale. File by Feb 15 for the full exemption.
- Budget for the supplemental tax bill and watch for it.
- Change the locks and garage codes.
- Set up utilities: PG&E, SFPUC water and sewer, and Recology.
- Save your closing statement. It's the starting point for your cost basis, and you'll want it when you sell. See Taxes after you buy.
Sources & verification›
- California Civil Code §1675 — FindLaw
- Earnest money disputes in California — Bay Legal
- How contingencies work in San Francisco offers — Sage Team
- Closing costs in San Francisco: who pays what — The Lederer Team
- Buyer closing costs in San Francisco & Marin — Burgelman Homes, Sept 2025
- How much does it cost to buy a home in SF in 2026? — City Real Estate SF, Sept 2026
- Guide to closing costs (California) — Old Republic Title
- San Francisco transfer tax: rates, credits, who pays — Burgelman Homes, 2026
- Changes to Real Property Transfer Tax: title and summary (current rates) — City and County of San Francisco, 2026
- SF Prop I (2020) transfer tax increase — SPUR
- Mayor, Mahmood put brakes on transfer tax cut — Mission Local, Jun 8 2026
- San Francisco's BUILD Act — Greenberg Traurig, Mar 2026
- FBI: real estate fraud losses hit $275M in 2025 — HousingWire, 2026
- 2025 IC3 Annual Report — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
- 2025 IC3 state report: California — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
- Learn about supplemental assessments — City and County of San Francisco
- File for the homeowners' exemption — City and County of San Francisco
- Comply with water conservation requirements — City and County of San Francisco