I write about the LA market the way I talk to my own clients: real numbers, no spin.
Your offer was accepted. Congratulations — and now the actual work starts.
Under the standard California residential purchase agreement, your default investigation and loan contingency period is 17 days. That is not a long time, which is why following an LA escrow checklist is essential. Most of what goes wrong in a Los Angeles escrow happens because something that should have been completed in week one gets delayed until week three instead.
Here is what I want handled in the first ten days, in order, and why each one matters more in LA than it would elsewhere.
The short version
- Day 1–2: Deposit wired, escrow opened, inspections booked, insurance quote requested.
- Day 2–3: Disclosures reviewed, permit history pulled.
- Day 3–5: Inspections completed, insurance quotes back, appraisal ordered.
- Day 5–7: Real numbers to your lender, specialist inspections if anything surfaced.
- Day 7–10: Decisions made — proceed, renegotiate, or walk — before the contingency clock runs out.
- The LA-specific items that catch buyers: insurance on hillside properties, unpermitted square footage, and sewer versus septic.
Days 1–2: the things that must start immediately
Three of these have long lead times, which is why they go first. Starting them on day six instead of day one is how buyers end up making decisions without information.
Wire the earnest money deposit. Confirm wire instructions by phone, using a number you look up independently — never a number from the email containing the instructions. Real estate wire fraud is common and the money is usually unrecoverable.
Book your inspections. General home inspection first. Good inspectors book out, and in a 17-day window you cannot afford to wait a week for an appointment.
Request insurance quotes. This is the one most buyers leave until week two, but as this LA escrow checklist highlights, in Los Angeles, it is the one most likely to blow up the deal. More on this below.
Open escrow and confirm the timeline in writing. Know your exact contingency removal dates. Not approximately — exactly.
The insurance item, because it is now a deal-killer
For any hillside, canyon, or fire-zone property in Los Angeles, get a written insurance quote in the first two days. Lenders underwrite the full monthly payment including insurance, so a premium that comes in higher than you assumed can affect your debt-to-income ratio and threaten loan approval outright.
This is the single biggest change highlighted in the LA escrow checklist compared to how LA escrows worked five years ago. Insurance used to be routine paperwork handled somewhere around day twelve. It is now a primary variable.
What to do:
- Give your broker the full address, year built, roof type and material, square footage, and construction details on day one. Actually submitted, not “I’ll get to it.”
- Ask for quotes across the admitted market first, surplus lines second, and the California FAIR Plan plus a Difference-in-Conditions wrap as the fallback.
- Get the real number to your lender by day five so your approval is built on reality rather than a placeholder estimate.
If you’re buying anywhere in the hills — Laurel Canyon, the Sherman Oaks hillside south of Ventura, or any canyon-adjacent parcel — treat this as the first call you make, not the last.
Days 2–3: read the disclosures properly
The disclosure package is where sellers are required to tell you what they know. Most buyers skim it. The things that surface in week three were usually sitting in that package on day two.
What to actually look for:
- The Transfer Disclosure Statement — what the seller discloses about condition, repairs, and known issues.
- The Natural Hazard Disclosure report — fire severity zone, flood, earthquake fault, liquefaction. In LA this is not boilerplate.
- Any prior inspection reports the seller has from previous escrows. These are informative in both directions.
- HOA documents, if applicable — dues, reserves, pending special assessments, litigation, and rules. Special assessments can be substantial and are easy to miss.
- Permit history. Pull it yourself rather than relying on the listing.
The permit question
If the home has a converted garage, an addition, a guest unit, or square footage that doesn’t match public records, find out now whether it was permitted. This affects the appraisal, the loan, and what you can legally do with the property later.
The classic LA version highlighted in an LA escrow checklist: the listing says 2,100 square feet, public records say 1,600, and the difference is a converted garage nobody permitted. The appraiser may decline to count it. The lender may not lend against it. And you may have paid for square footage the bank doesn’t recognize.
Ask directly: is there a certificate of occupancy or final inspection sign-off? And confirm with your lender how the appraisal treats the space before you remove contingencies.
If there’s an ADU or guest unit involved, the questions on your LA escrow checklist multiply — whether the rental income counts toward your qualification, and whether local rent regulations apply if it’s occupied. That’s a deeper topic and worth its own conversation.
Days 3–5: inspections and what they turn up
The general inspection is a starting point, not a conclusion. Its real job is to tell you which specialists you need, and you want that answer early enough to actually bring them in.
The LA-specific follow-ups worth knowing about:
- Sewer line scope. As part of your LA escrow checklist, remember that older LA neighborhoods often have clay or cast-iron sewer laterals with decades of root intrusion. A camera scope costs a few hundred dollars, while a sewer line replacement can cost many thousands. Always worth it on an older property.
- Sewer versus septic. Some hillside and canyon properties are on septic. This affects maintenance, what you can add to the house, and lender requirements. Confirm rather than assume.
- Foundation and geology on hillside lots. Slope, drainage, retaining walls. On a canyon property this is not optional.
- Chimney and fireplace. Frequently damaged in older LA homes and rarely covered properly in a general inspection.
- Electrical. Pre-1960s homes may still have knob-and-tube or an undersized panel. Both affect insurability as well as safety.
Days 5–7: get real numbers to your lender
By the end of week one, your lender should be working from actual figures — the real insurance premium, the real property tax estimate, the real HOA dues — not the placeholders used at pre-approval.
Pre-approval estimates are deliberately rough. As highlighted in this LA escrow checklist, your actual qualification depends on the real numbers, and the gap between the two is exactly where late-escrow loan problems come from.
Also confirm the appraisal has been ordered. Appraisal timing is one of the most common causes of a delayed closing, and it is largely outside your control once it’s in the queue — which is why it should be in the queue early.
Days 7–10: decide, with information
By day ten you should know enough to make a real decision: proceed as agreed, go back to the seller, or walk away while your deposit is still protected.
If something material surfaced — a roof at the end of its life, an insurance premium far above expectations, a sewer line that needs replacing, unpermitted square footage the lender won’t count — that is a conversation with the seller, and it needs to happen with days remaining on your contingency rather than hours.
The negotiation itself goes better early for a simple reason, as highlighted in this LA escrow checklist: a seller asked to address something on day nine sees a buyer doing diligence. A seller asked on day sixteen sees a buyer looking for a discount. Same request, very different reception.
And a point worth making plainly: contingencies exist to protect you, and removing them before you have the information they were meant to produce defeats the purpose. In a market where well-priced homes still move quickly, there is pressure to waive and remove early. Understand exactly what you’re giving up before you do.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the inspection period in California?
The default investigation contingency under the standard California residential purchase agreement is 17 days, though it can be negotiated. The loan contingency commonly runs on the same default timeline. As part of your home buying checklist, confirm your exact dates in writing at the start of escrow.
What should I do first after my offer is accepted?
Wire the deposit using independently verified instructions, open escrow, book your general inspection, and request insurance quotes. The inspection and insurance items have the longest lead times, which is why they go first.
Why does home insurance matter so much in LA escrows now?
Because lenders underwrite the full monthly payment including insurance. For hillside and fire-zone properties, premiums can run several times what a comparable flat-lot home pays, and a premium higher than assumed can move your debt-to-income ratio enough to affect loan approval.
Should I get a sewer line inspection in Los Angeles?
On an older property, yes. Many older LA neighborhoods have clay or cast-iron laterals with root intrusion. A camera scope costs a few hundred dollars and a replacement costs many thousands, which makes it one of the better-value specialist inspections available.
What happens if the house has unpermitted square footage?
The appraiser may not count it and the lender may not lend against it, which can change the loan amount and your out-of-pocket cost. Find out during the contingency period rather than after, and confirm with your lender how the appraisal treats the space.
Should I waive contingencies to win a house in LA?
It is a real risk, not a formality. Contingencies protect your deposit and give you the right to renegotiate or walk based on what diligence turns up. In a market where leverage varies enormously by neighborhood, waiving is sometimes necessary to compete — but it should be a considered decision, not a reflex.
The bottom line
Nearly every escrow problem I see traces back to timing. The issue itself was usually knowable on day two; it just wasn’t looked for until day fourteen, by which point the buyer has no leverage and no time.
Front-load the work. Insurance, inspections, permits, and real numbers to your lender in the first week. Then you spend the back half of your contingency period making decisions instead of gathering information.
If you’re in escrow in Los Angeles and want a second read on what you’re looking at — or you’re about to write an offer and want to know what to watch for on that specific property — that’s a ten-minute phone call. No pitch, no pressure.
Caroline Park · 310-800-2680 · cp@caroline-park.com
— Caroline
Disclosure: I am a licensed California REALTOR® (DRE #02250901). I am not an attorney, lender, inspector, or insurance broker. This post is general real estate commentary and is not legal, lending, or insurance advice. Contract timelines are negotiable and vary by transaction — confirm your specific dates and obligations with your agent, escrow officer, and the appropriate licensed professionals.
