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
Your Coronado Home Checklist Library
A small library of Coronado checklists, each a printable PDF: buying, selling and moving, with local reminders.
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
- Get a pre-approval letter from a lender.
- 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.
- Read the market reports for each area you are considering.
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.
- Ask about HOA dues, special taxes and any planned assessments.
- Note stains, cracks or sloping floors and raise them with the inspector.
- Confirm what stays with the home.
- 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.
- Book the home inspection and the pest inspection right away.
- Go through the disclosures and the title report with your agent.
- 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.
- On day one, re-key the locks, arrange utilities and check smoke 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
- Get a market report for your street and discuss pricing options.
- Decide when you need to move and where you will live next.
- Gather the permit history, HOA documents, warranties and repair 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
- Open escrow and deliver disclosures on time.
- 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.
- Confirm your estimated net proceeds with the escrow officer.
Closing and moving
- Book movers, transfer or stop utilities and forward your mail.
- Leave keys, remotes and manuals, and clean the home.
- Keep the closing statement for your tax records and ask a CPA how the sale is treated.
- If you are buying next, ask the assessor whether you qualify to carry your property tax base to the new home.
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: If your funds or income are abroad, ask a lender which documents they need and how long each takes.
- If you are selling; Coming from elsewhere in California: If you own a home now, decide whether your purchase depends on its sale, and estimate the proceeds.
- 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: Decide how much rent is comfortable and when you will revisit buying; the rent-versus-buy tool shows both sides.
- See the area on a weekday morning, a weekend and after dark before you commit.
- Coming from another state: Check heating and cooling: many older coastal homes have no air conditioning.
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: Order the home’s permit history and gather HOA documents before you list.
- If you are selling: Get a personal market report and a plan for preparing the home.
- Learn the neighborhood: groceries, parks, pharmacies and the routes you will actually use.
Once you are under contract
- Work through the Transfer Disclosure Statement and the Natural Hazard Disclosure with your agent and flag anything to inspect.
- For a home in an association, get the rules, budget, reserve study and meeting minutes and read them within your contingency period.
- Do not remove contingencies until you have seen an insurance quote for the home.
- At escrow you will sign the loan papers and a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, which goes to the county assessor.
- Schedule the general inspection and the pest inspection right away, since contingency periods are short.
- Ask the seller about alarms and water-heater bracing, which California requires to be in place at closing.
Move week
- Arrange mail forwarding and send your new address to your bank, employer, insurers and subscription services.
- Walk the home one last time before closing to check repairs, appliances and condition.
- Confirm that your big pieces fit through the doors, and ask about moving-truck rules at your building or HOA.
- Keep the essentials in one box you open first: chargers, medications, important papers and sheets.
Your first 30 days
- Watch for the supplemental tax bill California sends after a purchase; it is separate from the regular bill.
- Coming from another state: Check the DMV: new residents are generally expected to get a California driver’s license within 10 days and register vehicles within 20.
- Update your voter registration to your new address.
- Coming from another country: Set up U.S. banking, keep copies of your documents and learn how credit history works here.
- If you are renting: Read the lease for notice, deposit and renewal terms, and keep a copy.
- On day one, change the locks, test the smoke alarms and find the water shut-off.
- Set up electric and gas, water, trash and internet, and ask for the last twelve months of bills to see typical costs.
- Choose a doctor, dentist and vet and have records and prescriptions sent over.
- 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.
- The Coronado Home Glossary: Terms Explained as Questions and Answers — 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.