What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your South Bay Home?

What happens after a seller accepts an offer in California?

Once you accept an offer, escrow opens and a clock starts running. The buyer wires their deposit within 3 business days, you deliver your disclosure package within 7 days, and the buyer inspects and appraises the home during a default 17 day contingency period under the C.A.R. purchase agreement. The buyer then removes contingencies in writing, the loan funds, the deed records, and you get paid. Most financed South Bay sales close 30 to 45 days after acceptance.

By Ben Larson | September 13, 2026

You spent weeks getting the house ready, priced it, sat through showings, and finally signed an offer. Here is the part nobody warns South Bay sellers about: the moment you sign, most of the calendar shifts to the buyer's side. Their inspector, their appraiser, and their lender now drive the schedule, and your job changes from marketing the home to protecting the deal.

This is one of the most searched questions among home sellers right now, and almost everything ranking for it was written by escrow companies and law firms. Here is the seller's version, the way it actually plays out in Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Torrance, and the rest of the South Bay.

The First Week: Escrow Opens and the Clock Starts

The day after acceptance is busier than most sellers expect.

Escrow opens. Your agent sends the signed contract to an escrow company, which acts as the neutral third party that holds funds, coordinates title, and follows the written terms of the agreement. In Los Angeles County, escrow and title are separate companies, and the title company begins its search for liens and recorded issues right away.

The buyer's deposit lands. Under the C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement, the buyer typically wires an earnest money deposit of 1 to 3 percent of the price into escrow within 3 business days. If it does not show up, that is your first early warning sign, and your agent should be on it immediately.

Your disclosures go out. California expects your disclosure package in the buyer's hands quickly, generally within 7 days of acceptance. That means the Transfer Disclosure Statement, the Seller Property Questionnaire, the Natural Hazard Disclosure report, and your agent's visual inspection disclosure. Sellers who complete these before going on market never feel this crunch. Sellers who wait spend week one buried in forms.

City reports get ordered. Most South Bay cities require their own pre-sale reports and inspections before escrow can close, and the requirements change city by city. Escrow usually orders these at opening. If you want the full breakdown for your city, I covered every one of them in my guide to South Bay pre-sale report requirements.

You sign the deed early. This surprises almost everyone. In Southern California, the custom is for the seller to sign the notarized grant deed near the start of escrow, not at the end. Signing does not transfer the house. Nothing changes hands until the deed records on closing day. It just means escrow is not chasing your signature during the final week.

California also requires working smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and a double-strapped water heater before closing. Knock those out in week one and they never come up again.

Weeks Two and Three: Inspections, Appraisal, and Day 17

This is the stretch where deals live or die, and where you as the seller mostly wait. Understanding the mechanics keeps the waiting from turning into panic.

The buyer inspects. The general home inspection usually happens within the first 10 days, often with a termite inspection and any specialty inspections behind it. With so much of the South Bay's housing stock built in the 1950s and 1960s, buyers here regularly find something. Expect a Request for Repairs, and know that you have real options when it arrives. I wrote a full guide on how to respond to a buyer's repair request covering when you can say no, when you should offer a credit, and the three safety items California requires regardless.

The appraisal happens. If the buyer is financing, their lender orders an appraisal, usually in week two or three. If it comes in at or above the price, you may never hear about it. If it comes in low, you have choices: hold your price if the buyer has committed to covering the gap, negotiate, challenge the appraisal through the lender's reconsideration process, or let the buyer walk. Which move is right depends on your backup activity, and that is a conversation to have with your agent the same day the number comes in.

The buyer secures insurance. Buyers cannot close without homeowners insurance, and on the Palos Verdes Peninsula that step can take real time in designated fire hazard zones. If your home is in one, get ahead of it. My guide to selling a Palos Verdes home in a fire hazard zone covers what sellers can do before this becomes a week three emergency.

Day 17 arrives. The C.A.R. contract gives the buyer a default 17 days for inspection and appraisal contingencies and 21 days for the loan contingency, though these numbers are negotiable and often shortened in competitive situations. Here is the part sellers get wrong: contingencies do not expire on their own. California uses active contingency removal, which means the buyer must sign a written Contingency Removal form. Until they do, they can cancel and recover their deposit.

If the buyer stalls, you have a lever. Once a contingency deadline passes, your agent can serve a Notice to Buyer to Perform. It cannot go out more than 2 days before the deadline, and it gives the buyer 2 days to remove contingencies or you gain the right to cancel. Most buyers respond. The notice exists so you are not stuck in limbo with a buyer who will not commit.

If the Buyer Walks

Two different worlds, depending on timing.

If the buyer cancels while their contingencies are still in place, they get their deposit back. That is what contingencies are for, and fighting it rarely goes anywhere.

If the buyer removes contingencies and then walks without a valid reason, the deposit is on the table. On an owner-occupied home in California, liquidated damages are capped at 3 percent of the purchase price no matter how large the deposit was. One more wrinkle: escrow will not release a disputed deposit without signatures from both sides or a court order, so even a clear-cut case takes some process. Talk to a real estate attorney before counting the money.

And the reverse question sellers quietly ask: no, you cannot back out because a better offer showed up after acceptance. The contract binds you too, and a seller who refuses to close can face a lawsuit to force the sale. Decide before you sign, not after.

The Final Week: Walkthrough, Funding, and Your Wire

Once contingencies are removed, the finish line mechanics take over.

The buyer does a final walkthrough within 5 days of closing. It is not a contingency and not a renegotiation. They are confirming the home is in the condition promised and that agreed repairs are done, so hand over your repair receipts and leave the place the way the contract says.

Then the sequence runs: the lender funds the loan, escrow balances the file, and the deed records with Los Angeles County. California is a same-day state on this, so funding, recording, and disbursement usually land together. Your net proceeds typically wire the same day or within 48 hours of recording. If you want to know what comes out of that number before you get there, my breakdown of seller closing costs in the South Bay walks through the line items.

Possession transfers at closing unless you negotiated otherwise. If you need time after closing to move, that gets written in up front: the C.A.R. Seller in Possession form covers stays up to 29 days, and a longer rent-back uses a separate lease form with limits tied to the buyer's financing. Do not improvise this with a handshake. The disputes I see almost always trace back to move-out terms that never made it into writing.

Add it up and a clean financed sale in the South Bay runs about 30 to 45 days from acceptance to keys, with cash closings sometimes landing in 7 to 14 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does escrow take in the South Bay?

A typical financed sale closes 30 to 45 days after the offer is accepted. Cash sales can close in 7 to 14 days if title is clean. Financing issues and inspection negotiations are the two most common reasons a closing date slips.

Can the buyer back out after I accept their offer?

Yes, while their contingencies are active. The default C.A.R. contract gives buyers 17 days for inspection and appraisal contingencies and 21 days for the loan contingency, and they can cancel for covered reasons during that window and recover their deposit. After they remove contingencies in writing, their exit options narrow sharply.

Do I keep the buyer's deposit if they walk away?

Only if they cancel without a valid reason after removing contingencies. Even then, California caps liquidated damages on an owner-occupied home at 3 percent of the purchase price, and escrow needs both parties' signatures or a court order to release disputed funds. A real estate attorney should guide that process.

When do I get paid after closing?

Your proceeds are wired after the deed records with Los Angeles County. In California, funding, recording, and disbursement usually happen the same day, so most sellers see the wire that day or within 48 hours.

When do I have to move out after selling?

At close of escrow, unless your contract says otherwise. If you need more time, negotiate it before you accept the offer using the C.A.R. Seller in Possession form for up to 29 days, or a longer rent-back agreement. Get every move-out term in writing.

The Bottom Line for South Bay Sellers

Accepting the offer is the midpoint of your sale, not the end. The next 30 to 45 days run on the buyer's contingency calendar, and the sellers who come through smoothly are the ones whose disclosures are ready, whose agent tracks every deadline, and who know their options before the repair request or the low appraisal shows up.

The escrow period actually starts before you list, because pricing, prep, and disclosure work determine how much leverage you keep once you are under contract. If you are thinking about selling in Palos Verdes, the beach cities, Torrance, or anywhere in the South Bay, start with an honest number. Request a home valuation here and I will walk you through what your home is worth and what your timeline would really look like.

About Ben Larson

Ben Larson leads Larson Realty Group, powered by Real Broker, serving the South Bay of Los Angeles. Licensed since 2006 with more than $100 million in closed sales, he specializes in listings across the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the beach cities, and works extensively with probate, trust, and inherited property sales. Reach him at larsonrealty.group. DRE #01746853.

This article is general information, not legal, tax, or lending advice. Contract timelines and remedies depend on your purchase agreement. Talk to a California real estate attorney about cancellation or deposit disputes, a CPA about tax questions, and a licensed lender about financing questions.