How long does a California escrow take?

Your purchase agreement sets the closing date, as a calendar date or as a count of days from acceptance. The same agreement gives the buyer a set number of days to inspect the home and to get the loan approved. Buyers and sellers negotiate those days, so they differ from one sale to the next.

A buyer who pays cash skips the loan steps, but not the title report, any loan payoffs, the signing or the recording.

After the loan funds, the county usually records the deed the next business day (DRE). Escrow then pays the old lenders and the seller.

The lender orders the appraisal and reviews the loan. Your contract says how many days the buyer has to get the loan approved.

Federal rules add one fixed wait. The lender must give the buyer the Closing Disclosure, which shows the final loan terms and costs, at least three business days before closing (CFPB). That gives the buyer time to compare it with the Loan Estimate and ask questions.

On a refinance of the home you live in, you usually have until midnight of the third business day after signing to cancel. The lender can’t pay out the loan until that time has passed (federal rule 12 CFR 1026.23). A loan to buy a home has no such waiting period.

Your contract gives the buyer a set number of days to have the home inspected, and then to cancel or ask for repairs. When more time is needed, the buyer and the seller can agree in writing to new dates.

The seller owes the buyer a written disclosure statement about the home. If that statement reaches the buyer after the offer, the buyer gets three days from hand delivery, or five days from mailing, to cancel (Civil Code §1102.3).

In a home with an HOA, the seller must give the buyer copies of the association’s documents. After a written request, the HOA has 10 days to provide them (Civil Code §4530).

If the sale falls under the bulk sale law, the notice must be recorded with the county recorder 12 or more business days before the sale. By the same deadline, it must run in a newspaper and reach the county tax collector (Commercial Code §6105). That is the earliest the sale can happen, not a closing date.

Tax clearances often take longer. The Employment Development Department (EDD) must respond within 30 days of a request, either with a certificate or with the amount owed (Unemployment Insurance Code §1732). It wants the seller’s current returns filed first. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) gets 60 days. Its clock starts on the latest of these dates: the sale, the request, or the day the seller’s records become available for audit (Revenue and Taxation Code §6812). The CDTFA warns that its clearance may take 60 days or longer. The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) also has 60 days to issue its withholding certificate (Revenue and Taxation Code §18669).

When the EDD or the FTB lets its deadline pass, the law treats the buyer as cleared. When the CDTFA misses its deadline, the duty to withhold part of the price ends. Either way, the seller’s own tax debts remain.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) puts the average for a person-to-person transfer at about 75 days. That time includes a notice that must stay posted at the premises for 30 days in a row before the license can be issued (ABC).

During the ABC’s review, the buyer may get a temporary permit that keeps the business running. It lasts up to four months, with a possible extension from the ABC (Business and Professions Code §24045.5).

A 1031 exchange runs on two federal deadlines. You have 45 days after the sale to name the replacement property in writing. The replacement must be received within 180 days, or by the due date of that year’s tax return, extensions included, whichever is earlier. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets these deadlines in its Form 8824 instructions. Each escrow in the exchange still closes on its own contract’s dates.

In a probate estate, the court must confirm a sale of real property before title passes, unless the executor or administrator has full authority to sell without that step (Probate Code §10308). A sale that needs confirmation waits for the court’s hearing. Trust and probate sales.