Most California home sales close through escrow with no lawyer involved, and for routine deals, that works. A real estate transaction attorney belongs in the deals that are not routine: no broker, seller financing, commercial or industrial property, entity buyers, disclosure problems, or title surprises. VK Law handles residential, commercial, and industrial purchase and sale transactions across California, and in broker-less deals we have saved clients real money by running the transaction directly.
More about Real Estate Purchase & Sale
- Escrow protects the mechanics of a sale, not your legal position: the purchase agreement is where deals are won or lost.
- Sellers of most homes owe statutory disclosures; skipping or fudging them is where post-closing lawsuits come from.
- How you take title at closing, including whether the property goes into your living trust, has probate and tax consequences that outlast the deal.
- To talk with VK Law about a purchase or sale, call 877-780-4727.
When a Deal Needs a Transaction Attorney
- No broker. In a direct sale, nobody is preparing the contract, disclosures, or timeline: we run the transaction end to end, often for less than a commission.
- Seller financing or unusual terms. Carryback notes, lease-options, and installment contracts need drafting, not forms.
- Commercial and industrial property. Letters of intent, due diligence, tenant and title review, and entity-level questions.
- Disclosure or condition problems. Known defects, unpermitted work, or a dispute already brewing, including construction defect issues.
- Family and co-ownership transfers. Sales between relatives, buyouts between co-owners, and purchases structured as tenancy in common.
The Paper That Runs the Deal
The purchase agreement controls everything that follows: the contingencies and when they expire, the deposit and whether it is truly at risk, repair and credit mechanics, closing dates, and what happens when someone does not perform. Escrow follows instructions: it does not negotiate them. We review and negotiate the agreement before signature, keep the contingency calendar honest, and paper the amendments that every live deal accumulates.
Disclosures and Title
California requires sellers of most residential property to deliver a statutory disclosure package covering the property’s condition and known problems: the Transfer Disclosure Statement framework in Civil Code section 1102 and the sections that follow. Incomplete or optimistic disclosures are the seed of most post-closing lawsuits, on both sides.
Title matters just as much: what exceptions the title report carries, and how the buyer takes title at closing. Vesting is an estate-planning decision: joint tenancy, tenancy in common, community property, or a living trust each behave differently at death. Our guide to how to hold title in California compares the options, and our property title and estate planning page explains why many buyers close directly into their revocable living trust, or deed the property into one right after closing.
Commercial and Industrial Transactions
Business property adds layers: entity structuring, lease and estoppel review, environmental questions, and financing conditions. We coordinate with our California business law practice so the entity, the loan, and the deed all agree with each other.
The Contingencies That Matter
Contingencies are the buyer’s exit ramps, and the seller’s calendar of risk. The ones that decide deals: inspection (the broadest: in practice a general right to renegotiate or leave while it lasts), loan and appraisal (financing reality), title (the exceptions the buyer must live with), and, sometimes, the sale of the buyer’s current home. In standard California practice, contingencies are removed actively and in writing; until they are, the deposit is generally protected, and once they are, it is generally exposed. Managing that clock is most of what protects a party in escrow.
When Deals Fall Apart
Failed sales fight over two things: the deposit and the property itself. Standard forms typically pair a liquidated-damages clause (the seller’s remedy is the deposit) with the contingency record, so whether contingencies were properly removed usually decides who keeps the money. On the other side, because land is legally unique, a wrongly jilted buyer can sometimes sue for specific performance: a court order forcing the sale through. Notices to perform, cancellation demands, and the escrow paper trail are where these disputes are won, long before anyone files.
Escrow, Step by Step
For buyers and sellers doing this without a broker, the sequence matters: open escrow and wire the deposit; deliver and review the disclosure package; obtain and examine the preliminary title report; run inspections and negotiate repairs or credits; remove contingencies in writing; sign closing documents; fund; and record. Ownership changes when the deed hits the county record, not when the papers are signed. We run this timeline for clients end to end in broker-less deals.
How We Help
We draft and negotiate purchase agreements, manage escrow and title review, prepare deeds and closing documents, structure broker-less transactions, and coordinate vesting with your estate plan. When a closed deal turns into a dispute, our litigation side takes over. Purchase and sale work is part of our broader California real estate practice.
To talk with VK Law about a purchase or sale, call 877-780-4727. The consultation is free.
Reviewed by Alan Khalfin, Managing Partner (California). Last reviewed: July 8, 2026.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for most routine, broker-run escrow sales. California practice does not require it. An attorney earns their place when there is no broker, the financing or terms are unusual, the property is commercial, the buyer is an entity or trust, or a disclosure or title problem has already surfaced.
Escrow is a neutral: it follows instructions, holds funds, and records documents. It does not negotiate your contract, review disclosures for danger, resolve title exceptions, or advise you at all. The attorney is the party in the deal whose job is protecting your position.
Yes. In broker-less deals we prepare the purchase agreement and disclosures, open and instruct escrow, review title, and manage the timeline through closing: the structure a broker would otherwise provide, with legal judgment a broker cannot offer.
Sellers of most residential property must deliver statutory disclosures about the property’s condition and known problems, headlined by the Transfer Disclosure Statement. The safe rule for sellers is simple: when in doubt, disclose. Disclosure disputes are the most common seed of post-closing litigation.
For many families, yes: property held in a revocable living trust passes without probate, and buyers often close directly into the trust or deed the property in shortly after. It is worth coordinating with your estate plan before closing so the vesting on the deed matches the plan.
Yes: commercial and industrial transactions including letters of intent, due diligence, lease and estoppel review, entity structuring, and closing, working alongside our business law practice where the deal needs it.
While contingencies are alive, generally yes: the inspection contingency in particular functions as a broad exit. After contingencies are removed in writing, backing out usually puts the deposit at risk under the liquidated-damages clause. The paper trail of removals and notices decides most of these disputes.
It depends on why. If a live contingency justified cancellation, the buyer typically recovers it. If contingencies had been removed, the seller usually claims it under the liquidated-damages clause. Escrow will not pick a winner: disputed deposits sit until the parties agree or a court or arbitrator decides.
