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The courthouse in Woodland is here because the other town flooded
A flooded county seat, a store called Yolo City and one street the town grew from. What three old decisions still change when you sell in Woodland.
Plain answers, no jargon
Selling a house, explained the way a person would explain it
Real estate gets wrapped in words that are doing three jobs at once. Most of the confusion is not you. It is the vocabulary. So here is everything written the way I would say it on the phone, including the parts that do not help me sell anything.
I am Kevin. I buy houses in the Sacramento area, so I have an interest in this. Read accordingly.
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Local guidesYour flood zone is a line on a map that nobody can see from the street
What a FEMA flood zone label actually means, where Sacramento County keeps the answer for your parcel, and the one document that can move the line.
Local guidesSelling a house on a well and a septic system, where the city line stops
Water from your own ground, waste into your own tank. Here is where the county records live, and what a buyer will ask about both.
Showing 1 to 12 of 51 posts
Local guidesSelling a house in Stockton or Lodi: one county, two cities, three different counters
Two towns twelve miles apart, in one county, built for two different reasons. Here is which counter holds which record when you sell.
Local guidesWhat is different about selling in Roseville, Rocklin or Lincoln
Three Placer County cities, three different eras of house, and what the rail yard, the granite quarries and the clay plant still mean when you sell.
Local guidesSelling a house in West Sacramento: the older river-side tracts
West Sacramento incorporated in 1987, so much of the river-side housing is older than the government that permits it. What that means when you sell.
Local guidesWhere your property records actually live: Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and San Joaquin counties
The deed, the parcel and the roll live in different buildings, run by different offices, in four counties. Here is where to look, county by county.
Local guidesIs your house in a city, or does the county answer for it?
Most people assume their address is in a city. In Sacramento County that is often wrong, and it changes which government keeps your records.
Local guidesLand Park, Curtis Park, East Sac, Oak Park: how to tell the four apart
Four older Sacramento neighborhoods, four different eras of house. What the cross streets, the grid and the decade of the block actually change when you sell.
Local guidesWhat is actually under the floor of an older Sacramento house
Sacramento raised its own downtown out of the flood zone. Here is what is under the floor of an older house, and what a buyer sees…
Local guidesThe alley behind the house, and how the old Sacramento grid put it there
Sacramento was laid out in 1848 as a grid of numbered and lettered streets. Here is what the alley behind your house is, and why it…
Local guidesWhy so much of Sacramento looks the same: the postwar ranch house
Sacramento grew outward in bursts, so whole neighborhoods went up at once. Why the same house repeats down the block, and what it means when you…
Which one sounds like you?
Pick whichever is closest. You will get a straight article, not a sales pitch.
The house needs workRoof, plumbing, a kitchen from 1985. You do not want to spend into it.Read this
I am behind on paymentsYou have a notice, or you are worried one is coming.Read this
I want to know who I am dealing withThe questions worth asking before you trust anyone who wants to buy your house.Read this
I do not know what it is worthYou have a number in your head but nothing to back it up.Read this
I want to know how long this takesWeeks or months, and what actually drives the difference.Read this
I just want to understand thisNo hurry. You want the whole picture before you decide anything.Read this
Words people use without explaining them
Tap any of these. No sales pitch hiding underneath, I promise.
Equitytap
The difference between what the house is worth and what you still owe on it. Worth $500,000, owe $300,000, you have about $200,000 in equity. That is the money you walk away with, minus selling costs.
As-istap
It means the buyer accepts the property in its current condition and will not hand you a repair list. It does not mean you are allowed to hide problems you know about. Those still have to be disclosed.
Contingencytap
A condition in a purchase contract that lets a buyer back out without losing their deposit. An inspection contingency is the common one. A cash offer with no contingencies is worth real money, because it cannot be undone the same way.
Earnest moneytap
The deposit a buyer puts up to show they are serious. A large deposit is expensive to walk away from, which is exactly why it signals commitment. A tiny deposit is cheap to abandon.
Escrowtap
The neutral middle. A title or escrow company holds the money and the paperwork until everyone has done what they promised, then moves the deed and releases the funds. Neither side hands anything directly to the other.
Titletap
The legal record of who owns the property. A title search looks for anything attached to it: old loans, liens, judgments, heirs, easements. Most closing delays live here, not in the house itself.
Lientap
A legal claim against the property that has to be paid before the property can change hands cleanly. A mortgage is a lien. So are unpaid taxes, a contractor who was never paid, or a judgment from a lawsuit.
Deed of trusttap
How most California home loans are secured. Instead of a mortgage, you sign a deed of trust that puts a neutral third party, the trustee, in the middle. That is why California foreclosure usually runs through a trustee instead of a court.
Notice of defaulttap
A recorded document saying the loan is in default. It starts a legal clock: not less than three months must pass from the filing before things can move to a sale date. It is the beginning of a timeline, not the end of your options.
Reinstatementtap
Catching the loan back up: paying what is behind plus the fees and costs that piled up, which puts the loan in good standing again. It does not require the lender to forgive anything, just for you to get current.
Comparables, or compstap
Recently sold houses similar to yours, used to estimate value. The word does a lot of work, which is why two people can look at the same six sales and disagree. Size, condition, date, and location all get argued about.
Holding coststap
Everything you keep paying while a house sits unsold. Mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance. Nobody puts this line on a listing flyer and it is frequently the largest number in the whole comparison.
Net proceedstap
What you actually keep after everything comes off the top: repairs you did, cleaning, staging, brokerage compensation, closing costs, and the payoff on your loan. The number that matters is this one, not the asking price.
Contingency periodtap
The window after you accept an offer when the buyer does their inspections and can still back out. During it, you are off the market but not sold. That gap is where a lot of deals quietly die.
Short saletap
Selling for less than is owed on the loan, with the lender agreeing to accept less than the full payoff. It is a negotiated process with the lender, and it takes time and paperwork, which is why buyers treat it differently.
Still not sure where you fit?
Tick whatever is true. Nothing is sent anywhere, it just tells you what to read next.
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Send the address and the basics. You get the number and the arithmetic behind it, and the honest answer may be that you should list it instead.