We don't just
list your home.
We sell it.

If your home is your primary residence and you've owned and lived in it for at least two of the last five years, federal law lets you exclude up to $250,000 in gains if you're single, or $500,000 if you're married filing jointly, from capital gains tax. Any profit above that exclusion may be taxable.

This is general information, not tax advice, since your specific numbers depend on your original purchase price, any improvements you've made, and your personal tax situation. I always recommend talking with your CPA or a tax advisor before listing, so you know your real numbers going in, not after the sale closes.

If you're 55 or older, Proposition 19 lets you transfer your current property tax base to a new home anywhere in California, up to three times in your lifetime. That means if you've owned your South Bay home for decades and have a low tax basis, you don't automatically lose that benefit just because you sell and buy a smaller or different home elsewhere in the state.

For many long-time South Bay homeowners, this is the detail that makes downsizing or relocating financially realistic in a way it wasn't before 2021. The rules around timing and eligibility have real nuance, so I always recommend confirming your specific situation with a tax advisor or the County Assessor's office before making a decision based on this benefit.

California law requires sellers to disclose known material facts about a property's condition, including structural issues, past repairs, water damage, and other defects, through documents like the Transfer Disclosure Statement. Being thorough and honest here isn't just an ethical standard, it's a legal one. Sellers can remain liable to a buyer for issues they knew about but failed to disclose, even after the sale closes.

I walk every seller through the full disclosure package line by line before it goes to a buyer, so nothing gets missed and nothing comes back to you later.

Transfer tax is a fee charged by the county and sometimes the city when a property changes ownership, calculated as a percentage of the sale price. In most of Santa Clara County, this is customarily paid by the seller at closing, though the exact amount depends on the specific city, since some South Bay cities charge additional local transfer tax on top of the county rate.

I include an estimate of this cost in your net proceeds worksheet before you ever list, so there are no surprises at the closing table.

Beyond agent commission, expect to budget for transfer tax, title and escrow fees, any repairs negotiated after inspection, and staging or prep costs if needed. Some sellers also cover a portion of the buyer's closing costs as part of negotiation, depending on market conditions at the time.

I build out a full net proceeds estimate for your specific home before you decide to list, so you know approximately what you'll walk away with, not just what the home might sell for.