Selling before you list.

Aerial view of boats crossing a bay channel past a sandbar island, with a bridge and the ocean beyond

The short answer

A Newport Beach seller can sell without a public listing. California law lets a listing enter the MLS only if the seller authorizes it, and CRMLS rules set what a pre-market or private sale may do. The trade is privacy and control of timing against the exposure that tests a price.

SellingPublished October 2, 20266 min read

Read the article

Answers to the questions owners, buyers and families ask about homes in coastal Orange County. Each article lists its sources and the date they were checked.

Neighborhoods

Areas

Cameo Shores, Corona del Mar: beach access and HOA basics

Where Cameo Shores sits, how its gated beach paths work, what the Cameo Community Association covers, and what to request before making an offer.

Published October 8, 20268 min read

Corona del Mar neighborhoods, pocket by pocket
Published October 2, 20268 min read
Harbor View Hills South: streets, rules and a 2024 sale
Published October 2, 20267 min read
Moving to Newport Beach: a practical first-year guide
Published October 2, 20267 min read

Selling

Home valuation

California’s 3 1/3% withholding when you sell (Form 593)

When escrow withholds 3 1/3% of a California sale price, who is exempt, the gain-based option, trust and estate sales, and how to claim the money back.

Published October 6, 20267 min read

Selling a house in Newport Beach: a step-by-step plan
Published October 2, 20268 min read
Selling before you list: off-market sales in Newport Beach
Published October 2, 20266 min read
How to price a home in Corona del Mar
Published October 2, 20267 min read

Buying

Areas

Do you need a buyer agreement before touring a home?

California buyer agreements: when to sign (before touring, in most cases), what they must include, the 90-day limit, who pays the agent and how to end one.

Published October 13, 20267 min read

Buying in Corona del Mar: what to check before an offer
Published October 2, 20268 min read

Trust & estate

Trust & estate sales

Buying out a sibling’s share: how Prop 19 applies

A non-pro rata distribution can let one child keep the parents’ house and its tax base under Prop 19. Shares bought from siblings later are reassessed.

Published October 7, 20268 min read

How to sell an inherited house in Orange County
Published October 2, 20269 min read
Does Prop 19 apply when you inherit your parents’ house?
Published October 2, 20268 min read
Trust sale or probate: how the timelines compare
Published October 2, 20267 min read

Military relocation

Military resources

CalVet home loan vs. VA loan: how they compare

CalVet vs. VA home loans: who lends, who qualifies, Orange County limits, title, insurance, funding fees and how CalVet uses the VA guaranty.

Published October 14, 20269 min read

PCS to Orange County: a housing guide for military moves
Published October 2, 20268 min read

Architecture & living

Corona del Mar

Corona del Mar architecture: eras, styles and rules

Corona del Mar’s architecture by era and pocket, from 1904 Village lots and cottages to 1950s tracts and Harbor View Hills, plus the rules on changes.

Published October 2, 20268 min read

Process & law

How a California home sale works, from offer to close

What happens between an accepted offer and recording in California: escrow, contingencies, seller disclosures, lender deadlines and closing costs.

Published October 15, 20267 min read

Films

Short films Michael made for his channel. The two oldest were recorded in May and July 2022, as interest rates rose and the market began to shift.

The market commentary reflects conditions when each film was made.

Each film loads from YouTube, in its privacy-enhanced mode, only when you press play.

The full channel on YouTube

01For sellers
What days on market tell a seller.
Homes were staying on the market longer. Michael on why that can point to a stable market and careful buyers, and what it means for a seller’s strategy.
Sep 12, 20241:15
The articleSelling a house in Newport Beach: a step-by-step plan
02For sellers
Renovating an older house before the sale.
For owners of an older home, Michael on renovating key areas before the house goes on the market.
Jul 25, 20241:25Vertical
03For buyers
Scope the sewer line before you buy.
Michael’s advice to buyers: add a sewer-line scope to the inspections. It takes a plumber, separate from the home inspector.
Feb 23, 20241:01
The articleBuying in Corona del Mar: what to check before an offer
04Corona del Mar
Behind the beach gates of Cameo Shores.
Through the center gate of Cameo Shores, in Corona del Mar, and down to the private beach. By Michael’s description, residents’ keys open two beach gates and a third onto trails toward Crystal Cove.
Jan 20, 20240:23Vertical
The articleCameo Shores, Corona del Mar: beach access and HOA basics
05For sellers
How a sale before listing works.
Michael on trying a sale off-market before a public MLS listing: privacy, a smaller group of interested buyers, and a test of the market before the house goes public.
Jan 12, 20241:32
The articleSelling before you list: off-market sales in Newport Beach
06For sellers
Why he advised the lower offer.
Michael on why he advised recent sellers to accept a lower offer, after weighing the risks in the terms of each one.
Oct 5, 20231:22Vertical
The articleHow a California home sale works, from offer to close
07Market
July 2022. Price for the market as it is.
Michael on pricing a house to the market of July 2022, and on listings going stale as interest rates rose.
Jul 8, 20221:57
The articleHow to price a home in Corona del Mar
08Market
May 2022. The market begins to shift.
Michael on the start of a market shift as interest rates rose: buyers losing purchasing power, fewer of them in the market, and inventory climbing. He told owners with a selling timeline to sell at the height of the market.
May 4, 20222:25Vertical