Fix before you list
The repairs and refreshes Orange County sellers do before a sale, what the state actually requires, and how to pay for the work from equity that comes back at closing.
Reviewed November 2026 · Matt Casillas, NMLS #339780
Equity can pay for the work before the sale pays you. A home equity line funds in days1, is drawn as the contractor invoices, and is paid off through escrow when the home closes. If the home is already listed, the line is limited to $400,000 and 80% combined loan-to-value, with program terms that differ. HELOC on a listed home.
What California requires, and what it does not
The list of legally required work before a California sale is short. Water heaters must be braced or strapped. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors must be installed and working. The seller completes the Transfer Disclosure Statement and the natural hazard disclosure, which disclose conditions rather than require repairs. Some cities add point-of-sale items of their own, such as low-flow fixtures or a seismic gas shut-off valve, and a retrofit certificate to prove them.
Everything else, from the roof to the paint, is a negotiation with the buyer. That is why the question is never “what must I fix” but “what is worth fixing before the first showing, and what is better left as a credit.”
Sources: California Health and Safety Code §19211 (water heater bracing); §13113.8 (smoke alarms at sale); Civil Code §1102 (Transfer Disclosure Statement). Check your city for point-of-sale requirements.
What sellers usually do, in order
- Inspections first. A general inspection and a termite inspection before listing, so the repair list is yours and not the buyer’s. A Section 1 termite clearance is customary in Southern California sales.
- Systems that fail an inspection. Roof leaks, a failed furnace or air conditioner, an electrical panel that an insurer will not write, active plumbing leaks. These are the items that cost more as a buyer’s credit than as a repair. Roof, HVAC and windows.
- The surfaces buyers see. Interior paint, flooring, and a refresh rather than a remodel in the kitchen and bathrooms: hardware, fixtures, lighting, caulk and grout. What a kitchen costs · bathrooms.
- The outside. Landscaping, the front door, exterior paint where it is peeling, and a pressure-washed hardscape. Pool and hardscape.
- Permits on past work. An unpermitted addition or garage conversion surfaces in the buyer’s inspection and the appraisal. Decide early whether to legalize it or disclose it. Unpermitted ADUs and conversions.
What sellers usually should not do: a full kitchen or bathroom remodel for a buyer they have not met. The buyer’s taste is not yours, and the money rarely comes back in the price. Refresh, repair, clean.
Paying for it from equity
The sequence that works: get bids, check your options with a soft credit inquiry, open the line, then draw as the work is invoiced. Pay contractors by milestone. When the home closes, escrow pays the line off from the proceeds and the lien is reconveyed. Until then the line carries a monthly payment on whatever you have drawn, and only on that.
- Funding in as few as 5 business days once verification is complete1
- Draw only what each invoice needs; interest accrues on the balance, not the limit
- No dealer fee built into the contractor’s price, and no tie to one contractor
- Costs of opening the line are paid from the line, not out of pocket2
The honest caution: on a line you will close in a few months, the opening costs are concentrated into those months. Divide them by the months you expect to hold the balance and compare the result with a seller credit or a lower list price. For a $6,000 paint-and-flooring refresh, the credit usually wins. For a $60,000 roof and systems replacement that would otherwise sink the sale, the line usually does.
Illustrative figures. The line’s costs, rate and payment are shown in your offer.
If the home is already listed
The line is still available, with limits: up to $400,000, combined loan-to-value capped at 80%, and program terms that differ from an unlisted home. The application asks whether the home is listed; answer it as of the day you apply, because listing records are checked. The full rules for a listed home.
Who does the work
The Orange County contractor directory lists licensed trades by specialty, each with a verified CSLB license and a link to the company’s own site. It is free, open to any licensed Orange County contractor, and has no referral arrangement with borrowing in either direction. For the two or three weeks before photos, the trades sellers call most are painters, flooring installers, handymen with a general license, roofers and HVAC companies.
These are the requirements for the home equity line we place. Other lenders set their own guidelines, and some are more flexible.
Selling in the next year?
Tell us the property, what the inspections found, and roughly when you plan to list.
Fixing before you list: questions
Apply when you know what the work costs, and answer the application’s listing question accurately as of that day. A listed home can still qualify, up to the standard tier with a lower loan-to-value cap and program terms that differ.
State law requires water heaters to be braced, working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, and the seller’s disclosure forms. Some cities add point-of-sale items. Everything beyond that is a negotiation with the buyer, not a requirement.
Not by state law. A Section 1 clearance is customary in many Southern California sales because buyers and their lenders ask for it, so sellers usually order the inspection early to avoid a surprise in escrow.
From the sale proceeds, through escrow, when the home closes. Until then it is a normal line with a monthly payment on what you have drawn.
You draw the line and pay the contractor as the work progresses, the same as any project. Pay by milestones, not up front.
These are the requirements for the home equity line we place. Other lenders set their own guidelines, and some are more flexible.
Where this connects
HELOC on a listed home
The limits once the home is on the market: $400,000, 80% CLTV, differing terms.
Learn moreOrange County contractor directory
Licensed trades by specialty, CSLB-verified.
Learn moreRoof, HVAC and windows
The systems a buyer’s inspection checks first, with current costs.
Learn moreHELOC versus dealer financing
Why the contractor’s financing carries a fee in the price.
Learn moreDisclosures
- Approval may be granted in five minutes but is ultimately subject to verification of income and employment, as well as verification that your property is in at least average condition with a property condition report. Five business day funding timeline assumes closing the loan with a remote online notary, and where loan amounts are under $400,000 which would not require an appraisal. Funding timelines may be longer for loans secured by properties located in counties that do not permit recording of e-signatures or that otherwise require an in-person closing, or that require a waiting period prior to closing, or where loan amounts exceed $400,000. On a primary residence, funds are sent after the three-business-day rescission period ends. Not all applicants will qualify.
- “Typically lower rates” compares home equity lines with credit cards and unsecured personal loans using published national averages, which are secured and unsecured products with different terms. Your rate depends on your application and is shown in your offer. “No out-of-pocket costs” means the origination fee and closing costs are paid from the line rather than in cash at closing; they are still costs, and they appear in your offer alongside the APR.