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For buyers

Buying a home in Los Angeles County

Whatever kind of buyer you are, this is where to start. Then dig into the neighborhood you actually want to live in.

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Help me find a home

Tell us the beds, baths, and square footage you need, the neighborhoods you have in mind, the things you really want, and anything about your family we should know. We read every one ourselves and come back to you with homes that actually fit, including ones you would scroll past online.

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Buyer resources

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Buying a Home

Find a home you love without feeling rushed, pushed, or unsure of what happens next.

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First-Time Buyers

Your first home should feel exciting, not confusing. We explain every step in plain language.

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Relocating to the Area

Moving somewhere new? We help it feel familiar before you ever unpack a box.

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VA and Military Buyers

You've served. Buying a home should be the easy part, planned around your timeline and orders.

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A small living room and kitchen crowded with a family's toys, mail and belongings, clearly out of space

Trading Up

Outgrown your home? Sell it and buy the next one without juggling two moves on your own.

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Buying an Investment Property

Buy a rental property with the numbers in front of you, so it builds your future instead of your stress.

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By neighborhood

Buying in your exact area

The two things buyers are actually afraid of

Overpaying, and losing the house they loved to somebody else's offer. Almost every question a buyer asks is really one of those two wearing a different coat.

Both are preventable, and both get decided before you ever tour a home. Not during. Before.

The buyer who gets the good house is almost always the one who was already prepared when it came up on a Thursday night. Not the one with the biggest budget.

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Or read how we do it, step by step

What you can actually afford, which is not what you are approved for

A lender will approve you for a payment. Whether you want to live on that payment is a different question, and it is yours, not theirs.

So before we look at a single house, we look at what the monthly number really includes here:

  • Principal and interest, the part everybody thinks about.
  • Property taxes. In California your taxes reset to roughly 1.1 to 1.3 percent of what you pay, not what the seller was paying. People are routinely shocked by this.
  • Insurance, which in parts of this county is affected by fire hazard designation and is worth quoting before you are in escrow, not during.
  • Mello-Roos and special assessments. Many newer Santa Clarita Valley neighborhoods sit in a Community Facilities District, and that bond shows up on the tax bill every year. It can be a few hundred dollars or a few thousand.
  • HOA dues, if there is one.

Two homes at the same price can carry very different monthly costs once those are in. We will show you the real number on anything you are serious about, before you fall for it.

What you need up front

The down payment is not the only cash you need. Closing costs, the appraisal, inspections, and your earnest money deposit all land in the same stretch of weeks.

You do not necessarily need 20 percent. Conventional loans go lower, FHA lower still, and a VA loan can mean nothing down for a qualifying veteran. Less down usually means mortgage insurance, which is a real cost and worth seeing in the monthly number rather than discovering later.

Your deposit is usually one to three percent, and it goes to escrow, not to the seller. It is credited to you at closing. It is genuinely at risk only after you remove your contingencies, which is why those dates matter so much.

What you pay us gets agreed in writing first. California now requires a written agreement between a buyer and their agent before showings, which is a good change, because it puts the money conversation at the beginning instead of the middle. In many transactions the seller still offers compensation to the buyer's agent, and we will tell you exactly how it works on any home you are considering.

The small stuff of a new address
The small stuff of a new address

How the search actually works

Most buyers start by scrolling. That is fine, it is how everybody starts, but it tends to produce a list of houses that look good in photographs rather than houses that fit the life you are living.

So we build the search around your week, not your bedroom count. The commute you will actually make every day. Whether you need a yard or genuinely do not. Whether stairs matter now or might in ten years. Where you will be on a Saturday.

Then, on each home we see, we tell you what we see. The good and the not so good. We would much rather talk you out of a house in the driveway than watch you find the problem during inspections.

You will tour fewer homes that way, and the ones you do see will be worth your Saturday. Tell us what you are looking for and we will start the search.

Writing an offer that actually holds together

Price is one term. It is not the only one, and in a competitive situation it is often not the one that wins.

What a seller is really asking is whether your offer will close. So we make sure yours answers that: a lender who has actually underwritten you rather than glanced at a form, a deposit that signals you are serious, contingency periods that are realistic rather than theatrical, and a closing date that works for where the seller is going.

On the California standard form, the buyer contingencies default to 17 days for investigation, appraisal, loan, and homeowner's insurance. Every one is negotiable. Shortening them makes an offer look stronger, and it only makes sense if you can genuinely perform in that window. A ten-day loan contingency from a lender who has not started underwriting is a promise nobody can keep, and experienced listing agents know it.

Here is the whole buying process, step by step.

Writing an offer that actually holds together

A yard that earns its keep

Whatever kind of buyer you are

Different situations genuinely need different handling, not just a different brochure:

Frequently Asked Questions

How much home can I actually afford?

A lender approves you for a payment. Whether you want to live on it is your call, not theirs. The monthly number here includes principal and interest, property taxes that reset to roughly 1.1 to 1.3 percent of what you pay rather than what the seller paid, insurance, any Mello-Roos bond, and HOA dues. Two homes at the same price can carry very different monthly costs once those are in. We will show you the real number on anything you are serious about.

How much do I need for a down payment?

Not necessarily 20 percent. Conventional loans go lower, FHA lower still, and a qualifying veteran may be able to buy with nothing down on a VA loan. Less down usually means mortgage insurance, which is a real monthly cost and should be in your number from the start. Remember the down payment is not the only cash you need: closing costs, inspections, the appraisal and your deposit all land in the same few weeks.

Do I have to be pre-approved before we start looking?

Not to talk to us, call anytime. But before you tour homes, yes, and for two reasons. It shows you your real price range instead of a guess, and sellers expect to see it with an offer. There is a difference between pre-qualified and fully underwritten, and that difference is what makes your offer credible when you are competing.

What does it cost me to work with a buyer's agent?

We tell you exactly, in writing, before you tour a single home. California now requires a written agreement between a buyer and their agent before showings, which we think is a good change, because the money conversation happens at the beginning instead of in the middle. In many transactions the seller still offers compensation to the buyer's agent, and we will walk you through how it works on any home you are considering.

How long does it take to buy a home?

Once you are prepared, the search is as long as it needs to be, sometimes two weeks and sometimes several months. After an accepted offer, escrow on a financed purchase commonly runs 30 to 45 days. The part you control is the preparation, and the buyers who get the house they want are almost always the ones who were ready before it appeared.

What are contingencies and how long do I get?

They are your exits. On the California standard form the defaults are 17 days each for investigation, appraisal, loan, and homeowner's insurance, and every one is negotiable. Nothing removes automatically in California: you sign a written Contingency Removal form. Until you do, the contingency is alive no matter what the calendar says. Once you remove them, your deposit is genuinely at risk.

Should I buy now or wait?

Nobody times the market perfectly, and anyone who tells you they can is selling something. The more useful question is whether a move fits your life and your finances right now. We will look at your numbers with you and give you an honest answer, including when that answer is to wait. Plenty of people talk to us a year before they buy.

Do I need to sell my current home first?

It depends on whether you need that equity for the down payment and how much risk you want to carry. Selling first is safer financially and leaves you needing somewhere to live. Buying first is easier on your life and riskier on your money. Most people land in between, using a rent-back or a contingent offer. We map both sides on one timeline so the dates work for you.

What is Mello-Roos and will I have to pay it?

It is a bond that funds infrastructure in a Community Facilities District, and many newer Santa Clarita Valley neighborhoods sit in one. It appears on the property tax bill every year and can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. It is not optional if the home is in a district, and it is exactly the kind of thing that should be in your monthly number before you fall in love with a house, not after.

Do you only help buyers in Santa Clarita?

No. We live in the Santa Clarita Valley and work across Los Angeles County, including the San Fernando Valley, the Antelope Valley, Burbank, Glendale, and Los Angeles, plus nearby Simi Valley and Ventura. Moving farther than that? We will introduce you to an agent we have vetted ourselves in the market you are moving to. See the areas we serve.
Michelle and Jon Dubner, REALTORS with Equity Union in the Santa Clarita Valley

Meet the team

The team that would help you buy

We are Michelle and Jon Dubner, husband and wife, and Dubner Real Estate Group is ours. Our team is here to serve you: to understand what you are hoping for, walk you through it step by step, and make sure you get there. Michelle answers her own phone and is quickest by text, so ask us anything, at any point, however small it feels.

Michelle Dubner DRE #01496647 Jon Dubner DRE #02118617 Equity Union

661-219-5517More about us

Reading for buyers

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The method

How we do it

  1. ReadyPre-approved and ready to act the day the right home appears.
  2. EducatedAn honest picture of what your budget really buys.
  3. AlignedFewer homes to tour, and the right ones.
  4. LockedOffer to keys, handled so closing day feels calm.

Read the whole process, step by step

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