What is the transfer tax (if any) in Ca? (Oakland: sales, real estate)

[barryhussein]

Specifically, Oakland. I've seen some places where it is three% of sales price. Pretty painful. If there is one; do buyer and seller split? What is customary?

[artemis78]

These vary by city, and Oakland does indeed have one--$15 per $1,000 of sale value. (That amounts to 1.5 percent, though.) Oakland's is one of the highest in the county, but for what it's worth at least a couple of the other cities are trying to bring theirs up to par.

It's typically split between buyer and seller, and in Oakland and Berkeley the buyer can get a third of the total tax back if you do a seismic retrofit of your new home within the first year. (We did this and it's a good deal if you were thinking of doing one anyway; then you end up paying only a quarter of a percent.)

[DMenscha]

Real estate practices vary widely. In our county the seller usually pays the transfer fee, but it is a negotiable item.