We Buy Houses in Los Angeles County

We buy houses in Los Angeles County, from Lancaster and Palmdale in the Antelope Valley down to Long Beach and the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and from Malibu and Calabasas east to Pomona and Claremont. Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the country, with about 9.69 million residents as of the Census Bureau’s July 2025 estimate, spread across 88 incorporated cities and more than a hundred unincorporated communities. Cash Home Buyers CA is based in Woodland Hills, and we buy houses, condos, mobile homes, lots and small apartment buildings across all of it, as-is, with a written cash offer in 24 to 48 hours.

This page is about the county as a whole: how its regions differ, which rules change depending on whether your property is in an incorporated city or unincorporated county territory, and what that means for a sale. If your property is inside the City of Los Angeles itself, our city page, we buy houses Los Angeles, covers the city’s own transfer tax, its 9A report and its rent rules in detail.

Los Angeles County at a glance

The county covers about 4,059 square miles of land. Much of that land, especially in the north of the county, is unincorporated, which means the County itself acts as the local government for the people who live there. Census figures put the county’s owner-occupied housing rate at about 45.9 percent and the median value of owner-occupied homes at about $834,200 for 2020 to 2024.

The current market is steady rather than hot. Redfin reported a countywide median sale price of about $925,000 for the three months ending August 2026, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier, with homes selling in a median of 50 days and for about 99.5 percent of list price. Those are countywide averages; a house in Manhattan Beach and a house in Palmdale are in completely different price ranges, and the gap between a renovated home and one that needs work can be just as large inside a single city.

Why owners across LA County sell to us

• Older houses that need more than cosmetic work. Much of the county was built out between the 1920s and the 1960s, and original electrical, plumbing, sewer lines and unbolted foundations are common.
• Inherited property. Heirs who live elsewhere, or who don’t want to take on a reassessed property tax bill under Proposition 19, often prefer a quick as-is sale over months of repairs.
• Rentals with tenants in place. Landlords in unincorporated areas, in cities with their own rent control and in the City of Los Angeles all face different rules, and selling with tenants in place is usually the simplest exit.
• Fire, water and foundation damage. After the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires, and with insurance harder to place in hillside areas, many owners would rather sell a damaged house or lot than rebuild.
• Foreclosure, divorce and relocation deadlines. When a date is fixed by a lender, a court or a new job, a firm closing date matters more than squeezing out the last dollar.
• No interest in showings, staging or commissions. Some owners simply want to say “buy my house for cash” and get one number, one walkthrough and a date.

Cash for your house in any condition: property types we buy

Los Angeles County’s housing is as varied as its geography, and we buy almost all of it. Whatever the type, the offer is cash for your house as it stands today, with no repairs or cleanup first.

• Single-family houses of any age and condition, from 1920s bungalows in the Gateway Cities to 1980s tract homes in Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley.
• Condos and townhomes, including units in buildings with special assessments, deferred maintenance or HOA disputes that make a financed sale hard.
• Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, with or without tenants, under the City of Los Angeles RSO, a city rent ordinance, the County’s ordinance or the statewide rules.
• Houses with ADUs, garage conversions or back units, permitted or not. Since January 1, 2025, AB 2533 has made it easier to legalize ADUs built before January 1, 2020 that meet health and safety standards, but we’ll buy the property before or after that work.
• Mobile and manufactured homes, on their own land in the Antelope Valley and other rural areas, or in parks across the county.
• Vacant land and burned lots, including parcels cleared after the January 2025 fires and rural desert lots.

We buy houses in Los Angeles County, region by region

Los Angeles County is really a collection of regions, each with its own housing stock, price range and reasons owners sell. Here is how we think about them.

San Fernando Valley

The Valley includes City of Los Angeles neighborhoods such as Woodland Hills, Reseda, Van Nuys, North Hollywood and Northridge, along with the independent cities of Burbank and San Fernando, with Glendale on its eastern edge. Housing is dominated by postwar single-story homes on large lots, many with converted garages or back units added over the years, plus hillside homes along the Santa Monica Mountains and the Verdugos. To the west, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village have newer subdivisions, many with homeowners associations.

Santa Clarita Valley

North of the San Fernando Valley, the City of Santa Clarita takes in Valencia, Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country, surrounded by unincorporated communities such as Stevenson Ranch and Castaic. Much of the housing here is newer than in the basin, but some neighborhoods carry HOA dues or special district taxes that a seller needs to account for, and canyon areas sit in high fire hazard terrain.

Antelope Valley

In the high desert, Lancaster and Palmdale are the two main cities, with unincorporated communities such as Quartz Hill, Littlerock, Lake Los Angeles and Acton around them. Prices are well below the county median, lots are larger, and we regularly see mobile and manufactured homes, properties on wells and septic systems, and rural parcels with unpermitted structures. Probate cases from this part of the county can still be filed at the Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster, but since February 2026 they are calendared in a probate department at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown, with remote appearances available.

San Gabriel Valley and the Pomona Valley

The San Gabriel Valley runs from Pasadena, South Pasadena and Alhambra through Arcadia, Monrovia, El Monte, Rosemead, Temple City, Baldwin Park, Covina, West Covina, Azusa and Glendora, with large unincorporated communities such as Altadena, Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights. Further east, Pomona, Claremont, La Verne, San Dimas, Diamond Bar and Walnut make up the Pomona Valley side of the county. Altadena, which is unincorporated, was hit hard by the January 2025 Eaton Fire, and many owners there are deciding between rebuilding and selling a lot.

Gateway Cities and southeast LA County

Southeast of downtown, the Gateway Cities include Downey, Norwalk, Whittier, Bellflower, Lakewood, Cerritos, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Montebello, La Mirada, South Gate, Lynwood, Huntington Park, Bell Gardens and Compton, along with unincorporated East Los Angeles. This is classic postwar tract housing alongside older bungalows and small multifamily properties, and multi-generation family ownership is common, which means a lot of inherited and trust sales.

South Bay and the Palos Verdes Peninsula

The South Bay stretches from Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale and Gardena to Torrance, Carson and Lomita, and along the coast through El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. The Palos Verdes Peninsula includes Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates, where some areas deal with slope movement. Unincorporated pockets such as Lennox and Westmont sit between the cities.

Long Beach and the harbor

Long Beach is the county’s second-largest city, with everything from Craftsman bungalows and duplexes near downtown to postwar tracts in the north and east, and Signal Hill sits entirely inside it. The City of Los Angeles neighborhoods of San Pedro and Wilmington sit next door along the harbor.

Westside, Malibu and Catalina

Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood are independent cities surrounded by the City of Los Angeles, each with its own rules, and unincorporated Marina del Rey, Ladera Heights and View Park-Windsor Hills sit nearby. Malibu stretches along the coast, where the January 2025 Palisades Fire also reached, and Avalon on Catalina Island is a city of its own. Prices here are among the highest in the county, and transfer taxes and rent rules vary a lot from one city to the next.

Don’t see your community named? We cover the whole county. The full list of city pages is below, and you can always just send us the address.

City or unincorporated? Why it matters when you sell

A Los Angeles County mailing address doesn’t always tell you which government your property answers to. Plenty of homes with a Los Angeles, Pasadena or Whittier mailing address sit in unincorporated county territory, and that changes several things about a sale.

• Transfer taxes. The county’s documentary transfer tax is $0.55 per $500 of value, or $1.10 per $1,000, and applies everywhere in the county. Some cities add their own tax on top: the City of Los Angeles charges $4.50 per $1,000 plus Measure ULA on sales above $5,400,000 (for sales closing on or after July 1, 2026); Pomona and Redondo Beach each list $2.20 per $1,000; Culver City uses tiers from 0.45 percent up to 4 percent; and Santa Monica has its own tiered tax. Unincorporated areas pay only the county rate.
• Rent rules. In unincorporated areas, the County’s Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance covers rental properties with two or more units, plus older permitted ADUs and rented mobile homes. The County’s published allowable increase for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 is 1.919 percent for most covered units. Several cities, including Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Inglewood and Pasadena, have their own rent rules, the City of Los Angeles has the RSO, and elsewhere the statewide Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) generally applies.
• Point-of-sale requirements. The City of Los Angeles requires a Report of Residential Property Records (the 9A report) before a sale. Other cities have their own point-of-sale reports or inspections, and many have none beyond state disclosures. Escrow will tell you what your city requires, and we can take the property either way.
• Permits and code enforcement. In unincorporated areas, permits go through LA County Public Works and Regional Planning; in cities, through the city’s own building department. An unpermitted garage conversion or back unit is handled by whichever agency has jurisdiction.
• Fire hazard zones. Hillside and canyon areas across the county, from the Santa Monica Mountains to the San Gabriel foothills and the Santa Clarita canyons, are mapped in fire hazard severity zones, which affect insurance, rebuilding and seller disclosures.

Situations we help with across Los Angeles County

The same few situations come up in every part of the county. Each has its own rules, and each is easier with a buyer who can take the house as it is.

• Inherited houses. Since Proposition 19 took effect in 2021, the parent-child exclusion from reassessment only applies when the child moves into the family home as a primary residence, up to a value cap. Heirs who don’t plan to live there often face a reassessed tax bill from the County Assessor, which is one reason many decide to sell. We have a separate guide to selling an inherited house in Los Angeles.
• Foreclosure. Whether the house is in Lancaster, Downey or Torrance, the state timeline is the same: the notice of default comes first, the notice of sale can follow roughly three months later, and the trustee sale can be held as soon as 20 days after the notice of sale is recorded and posted. For one-to-four-unit properties, AB 2424 gives owners who are actively selling some added protection. If the cash sale closes before the auction date, the loan is paid off in escrow and the equity left over is yours. See our guide to selling a house in foreclosure in Los Angeles.
• Divorce. California is a community property state, so a house bought during the marriage usually belongs to both spouses and both need to sign. A single written offer with a fixed date can make agreement easier, and escrow divides the proceeds as the agreement or court order directs.
• Relocation and out-of-area owners. You can sign everything with a mobile notary wherever you live. Escrow may withhold part of the proceeds for the Franchise Tax Board using Form 593 unless an exemption applies, and that can apply to California residents as well as non-residents.
• Tenants. Whether your rental is under a city ordinance, the County’s ordinance or state law, a sale doesn’t end the tenancy. Our guides to selling with tenants in place and selling a rental property go deeper.

What it costs to sell a house in LA County

Your net from any sale depends on more than the price. In a regular listed sale in Los Angeles County, by local custom the seller usually pays the documentary transfer tax and the owner’s title insurance policy, escrow fees are commonly split, and the seller also pays agent commissions, repairs, staging and the carrying costs of the months on the market. When you sell to us, we pay the standard closing costs, including the county and city transfer taxes, escrow and title. Either way, any mortgage payoff, liens, unpaid property taxes and HOA dues are paid off from the sale price at closing.

Transfer tax alone shows how much location matters. On a $900,000 sale, the county tax is $990. In an unincorporated area, that’s the whole transfer tax. In Pomona or Redondo Beach, the city’s $2.20 per $1,000 adds $1,980, for $2,970 in total. Inside the City of Los Angeles, the city’s $4.50 per $1,000 adds $4,050, for $5,040 in total. On a listing, that usually comes out of the seller’s proceeds. When you sell to us, it doesn’t: we pay the transfer taxes along with escrow and title, and your written offer shows the net you’ll receive before you commit.

How we buy your house for cash in Los Angeles County

When we buy your house for cash, the process has four steps, and you set the pace.

1. Tell us about the property. Send the address, the condition, whether anyone lives there and your ideal closing date. A photo or two helps but isn’t required.
2. Get a written cash offer. We review recent sales in your specific area and the property’s condition and send a written offer, usually within 24 to 48 hours. If needed, we walk the property in person or by video.
3. Open escrow. If you accept, escrow opens with a neutral title and escrow company. Depending on the property, we buy directly or bring a vetted cash buyer, and either way the terms are in the written purchase agreement. Title is ordered and any city-specific reports are requested.
4. Close on your date. You sign with a notary, the deed is recorded with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, and escrow wires your proceeds. With clear title, closing can happen in as little as 7 to 14 days, or later if you need more time.

Probate sales go through the Los Angeles County Superior Court, whose Probate Division sits at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown; probate filings are also accepted at the Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster. A personal representative can sell with full or limited authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act; with limited authority, the sale needs court confirmation. Trust sales usually need no court involvement.

Cash sale or traditional listing in LA County?

A traditional sale of an older or unrenovated LA County home usually means preparing the house, waiting through showings, then passing a buyer’s inspection and the lender’s appraisal and underwriting. In a market where the county median is 50 days on market before escrow even starts, that adds up. A cash sale removes the financing contingency, the repair negotiation and the commission. In exchange, a cash offer reflects the house’s current condition rather than its renovated value.

For a clean, updated home with no deadline, listing usually nets more and we’ll tell you so. For a house that needs significant work, has tenants, sits in a fire zone with insurance problems, is part of an estate, or needs to close by a specific date, the numbers are often closer than people expect once you subtract commission, repairs and months of carrying costs. If you’re comparing buyers, our guide to cash home buyers in Los Angeles explains how cash offers are built, and our sell my house fast in Los Angeles guide compares every fast-sale route with a day-by-day timeline.

Comparing “I buy homes for cash” offers with a listing

The honest way to decide is to put both options side by side on paper. Take a realistic list price for your house in its current condition, not after a remodel, and subtract commission, transfer tax, repairs a buyer’s inspection is likely to turn up, staging and the mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities for the months it may take to sell and close. Then compare that number with a written cash offer and its closing date. We’re glad to walk through that comparison with you, even if the answer is that listing makes more sense for your house. Do the same with every “I buy homes for cash” offer you receive: ask for it in writing, with proof of funds and a neutral title and escrow company named, and compare the net, the terms and the closing date.

How to prepare for a smooth sale anywhere in the county

You don't need to fix anything before you sell to us, but a little paperwork up front makes any sale in Los Angeles County close faster and with fewer surprises.

• Confirm which city the property is in. Check your property tax bill or the County Assessor's records, since the answer decides which transfer taxes apply, any point-of-sale report and which rent rules apply.
• Pull together loan and lien information. Your most recent mortgage statement, any home equity line, and notices for liens or unpaid property taxes help escrow order payoffs on day one.
• Find the ownership paperwork. A copy of the deed, trust documents, letters of administration from the probate court or a divorce judgment, whichever applies, tells escrow who has to sign.
• Gather leases and deposit records if the property is rented, along with any rent registration for the City of Los Angeles or the County program.
• Note what you know about the house. Past insurance claims, permits, additions done without permits, roof or foundation work and any fire or water damage all go into the seller disclosures.
• Decide what you want to keep. Take the items that matter to you; anything you leave behind can stay with the house when you sell to us.
• Compare offers on net, terms and date. The highest number isn't always the best offer once you account for contingencies, deposits, who pays which costs and how firm the closing date is.

Questions about selling a house in Los Angeles County

Do you buy houses everywhere in Los Angeles County?

Yes. We buy houses in Los Angeles County in all 88 cities and in unincorporated communities from the Antelope Valley to Long Beach. Send us the address and we'll tell you quickly whether we can make an offer.

Is the City of Los Angeles the same as Los Angeles County?

No. The City of Los Angeles is one of 88 cities in the county, and it has its own transfer tax, its 9A report and its RSO. If your property is inside city limits, see our city page, we buy houses Los Angeles.

How do I know if my property is in an unincorporated area?

Your mailing address isn't a reliable guide. Your property tax bill, the County Assessor's records or your escrow officer can confirm which city, if any, the parcel is in. It matters for transfer taxes, rent rules and permits.

What transfer taxes apply to a sale in LA County?

Every sale is subject to the county's $1.10 per $1,000. Some cities add their own tax, such as the City of Los Angeles at $4.50 per $1,000 and Pomona and Redondo Beach at $2.20 per $1,000. Unincorporated areas pay only the county rate. In a regular listed sale, by local custom the seller usually pays it. When you sell to us, we pay the county and city transfer taxes as part of the standard closing costs, along with escrow and title.

Will you buy my house for cash if it was damaged in the Eaton or Palisades fires?

Yes. We buy damaged houses and cleared lots in Altadena, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and other fire-affected areas. We don't need a lender or homeowners insurance in place to close.

Can I sell a rental with tenants in unincorporated LA County?

Yes. The County's rent stabilization ordinance stays with the property, and a sale doesn't end a tenancy. We buy with tenants in place and take over the leases and deposits at closing.

Do I need to make repairs before getting a “we buy house for cash” offer?

No. When we say we buy house for cash, we mean the house as it stands today. We buy houses in their current condition, including houses with belongings left inside, code violations or unpermitted additions.

How fast can you close in Los Angeles County?

With clear title, in as little as 7 to 14 days. Probate sales with court confirmation, title issues or tenant-occupied buildings can take longer, and you can always choose a later date.

Do you buy mobile homes and land in LA County?

Yes. We buy manufactured and mobile homes on owned land and in parks, as well as vacant lots, desert parcels and fire-cleared lots across the county.

Can I sell my LA County house if I live out of state?

Yes. Escrow sends the documents to you, you sign with a mobile notary wherever you are, and the proceeds are wired to your account. We handle the walkthrough and any cleanout locally.

Selling a house in Los Angeles County?

Whether your property is in the San Fernando Valley, the Antelope Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the Gateway Cities, the South Bay or on the Westside, we're happy to take a look. Fill out the form at the top of this page or call or text (424) 435-2326. You'll get a written cash offer within 24 to 48 hours, no obligation, and a closing date that works for you.

2026 county market research: See our Los Angeles County Housing & Home Seller Report 2026 for current seller-focused county housing context.