Actually, there are several rules that change as you move throughout the state of CA, and locally throughout the county of San Diego. Real Estate is different in SoCal, which I needed to learn moving here from NorCal.

In North San Diego County, and especially in Riverside County, where many SD agents work as well, the requirements can be quite different from those in the City of San Diego.

One blanket rule that is easy to miss, no matter where the property is located, is this: if the NHD identifies the property as being in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, Assembly Bill 38 (AB 38) requires sellers to provide documentation regarding defensible space compliance and fire-hardening features before the sale is completed.

The seller may be able to defer certain corrective costs to the buyer, which must be corrected within the next 12 months, but the required report and documentation still have to be addressed as part of the transaction. Beware the costs being deferred to you.

The town where I live has a transfer tax of 3% of the purchase price to be paid by the buyer. The agent and the attorney I used either knew nothing or said nothing about it and seemed surprised at closing to see it on the settlement statement. Real estate may be local but not knowledge.

Hmm, off the top of my head, I can't think of anything, although I know that there are plenty of local rules that an out-of-town agent would not know.  I know that is the case everywhere, which is why I don't work outside of my own market, including my hometown where I grew up, since I don't keep up with the market or rules there any longer.

In Monterey County, wood burning fireplaces must be capped at time of sale (of course, most of the new owners uncap them).  Another rule is that in the mountain properties around Lake Anderson in Morgan Hill, must now attach to city sewer rather than having a septic system.  Of course, who traditionally pays what regarding closing costs varies by County.  

Steven Hoeke

 Many do not know that some of our properties still have Ground Rents. 

I created a 2 part podcast episode totaling about 2 1/2 hours explaining how the Manhattan market works different from the rest of the nation. I abbreviated a lot of lengthy topics because I have separate episodes discussing these issues. To summarize- forget what you know about real estate and start from scratch when looking to buy here. Even agents in the suburbs 15 miles away might not realize how dramatically different our market is (which is why I will be doing a roadshow soon to my firm's offices in the suburbs). The biggest thing to understand is the many differences between condos and co-op's. Most of our inventory are co-op's (about 70%)- and the myriad of rules and qualifications associated with them. 

I stay in my own lane and only serve my local market. That means thou shalt know all the applicable rules. 

It seems to me that when I receive offers from investors and/or agents representing buyers who live outside the area, they are clueless. 

I also understand they don't give a rat's bottom. They are bottom feeders. 

Most excellent question backed with authorities & points Steven. You would be my "go to" in your field of practice. I am not current on all the must knows for a practicing local agent. Lets hear from other Steven Hoeke 

A friend bought a home in Houston area and the kitchen refrigerator was not automatically included in the contract. In Florida, it is a standard item. You must add the washer & dryer, but the standard kitchen appliances are part of the boilerplate. 

In our area there are several different versions of contracts, and they treat inspections and repairs differently. It is important to know which items are different in each contact. There is a State of Florida one, a State " as is " , a NEFAR, northeast Florida association realtors, contract and AS IS, also. So you see different ones used depending on the MLS that covers the area.

St Augustine City properties can be subject to Historical Zoning that can determine the color of the front door on certain streets.  

Not just non-local. Locals too. 

Always check the zoning first! 

I see more mis-zoned properties listed and if you can't use the property as intended, that's a consumer complaint and maybe the loss of your livelihood.. 

Also non-locals, yes we have septic tanks, yes we have big remote parcels, no they're not going to be on sewer and you may have to haul your own water!

Oh also, and everyone misses this one. Outside of the three municipalities in our huge (13,000 square miles, 5th largest in the country) county, if you lease a commercial property there is a 2% lease tax. And the owner will almost certainly pass that through to you.

People make mistakes, both local and out of the area folks.

Appliances ARE NOT standard and must be listed as included in the contract.  Some cities around Denver allow ADUs on larger lots, and each city has its own requirements for how large the lot must be.  Just because there are 35 acres does not automatically mean they allow horses.   Agents must check into this.   Now all cities have complied, but years ago, some cities would only allow one layer of roofing, and others had not changed their rules.

Easterners moving to the Phoenix metro in Arizona are looking for a neighborhood with a green lawn. Arcadia with the irrigated canal water. After that? Not so much.

One of our large local communities, Montgomery Village, prohibits the parking of trucks and this causes a problem for home owners and tenants who drive work vehicles. They park in neighboring areas and that creates a problem for those residents.

There are rules and then there are rules.  I am not sure if we are different from any other part of Florida but experience does matter here.  

There are always caveats Steven Hoeke. An energy audit is only necessary if the City of Austin is their Electric utility provider. I have many homes the provider is Pedernales Electric and in that case one is not needed. I always get agents not familiar with this nuance and make their seller get one and its not needed.