How to Buy a House in Virginia: Complete Guide
Virginia’s median listing price stood at $457,000 in August 2026, and the median listing spent 46 days on market (Realtor.com® Economic Research). The closing rule that most changes your process here: no Virginia statute requires an attorney, and you — not the seller — choose who runs the closing.
$457,000 is an asking figure, not a closed one; the 46 days run to closing or withdrawal.
How a Virginia purchase closes
No attorney is required at the closing table
Virginia does not make a lawyer a condition of closing. Chapter 10 of Title 55.1 opens the settlement-agent role to six licensed categories — a Virginia attorney among them — each one barred from the role by an unrestored felony conviction (full list: § 55.1-1003(A)). For real property throughout Virginia, a registered lay settlement agent may perform settlement work, including closing and escrow (§ 55.1-1002(B)(1)). You can still retain counsel for yourself: every contract for a home of up to four units must carry boldface language that “No settlement agent can provide legal advice to any party to the transaction except a settlement agent who is engaged in the private practice of law in Virginia and who has been retained or engaged by a party to the transaction for the purpose of providing legal services to that party” (§ 55.1-1007).
You choose the settlement agent
“A purchaser or borrower in a transaction related to real estate in the Commonwealth shall have the right to select the settlement agent,” and the seller cannot make the sale depend on selecting a named settlement agent (§ 55.1-1006). Before any funds move, the settlement agent must obtain from the purchaser a written statement that the purchaser was notified that he “may wish to obtain owner’s title insurance coverage” and stating whether the purchaser “does or does not desire such coverage” (§ 38.2-4616).
Title insurance rates are set by the insurer
Virginia does not promulgate title insurance rates. “Any title insurance company may issue, publish and use price schedules” (§ 38.2-4608(D)), and an insurer or agent “may charge risk rates that it negotiates with any potential insured”; negotiated rates are “presumed not to be unfairly discriminatory” when they remain “reasonable and adequate for the class of risks” (§ 38.2-4608(A), (E)). Comparing underwriters is the only discount mechanism the statute leaves open.
Recording taxes ride on the deed and the loan
Two state taxes attach to your paperwork. The recordation tax runs “25 cents on every $100 or fraction thereof” of the consideration or the property’s actual value — the latest tax assessment if higher — whichever is greater (§ 58.1-801), and your deed of trust pays it again on the obligation it secures (§ 58.1-803). Neither section names a payer: the court system’s fee schedule lists the charge as “State recordation tax (grantee),” and the parties can agree how to divide the chapter’s recordation taxes and fees (§ 58.1-812(D)). Read the tax clause. Do that before signing. The grantor tax of “50 cents for each $500 or fraction thereof” starts with the seller but can be shifted to you by arrangement (§ 58.1-802); so can three regional fees — $0.10 per $100 in Northern Virginia Transportation Authority localities, $0.10 per $100 in planning districts that meet § 58.1-802.4’s population, vehicle and ridership test, and $0.06 per $100 in Hampton Roads transportation districts (§§ 58.1-802.3 through 58.1-802.5). Adopting cities and counties add a local recordation tax of one-third the state amount (§ 58.1-3800). Worked numbers: our Virginia closing-costs page.
The seller’s disclosure is a buyer-beware statement
Before your contract is ratified, the owner must furnish the Residential Property Disclosure Statement that the Real Estate Board publishes on the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation website (§§ 55.1-703, 55.1-714). Its first item says the owner “makes no representations or warranties as to the condition of the real property,” and it advises you to “exercise whatever due diligence a particular purchaser deems necessary,” including a home inspection (§ 55.1-703(B)(1)). The Act reaches sales, exchanges, installment land contracts and lease-options of one-to-four-unit homes (§ 55.1-701), with nine exemption categories, among them court-ordered and co-owner-only transfers (full list: § 55.1-702(A)). Our seller-disclosure guide walks through what the statement means when you tour; the seller-side mechanics sit in our Virginia home-selling guide.
First-time buyer help from Virginia Housing
Virginia Housing, the state’s housing finance agency, lends its own first mortgages and attaches help to them. The Down Payment Assistance Grant is “a true grant, meaning you never need to repay it,” open to first-time buyers and to repeat buyers purchasing in Areas of Economic Opportunity who hold a bond FHA or Conventional loan from Virginia Housing and stay inside its income and price limits; the page publishes no dollar amount. The Closing Cost Assistance Grant “may be worth up to 2% of your home’s purchase price” and pairs with bond Rural Housing Service or Veterans Affairs loans. The Plus Second Mortgage is a 30-year, fixed-rate loan with no prepayment penalty, capped at 5% of your home’s purchase price; with a credit score of 680 or higher it can also finance part of your closing costs. Our guides to Virginia first-time buyer programs and down payment assistance cover the layering; the pre-approval guide starts your paperwork.
Two rules that move a Virginia buyer’s exit
A late disclosure statement still leaves you an exit
Notification is due “prior to the ratification of a real estate purchase contract” (§ 55.1-709(A)). If it arrives after ratification, “the purchaser’s sole remedy shall be to terminate,” no later than the earliest of six events: three days after delivery in person or electronically; five days after the postmark if mailed; settlement; your occupancy; a written loan application that discloses the right ends on application; or a separate written waiver you sign after receiving the statement (§ 55.1-709(B)). The statute writes “three days” and “five days” without calling them business days. Termination is “without penalty to the purchaser,” and “any deposit shall be promptly returned” — but a buyer in a designated noise zone under 65 decibels day-night average has no such right (§ 55.1-709(C)).
An HOA or condo unit comes with a resale certificate
For a unit in a common interest community, the seller or the seller’s agent “shall obtain the resale certificate from the association and provide such resale certificate to the purchaser,” a duty that “shall not be waived or changed by agreement” (§ 55.1-2309(A)). The association has 14 days after a written request, after which the certificate is deemed unavailable (§ 55.1-2309(B)). Unless your contract sets another period, you may cancel within three days of ratification if the certificate arrived first, or of receipt if it arrived later (§ 55.1-2312); in this chapter, “days” “means calendar days” (§ 55.1-2307). With nothing delivered, you may cancel “at any time prior to settlement” (§ 55.1-2312(C)). Six exemptions, including gifts and foreclosures, are listed at § 55.1-2317(A); our HOA evaluation guide lists what to look for in that packet.
Agent compensation after the August 17, 2024 MLS change
On MLSs governed by the NAR settlement, offers of compensation to buyer agents can no longer be shared on the MLS itself; “the seller may agree to offer compensation to your agent. This practice is permitted but the offer cannot be shared on an MLS” (NAR settlement FAQ). “You can still accept concessions from the seller, such as offers to pay your closing costs.” You will need to “sign a written agreement with your agent before touring a home,” disclosing “the amount or rate of compensation”; “compensation for your agent remains fully negotiable and is not set by law.” These are NAR/REALTOR® MLS policies — practice changes that “went into effect on August 17, 2024” — not Virginia or federal law. Before hiring anyone, verify the license through the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation’s License Lookup.
Quick answers for Virginia buyers
Do I need a lawyer to buy a house in Virginia?
No statute requires one; six licensed categories plus registered lay agents may run closings, and you choose the agent (§§ 55.1-1003(A), 55.1-1006). Want legal advice? Retain your own lawyer.
Who pays Virginia’s transfer taxes?
The grantor tax starts with the seller by statute but can be shifted to you by contract (§ 58.1-802); the recordation tax names no payer, and § 58.1-812(D) lets the parties split it. The tax clause decides. Read it before signing.
The disclosure form says “no representations.” Is that a red flag?
No; that is the state-published form working as designed, and the late-delivery exit of § 55.1-709 still protects you. Commission your own inspection — the form itself advises “whatever due diligence a particular purchaser deems necessary” (§ 55.1-703(B)(1)). Our home inspection guide shows what a good one covers.
What extra paperwork comes with an HOA townhouse?
The seller must deliver the association’s resale certificate — 14 days to produce it, three calendar days for you to cancel after receipt, and cancellation until settlement if none arrives (§§ 55.1-2309, 55.1-2312). For the rest of the budget, see how much house you can afford.