Reston guides / Planning a move

Buying Your First Home in Reston and Northern Virginia

A checklist and reference for buying with your eyes open

Pre-approval is a ceiling, not a target. Your budget is the payment you can live with, and the clearest way to find it is a conversation with a lender before you tour a single home.

The path at a glance

  1. Talk with a lender first. Your real monthly number comes from a lender, not a listing price or an online calculator.
  2. Line up your cash to close: your down payment, Virginia recordation tax, lender and title costs, and a cushion left over.
  3. Tour with a checklist: both layers of association dues, the age of the major systems, and your real commute.
  4. Write a strong, protected offer, with contingencies you understand.
  5. From inspection to keys: appraisal, final walk-through and settlement.
  6. Your first week: find the water shutoff, change the locks, and save your closing documents.

Help you may qualify for

Virginia Housing offers a down payment assistance grant of 2 percent of the price on a conventional loan, or 2.5 percent on FHA, paired with an eligible Virginia Housing first mortgage. Fairfax County also offers down payment loans for qualified first-time buyers. Income limits, price limits and a homebuyer education class apply.

Keep a copy

The full five-page guide, with every checklist and a glossary of the words you will hear along the way. Tell us where to send it, and ask for a lender introduction whenever you are ready.

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Cover of the Grana Group buyer guide, Buying Your First Home in Reston and Northern Virginia