Buying a home in Northern Virginia

Comparable sales

What a home is worth is a question about what similar homes actually sold for, not what other sellers are asking. I look at recent closed sales of genuinely comparable properties — similar size, condition, lot, and location — and adjust for the differences. In a planned community where everything was built to the same standard within a few years, that is straightforward. In an area of mixed vintages and lot sizes it takes more judgement, and the honest answer is sometimes a range rather than a number. Theneighborhood guides describe how each area's housing stock varies, which is the thing that makes comparables easy or hard.

The home inspection

A general inspection is a visual, non-invasive examination of the accessible parts of the house: roof, structure, systems, drainage, and the obvious safety items. That is genuinely useful, and it is also bounded. An inspector does not open walls, lift flooring, or dig. They will not usually evaluate anything buried, anything behind a finished surface, or anything they cannot safely reach.

Several things are separate inspections rather than part of the general one — radon, wood-destroying insects, chimneys, pools, and, on rural properties, the well and the septic system. Which of those are worth ordering depends on the house. I'll tell you which I think matter for the specific property rather than handing you the full list. The period you have to complete inspections is set by the contract, so confirm the dates in your own agreement rather than assuming a standard.

The appraisal, and what happens if it's low

If you're financing, your lender will order an appraisal to establish what the property is worth as collateral. The lender lends against the appraised value, not the contract price. When the appraisal comes in below the price you agreed, the gap does not disappear — someone has to absorb it. In practice there are three routes: the seller reduces the price, you bring the difference in cash on top of your down payment, or you split it. If none of those work and you have an appraisal contingency, that contingency is what lets you exit.

This is the main reason I'd rather be accurate than optimistic about value before you offer. An offer that wins the house and then fails the appraisal has not actually won anything.

HOA and condominium documents

If the property is in an association — and across much of Northern Virginia it is — the seller provides a resale packet: the governing documents, the budget, the reserve position, the insurance, the rules, and any pending special assessment or litigation. Virginia gives you a defined period after you receive it to review it and cancel. The length of that period and how it is counted are set by statute and by your contract, so confirm both for your transaction rather than relying on a number you read somewhere.

What matters is that you actually read it inside the window. The reserve study and any planned assessment are the parts that cost real money later. Layered structures are common here: a master association plus a sub-association, or a community development authority levy that appears on the tax bill rather than in the dues. Ask which apply to the specific address, not to the community generally.

New construction

Buying from a builder is a different transaction. The contract is usually the builder's own rather than the standard regional form, and it is written to protect the builder — deposit terms, change-order rules, delivery dates, and what happens if the schedule slips all read differently from a resale contract. The model home is generally not what the base price buys; a meaningful part of the final number is options and upgrades, and the lot itself may carry a premium.

Builder incentives are often tied to using the builder's lender and title company, which can be worth taking and is worth comparing against an outside quote rather than assuming either way. One practical point: the sales representative in the model works for the builder. If you want your own representation, bring me to the first visit — most builders require an agent to be present at initial registration for that to apply later.

Wells and septic systems

Inside the Beltway this is not a topic. Out inFauquier, Clarke, Warren and Frederick countiesit often is, and it changes the diligence. A private well means testing both yield and water quality. A septic system means an inspection and usually a pump-out to see the tank, plus locating the drainfield and understanding its condition and age.

The question behind both is replacement. If a system fails, can it be replaced on that lot, and where? That depends on soil, slope, and the county health department's records and current requirements, which is the sort of thing worth establishing before you're committed rather than after. On steeper mountain lots the answer is sometimes constrained. By contrast, a home inArlington or Alexandriais on public water and sewer and none of this applies.

How showings are arranged

Showings are booked through the listing side, usually via a scheduling service, and confirmed by the occupant. That means availability is real: a tenant-occupied property or one with an owner working from home may need more notice than a vacant one. I'll arrange the appointments and build a route that makes sense, and I'd rather see fewer homes properly than more homes in a rush. In a fast-moving price range, seeing something the first weekend matters; in a slower one it rarely does.

The offer and what the contingencies do

An offer is more than a number. It sets the price, the earnest money deposit, the financing type, the closing date, what conveys with the house, and whether you're asking the seller to contribute toward your closing costs. Each of those is a lever, and in a competitive situation the non-price terms are often what separates two offers.

Contingencies are conditions that must be satisfied for you to remain obligated — typically financing, appraisal, inspection, and sometimes the sale of your current home. Each one is protection for you and risk for the seller, which is why waiving or shortening them strengthens an offer and simultaneously removes one of your exits. That trade is a real decision, not a formality, and it should be made deliberately. I'll tell you what each one is worth giving up in a specific situation, and what it would cost you if the thing it protects against actually happens. The deadlines attached to each are set in the contract you sign, so we'll go through those together rather than working from a general rule.