# How to buy a house in Virginia: start here

Source: https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/
By Tyler Rood, Loan Officer, NMLS ID # 2064776, Edge Home Finance, LLC (NMLS ID # 891464). Updated 2026-11-09.

Learning how to buy a house is mostly learning the order. Each step depends on the one before it, and most of the stress buyers feel comes from not knowing what's next or what it will cost. These pages walk through it the way I run my own files in the Richmond and Chesterfield area: the rule, the number behind it, and the places deals usually stall.

Where to start depends on where you are:

- **Just thinking about it:** read [the home buying process, step by step](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/steps/) for the whole sequence and a real timeline. If this is your first house, the [first-time home buyer guide for Virginia](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/first-time-home-buyer/) takes apart the myths that keep people renting longer than they need to.
- **Ready to get serious:** [pre-approval vs pre-qualification](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/pre-approval/) shows what a real letter checks and exactly what to send me.
- **Not sure what you can afford:** the pages under "What you can afford" cover income and debt-to-income, credit, student loans, the down payment, gifts, Virginia's grants and the full cash you'll need at closing.
- **Already under contract:** "Under contract" covers the offer, the appraisal, underwriting, your rate lock and what not to touch until you close.

Every example uses round numbers, so you can check the math yourself. Self-employed, coming back after a bankruptcy, buying with a VA loan or a co-signer, or buying before you sell? Start with "Special situations."

## Disclosures

Individual Originator: Tyler Rood, Loan Officer, NMLS ID # 2064776 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). Licensed in NC, PA, TX and VA.
Edge Home Finance, LLC | NMLS ID # 891464 | www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Licensed in all U.S. states & D.C., EXCEPT New York. Edge Home Finance, LLC is a mortgage broker, not a direct lender or creditor. Virginia Broker License MC-7006. North Carolina Mortgage Broker License B-201539. Pennsylvania Mortgage Broker License 81041. Texas: Mortgage Company License, Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending.
Edge Home Finance, LLC is a private mortgage broker and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of or at the direction of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or any other government agency.
We do business in accordance with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.