Virginia home buying costs, with real Richmond-area numbers

Most of what you read about buying a home is national. The money isn’t. Virginia home buying costs have their own rules: the state and your county tax both the deed and the loan when you buy, the seller owes a grantor tax, you get to choose who runs your settlement, and every city and county around Richmond sets its own property tax rate and its own due dates. Those lines move your cash to close and your monthly payment, and they’re the ones a national site skips.

This section works them out with real numbers. On a $350,000 purchase in Chesterfield County with a $332,500 loan, the state and county recording charges alone come to about $2,388, assuming the county’s standard one-third local share, before a lender or title company charges anything. In 2026, Henrico charges $0.83 per $100 of assessed value, Chesterfield $0.89 and the City of Richmond $1.20, and their bills come due in different months.

Where to start:

• Pricing a purchase or a refinance: Virginia closing costs, every line and who pays it.
• Comparing houses across a county line, or wondering why your payment changed: property taxes and escrow.
• Buying your first home: Virginia first-time buyer programs, then the first-time buyer guide.
• Buying near Fort Lee: the Fort Lee guide.
• Under contract and checking your numbers: Virginia closing costs, line by line, then what not to do before closing.

I work out of Chesterfield, and these are the numbers I put in front of buyers before they sign a contract, so nothing at the closing table is a surprise.