Country guide
Buying a home in the United States
Your offer is a contract, but contingencies let you out. Losing them is how you lose your earnest money.
An offer that becomes a binding contract on acceptance, softened by contingencies for inspection, appraisal and financing. Title insurance and an escrow closing replace the conveyancer of other countries.
Checked August 2026. Thresholds, grants and taxes change with budgets - the sources at the end are the ones to trust over this page.
The essentials
- Down payment
- 20% avoids PMI
- FHA loans from 3.5%, VA and USDA from 0% for those who qualify
- Paid on acceptance
- Earnest money, typically 1-3%
- Held in escrow, refundable while a contingency stands
- Government charge
- Transfer and recording taxes, set locally
- Ongoing property tax varies enormously by state and county
- Who does the legal work
- Title company or escrow agent; an attorney in some states
- Binding at
- Acceptance of the offer, subject to contingencies
- Closing
- Commonly 30 to 45 days
The steps, in order
- 1Get pre-approved, not pre-qualifiedPre-approval means the lender has checked your documents. Sellers in a competitive market discount anything less.
- 2Sign a buyer representation agreementSince the 2024 NAR settlement changed how commissions work, a buyer's agent will ask you to sign one before showing you homes. Read what it says about who pays them and how much.
- 3Make an offer with the contingencies you needInspection, appraisal and financing contingencies are your exits. Waiving them to win a bidding war means your earnest money is at risk if anything goes wrong.
- 4Inspect within the contingency windowThe window is short, often 7 to 10 days. A general inspection plus specialists for anything it flags - roof, sewer lateral, foundation, radon, pests.
- 5Appraisal and loan underwritingIf the appraisal comes in below the price, the lender lends on the lower figure and you find the difference or renegotiate.
- 6Close in escrowFunds and documents go to a neutral third party, title is checked and insured, and the deed is recorded.
Contingencies are the whole game
An accepted offer is a binding contract. What protects you is the contingencies written into it, each with a deadline. Miss a deadline and the protection lapses, usually taking your earnest money with it if you then walk.
- Inspection: lets you renegotiate or withdraw over condition
- Appraisal: protects you if the property values below the price
- Financing: protects you if the loan falls through
- Sale of your current home: strongest for you, weakest to a seller
Title insurance, not a title search alone
The title company searches the record and then insures you against what the search missed - forged deeds, undisclosed heirs, old liens. A lender's policy protects the lender only. An owner's policy is the one that protects you, and it is usually a one-off premium at closing.
Closing costs are real money
Two to five per cent of the price on top of the down payment: lender fees, title insurance, escrow, recording, prepaid taxes and insurance, and in some states transfer tax. Ask for a Loan Estimate early and a Closing Disclosure three business days before closing.
Attorney states and escrow states
In much of the north-east and parts of the south, an attorney must be involved in the closing. Elsewhere a title or escrow company handles it. Neither is your advocate on the contract unless you hire them to be.
What to watch for
The things that cost American buyers money, in the order they tend to be discovered too late.
- Waiving the inspection contingency to win an offer, then discovering the foundation
- An HOA with a special assessment coming, disclosed in documents nobody reads
- Flood zone status and what the insurance actually costs before you commit
- Property tax reassessment on sale, which can raise the bill sharply above the seller's
- A dual agent representing both sides, which limits who is arguing for you
Where these figures come from
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Information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state, province and territory, and change. Confirm with a qualified professional in the United States before acting. TrueBuy’s document review and price estimates currently cover Australian property only.