Buying a Home in Houston

It depends far more on the loan program than on the market. Conventional loans are available with as little as 3% down for qualifying buyers, FHA loans start at 3.5%, and VA and USDA loans allow eligible buyers to finance the full purchase price. Putting down less than 20% on a conventional loan generally means paying mortgage insurance until you reach enough equity to remove it. The right answer depends on your credit, your reserves, and how long you plan to stay — which is a conversation worth having with a lender before you start touring.

The option period is a negotiated window at the start of the contract during which the buyer can terminate for any reason at all and get their earnest money back. The buyer pays a separate option fee for that right. Both the length of the period and the fee are negotiated between buyer and seller rather than set by law. This is when inspections normally happen, because it is the one stretch of the contract where a buyer can walk away without needing a reason.

Since the industry-wide changes that took effect in 2024, this is negotiated rather than assumed. Buyers now sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes, and that agreement states how the agent is compensated and how much. A seller may still offer to cover some or all of it, but that is negotiated as part of the transaction rather than advertised through the MLS. The practical takeaway is to have the conversation up front — the terms should be clear in writing before you start looking.

Closing costs are the fees required to finalize the transaction, separate from the down payment: lender origination and underwriting charges, appraisal, title work and title insurance, survey, escrow and recording fees, and prepaid property taxes and insurance. Who pays what is negotiable and is written into the contract. In much of Texas the seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy, but customs vary across the state and nothing here is fixed by law. Your lender is required to give you a written Loan Estimate that itemizes the costs on your side.

Your lender will require a title policy, and in practice you want one regardless — it protects against defects in the chain of ownership that no visual inspection would reveal. On survey, an existing survey can often be reused if the seller provides it along with a T-47 affidavit and the title company and lender accept it; otherwise a new survey is ordered. If anything has changed on the property since the last survey, such as a new fence, pool, or addition, a new one is usually the safer route.

Yes, and it should happen inside the option period so you still have the unrestricted right to terminate if something serious turns up. In this region it is also worth asking specifically about drainage, the age and condition of the roof and HVAC, foundation movement, and any evidence of past water intrusion. A general inspector may recommend a specialist for the foundation or the sewer line, and on an older home that follow-up is usually money well spent.