First time home buyer checklist: 17 steps for buying in Georgia

The checklist at a glance

Print this list or keep it on your phone. Each item links to its own step below, in the order a Georgia purchase usually runs.

1. Set a budget for the payment and the cash
2. Check your credit
3. Line up the down payment and closing money
4. Get preapproved and collect Loan Estimates
5. Check assistance programs and book the homebuyer course
6. Sign a written buyer agreement before touring
7. Search and check the area around each home
8. Write the offer on the Georgia contract
9. Deliver earnest money on time
10. Order inspections inside due diligence
11. Track the appraisal and loan approval
12. Confirm the closing attorney and title insurance
13. Compare the Closing Disclosure
14. Do the final walk-through
15. Send closing funds safely
16. Collect keys, openers and codes
17. File for the homestead exemption by April 1

Before you shop: money and loan

1. Set a budget for the payment and the cash

Decide on a monthly payment you are comfortable with, then work back to a price. Run your income, debts and savings through the affordability calculator. For scale, principal and interest on Acworth's typical $406,860 home (Zillow, August 2026) with 3.5% down at 7.28% is $2,686.35 a month, before taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance.

Have ready: your monthly take-home pay, a list of every debt payment (car, student loans, cards), and a target for savings you will keep after closing.

2. Check your credit

Pull your credit reports, dispute errors and avoid opening new accounts. Scores set your options: FHA needs 580 for its 3.5% minimum, and Georgia Dream needs a 640 middle score in 2026. If you are below 640, DCA lists a $50 pre-purchase counseling option.

Have ready: your current scores, any collection or late-payment explanations, and the balances you plan to pay down.

3. Line up the down payment and closing money

Know your minimum: 0% for eligible VA buyers, 3% through HomeReady or Home Possible, 3.5% for FHA. On the Acworth typical value, 3.5% is $14,240.10, and Georgia's 2025 average closing costs of 1.24% (Bankrate) add about $5,045. The down payment guide shows 3% to 20% side by side.

Have ready: two months of statements for every account the money sits in, and a gift letter from anyone giving you money (ask the lender for their form).

4. Get preapproved and collect Loan Estimates

Know the difference. The CFPB says both letters show a lender is generally willing to lend up to an amount, but some lenders give a prequalification on information you report and a preapproval only after verifying it. Neither is a guaranteed loan offer. Sellers take a preapproval more seriously. Apply with two or three lenders in the same week: each must send a Loan Estimate within three business days on the same standard form, which makes side-by-side comparison easy.

Have ready: 30 days of pay stubs, two years of W-2s, 60 days of bank statements, two years of tax returns if self-employed, and photo ID. That is DCA's list for Georgia Dream; your lender may ask for more.

5. Check assistance programs and book the homebuyer course

See which programs fit your income and price on the Georgia first-time home buyer programs page. Georgia Dream requires a course for every borrower, from a DCA- or HUD-approved agency or the E-Home America online course ($50 per DCA). DCA puts classes at $50 to $100, and the certificate must be dated within 12 months of closing. Fannie Mae's HomeReady also requires education when all buyers are first-time. Details: homebuyer education course in Georgia.

Have ready: household income for everyone who will live in the home, and the certificate PDF once the course is done.

Shopping: agent, search and offer

6. Sign a written buyer agreement before touring

Since August 17, 2024, NAR practice is that you sign a written agreement with an agent before touring a home, in person or virtually. It must spell out the services and a defined compensation amount (not a range), and that amount is negotiable. In Georgia, a written brokerage engagement is also what makes the agent your client under BRRETA.

Have ready: the compensation figure you want written in, the length of the agreement, and the area it covers.

7. Search and check the area around each home

The standard Georgia contract puts the duty to learn about neighborhood conditions on you: things like landfills, quarries, power lines, airports, noise and planned roads or zoning changes. Read the seller's property disclosure. For homes built before 1978, expect a lead-based paint exhibit.

Have ready: a list of must-haves, the county for each address (Acworth spans Cobb, Cherokee and Paulding), and questions for the listing agent.

8. Write the offer on the Georgia contract

Offers use the Georgia REALTORS Purchase and Sale Agreement (F201). Decide the price, any seller contribution toward your costs, the closing date, the closing law firm, the earnest money amount and the length of the due diligence period and option payment. Your loan type adds its own exhibit.

Have ready: your preapproval letter, proof of funds for the down payment, and the earnest money in an account you can draw on right away.

Under contract: deadlines that matter

9. Deliver earnest money on time

Under the 2022 printing of the contract, the holder deposits your earnest money within five banking days of the Binding Agreement Date. If a check bounces or the money is late, you have three banking days after notice to fix it.

Have ready: the holder's payment instructions, confirmed by phone with a number you looked up yourself.

10. Order inspections inside due diligence

The due diligence period is your window to back out for any reason. Book the home inspection first, then the extras the contract says brokers have no duty to check: the Official Georgia Wood Infestation Report, radon, mold, a survey, and septic or well tests where they apply. Send any repair request or termination notice before the deadline. See the due diligence period and home inspection guides.

Have ready: the exact deadline date and time, inspector contacts, and a budget for reports.

11. Track the appraisal and loan approval

Your lender orders the appraisal. Answer document requests within a day, and do not change jobs, open credit or move large sums. On a VA loan, the no-down-payment rule depends on the price not exceeding the appraised value, so a low appraisal matters. If you use Georgia Dream, DCA's own compliance review takes at least 10 business days.

Have ready: recent pay stubs and statements to refresh the file, and a plan with your agent for a low appraisal.

12. Confirm the closing attorney and title insurance

Georgia requires a licensed attorney to close. The contract lets you choose the firm, subject to the lender's approval, and when you use a loan that attorney represents the lender. Decide on owner's title insurance: the CFPB describes it as optional, with a one-time premium paid at closing. More in the closing attorney and title insurance guide.

Have ready: the attorney's contact, your homeowners insurance binder, and your title insurance decision.

Closing week

13. Compare the Closing Disclosure

The lender must give you the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Put it next to your Loan Estimate and ask about any fee that rose. The Georgia closing costs page explains each line, including the transfer tax ($406.90 on a $406,860 price) and intangible tax.

Have ready: your final Loan Estimate and a list of questions for the lender.

14. Do the final walk-through

The contract lets you enter the home on notice, including right before closing, to confirm agreed repairs are done and the home is in the same condition.

Have ready: the signed repair amendment and receipts the seller promised.

15. Send closing funds safely

Ask the closing attorney what form of certified funds or wire they accept. Verify wire instructions by calling the firm on a number you found independently, never one from an email.

Have ready: photo ID, the exact cash-to-close figure from the Closing Disclosure, and the attorney's verified instructions.

16. Collect keys, openers and codes

Under the standard contract, the seller hands over all keys, door openers and codes at closing. Plan to change the locks after you move in.

Have ready: a list of every key, remote, gate code and alarm code you expect.

After closing

17. File for the homestead exemption by April 1

Georgia homestead exemptions require that you owned the home on January 1 and file with the county by April 1. Most renew automatically while you live there. Cobb buyers can follow the Cobb County homestead exemption steps; the statewide rules are on the Georgia homestead exemption page.

Have ready: your closing statement or recorded deed, and the county's list of required documents (check it before you go).

I can walk you through this checklist on a call and help you set the order for your own purchase.

Common questions

Sources

• Zillow Research: Zillow Home Value Index (Acworth, August 2026)
• Freddie Mac: Primary Mortgage Market Survey (week of October 1, 2026)
• HUD: Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (Update 18, August 12, 2026)
• Georgia DCA: Georgia Dream Lender FAQs
• Georgia DCA: Georgia Dream Loan Program FAQs
• Fannie Mae: HomeReady Mortgage
• Bankrate: Average closing costs by state (2025)
• CFPB: What is the difference between a prequalification letter and a preapproval letter?
• CFPB: What is a Loan Estimate?
• Georgia DCA: Steps to Obtain Homeownership with Georgia Dream Mortgage Products
• Georgia DCA: Georgia Dream program brochure (v. 2026-7-8)
• Georgia DCA: Approved Housing Counseling Agencies
• Fannie Mae Selling Guide: B2-2-06, Homeownership Education and Housing Counseling
• NAR: Consumer Guide: Written Buyer Agreements
• Georgia Association of REALTORS: Legal FAQs
• Georgia REALTORS: Contract forms (Purchase and Sale Agreement F201; facts from the 2022 printing, current forms are members-only)
• VA.gov: VA-backed purchase loan
• FindLaw Caselaw: Supreme Court of Georgia, In re Formal Advisory Opinion 04-1 (2006)
• CFPB: What is owner's title insurance?
• CFPB: What is a Closing Disclosure?
• Georgia Department of Revenue: Real Estate Transfer Tax
• Georgia.gov: Apply for a Homestead Exemption
• Georgia DCA: First-Time Home Buyer FAQ
• NAR: First-Time Home Buyer Share Falls to Historic Low of 21%, Median Age Rises to 40 (2025 Profile)