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How to buy a house in Georgia: how each stage works, from preapproval to closing

By Lawrence Jackson · Atlanta Communities · Updated
01 / 02
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Key takeaway

To buy a house in Georgia you get preapproved, sign a written buyer agreement, make an offer on the Georgia REALTORS contract, use the due diligence period to inspect and negotiate, and close with a Georgia-licensed attorney who collects the state transfer and intangible taxes. On Acworth's typical $406,860 home (Zillow, August 2026), those two taxes come to $406.90 and $1,179.00 with 3.5% down.

What makes buying a house in Georgia different

The broad steps look like any other state, but four Georgia rules shape how a purchase actually runs. Most offers are written on one standard form, the Georgia REALTORS Purchase and Sale Agreement (F201). That form gives you a due diligence period that works as an option to walk away for any reason. Only a Georgia-licensed attorney can conduct the closing. And two state taxes, the transfer tax and the intangible recording tax, are paid at closing before the deed and loan can be recorded.

The stages below explain how each part works in practice, priced on Acworth's typical home value of $406,860 (Zillow, August 2026). If you want a short do-this list instead, use the first-time home buyer checklist.

Stages 1 to 4: before you see homes

Stage 1: Work out what you can afford

Lenders judge affordability mainly by your debt-to-income ratio: the share of gross monthly income going to the new housing payment and to all debts. Each loan program sets its own benchmarks. FHA's manual underwriting starts at 31% for housing and 43% for total debt; VA uses 41% total debt as its standard; USDA uses 29% and 41%. Automated approvals can differ, which is why a preapproval matters more than any rule of thumb.

Prices also vary widely inside Georgia. Zillow's typical value for Georgia as a whole was $330,817 in August 2026, against $406,860 for Acworth and $421,599 for Cobb County. Budget for the local number, and test a few prices in the affordability calculator.

Stage 2: Choose a loan type and check Georgia programs

Your loan type decides the down payment, the mortgage insurance and the contract exhibit your agent attaches later. The common choices are FHA (3.5% down with a 580 score), conventional through HomeReady or Home Possible (3% down, income capped at 80% of area median), VA (no down payment for eligible buyers) and USDA (no down payment, but downtown Acworth tests as not eligible on USDA's map). The down payment guide compares them in dollars.

Georgia's state program, Georgia Dream, does not lend to you directly. The Department of Community Affairs works as a secondary market, so you apply through a participating lender, and the program layers onto an FHA, VA, USDA or conventional first mortgage. Its October 1, 2026 first mortgage rate was 6.375%, against Freddie Mac's 7.28% national average that week. Rules and limits are on Georgia Dream and the wider Georgia first-time home buyer programs page.

Stage 3: Get preapproved and compare lenders

A preapproval letter tells sellers a lender has looked at your finances and is generally willing to lend up to a set amount. The CFPB notes that lenders use the labels differently: a prequalification may rest on numbers you report, while a preapproval usually rests on verified documents. Neither one commits the lender to a loan.

Shopping lenders is where federal rules help. Once you apply, each lender must send a Loan Estimate within three business days, and every lender uses the same three-page form. Comparing two or three in the same week shows you the real differences in rate, points and lender fees. If you plan to use Georgia Dream, take the required homebuyer course early; DCA places it before preapproval in its own sequence.

Stage 4: Hire an agent with a written buyer agreement

Georgia's brokerage law, BRRETA, says a client relationship exists only with a written brokerage engagement signed by you and the broker. Since August 17, 2024, NAR practice also has buyers sign a written agreement before touring a home with an agent. The agreement must state the services and a defined compensation figure, such as a flat fee or a percentage, not an open-ended range. NAR stresses that compensation is negotiable and not set by law, and you can ask the seller to pay some or all of it as part of your offer.

Agents are the norm: 88% of buyers used one in NAR's 2025 Profile. The standard Georgia contract also warns that a party without an agent is solely responsible for protecting their own interests.

Stages 5 to 7: finding the home and making the offer

Stage 5: Search and research the property

Listings show the house; your own research covers the surroundings. The Georgia contract says the buyer alone is responsible for learning about neighborhood conditions, and it names examples such as landfills, quarries, power lines, airports, noise and planned changes to land use or roads. Read the seller's property disclosure statement, which becomes an exhibit to your contract. If any home on the lot was built before 1978, a lead-based paint exhibit is added too. Acworth addresses can fall in Cobb, Cherokee or Paulding County, which changes the tax rate, so confirm the county for every home you consider.

Stage 6: Write the offer on the Georgia REALTORS contract

The first page of the F201 holds the deal terms: price, any seller contribution toward your closing costs, the closing date and possession, the closing law firm, who holds the earnest money and how much, and the length of the due diligence period with its option payment. Your financing is written into a separate exhibit that matches your loan: F404 for conventional, F407 for FHA, F410 for VA and F413 for USDA.

The seller can accept, reject or counter. Once you have an accepted contract, deadlines such as the earnest money deposit run from its Binding Agreement Date. The facts here come from the 2022 printing; ask your agent which printing they use, as GAR updates its forms.

Stage 7: Pay earnest money and the option fee

Georgia contracts usually involve two different deposits. Earnest money shows good faith and goes to the holder named in the contract, which must deposit it in an escrow or trust account within five banking days of the Binding Agreement Date. If your payment bounces or arrives late, you get three banking days after notice to fix it. The due diligence option payment, if you agree to one, is the price of your right to walk away. The Georgia due diligence period guide covers both deposits in more detail.

Stages 8 to 10: under contract

Stage 8: Use the due diligence period

During the due diligence period the contract is an option contract. You may go ahead or end the deal for any reason or no reason, and you can use that leverage to negotiate repairs or a price change through an amendment. The rule that catches buyers out: if you do not send a notice of termination before the period ends, you accept the property as-is and lose that right to walk away.

The contract lists checks that no broker has a duty to perform, so arrange the ones that apply: a professional inspection, the Official Georgia Wood Infestation Report, radon, mold and lead tests, a survey, a septic inspection or well test, and a title search. The home inspection guide for Acworth covers what each one looks for.

Stage 9: Appraisal and final loan approval

While you inspect, the lender orders an appraisal and finishes underwriting. The appraisal matters most on low down payment loans; a VA loan, for example, requires no down payment only when the price is not above the appraised value. Your loan exhibit sets out what happens if financing falls through, so read it with your agent. With Georgia Dream, add time for DCA's compliance review of at least 10 business days, and note its rate lock generally lasts 75 days.

Stage 10: Title work and the closing attorney

The Supreme Court of Georgia held in 2006 that closing a real estate sale is the practice of law, so only a Georgia-licensed attorney may conduct it. Under the F201 you pick the closing firm, subject to your lender's approval. If you have a mortgage, that attorney represents the lender, not you; in a cash purchase the attorney represents the buyer. Title insurance is settled before closing: the lender's policy is usually required, while an owner's policy is optional and paid once at closing. See closing attorneys and title insurance in Georgia.

Stages 11 to 13: closing in Georgia

Stage 11: Review the Closing Disclosure

At least three business days before closing, the lender must give you the five-page Closing Disclosure with your final terms, payment and fees. Compare it line by line with your Loan Estimate. The three-day window exists so you can question changes before you sign, not at the table.

Stage 12: Pay closing costs and Georgia's two state taxes

Georgia closing costs averaged $5,106, or 1.24% of the sale price, in Bankrate's 2025 data. Two lines are Georgia taxes. The transfer tax is $1 for the first $1,000 of the price plus 10 cents per additional $100 or part of $100, which is $406.90 on $406,860. The Department of Revenue says the seller is legally liable, while the standard F201 lists it as a buyer item, so who pays is set by your contract and is negotiable. The intangible recording tax is $1.50 per $500 of the loan; on a 3.5% down loan of $392,619.90 it is $1,179.00. The transfer and intangible tax guide and the Georgia closing costs guide cover the rest.

Stage 13: Sign, record and take the keys

You can walk through the home right before closing to confirm agreed repairs and condition. At the closing table you sign the loan and transfer documents, and the deed is then recorded with the clerk of superior court. The Department of Revenue notes the transfer tax must be paid before the deed can be recorded. The contract has the seller deliver all keys, door openers and codes at closing.

After closing: file the homestead exemption

Georgia homestead exemptions lower the taxable value of your main home, but they are not automatic for a new owner. You must have owned the home on January 1 and file with the county by April 1, according to Georgia.gov. Most exemptions then renew on their own while you live there. The Georgia homestead exemption page explains the statewide rules, and Cobb buyers can use the Cobb County homestead exemption steps.

How much income and cash you need to buy in Georgia

No single salary works for every buyer, because debts, taxes and insurance differ. A worked example shows the scale on an Acworth home. An FHA buyer at 3.5% down borrows $392,619.90; adding the 1.75% upfront premium brings the loan to about $399,491, with principal and interest of about $2,733 a month at 7.28% plus roughly $180 of annual premium. That is about $2,913 before property tax and insurance.

At FHA's 31% manual-underwriting housing benchmark, $2,913 needs gross income of about $9,397 a month, or $112,761 a year, and more once taxes and insurance are added. Cash at closing starts at the $14,240.10 down payment plus closing costs near 1.24% of the price, about $5,045. Assistance such as Georgia Dream can cover part of that cash. I can help you price a specific Acworth home this way before you write an offer.

Common questions

Can I afford a $300K house on a $50K salary?+

Possibly not on a standard loan at today's rates. At FHA's 31% manual-underwriting housing benchmark, $50,000 a year supports about $1,292 a month, while principal and interest alone on a $300,000 home with 3.5% down at 7.28% is about $1,981. Automated approvals and assistance can change the result, so get a lender preapproval before deciding.

Can I buy a house if I make $3,000 a month?+

It depends on your debts, the price and the loan. Using FHA's manual-underwriting benchmarks, $3,000 a month supports about $930 for the housing payment (31%) and $1,290 for all debts including housing (43%). That points to a much lower price than Acworth's $406,860 typical value. A lender can tell you what your exact income and debts allow.

How much of a down payment do you need for a $300,000 house?+

On $300,000, 3% is $9,000 (HomeReady or Home Possible), 3.5% is $10,500 (FHA with a 580 credit score), 5% is $15,000, 10% is $30,000 and 20% is $60,000. Eligible VA buyers can put $0 down if the price is not above the appraised value. Closing costs come on top, and Georgia Dream assistance can help with both.

How much do you need to make to buy a house in Georgia?+

It depends on the price, rate and your debts. As an example, an FHA loan on Acworth's $406,860 typical home costs about $2,913 a month in principal, interest and mortgage insurance at 7.28%, which needs roughly $112,761 a year under FHA's 31% manual-underwriting benchmark, before taxes and insurance. Cheaper areas of Georgia need less; use the affordability calculator for your numbers.

Do you need a lawyer to buy a house in Georgia?+

Yes, a Georgia-licensed attorney must conduct the closing. The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled in 2006 that closing a real estate transaction is the practice of law. You choose the closing firm under the standard contract, subject to the lender's approval, but if you have a mortgage the attorney represents the lender, not you.

Who pays the transfer tax in Georgia?+

It is negotiable. The Georgia Department of Revenue says the seller is legally liable for the transfer tax, but the standard Georgia REALTORS contract lists it as a buyer item at closing, and the parties often agree that the buyer pays. On Acworth's $406,860 typical value the tax is $406.90. Check what your contract says before you sign.

How long is the due diligence period in Georgia?+

There is no fixed length. The buyer and seller negotiate the number of days and write it on the first page of the Georgia REALTORS Purchase and Sale Agreement, along with any option payment. During that time you can end the contract for any reason; if you send no termination notice before it ends, you accept the home as-is.

Sources

Lawrence Jackson

I am a Realtor® with Atlanta Communities and part of Team Jackson Sells Atlanta. I specialize in Acworth, Kennesaw, Marietta and Woodstock and serve all of Cobb County and metro Atlanta. You work directly with me at every step, from your first question to the closing table.

Realtor®, Atlanta Communities. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice.

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