All-in cost first, always. Estimate only — not a loan quote or pre-approval.
Not your state? Find your calculator here.
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs program offering a below-market 30-year fixed-rate mortgage plus up to 5% down payment/closing cost assistance as a 0%-interest deferred second lien (repaid at sale, refinance, or payoff) for first-time homebuyers and veterans.
Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation program for teachers, firefighters, police/correctional officers, EMS personnel, and veterans: 30-year fixed mortgage plus down payment assistance and Mortgage Credit Certificates.
Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation program for low- and moderate-income Texas homebuyers generally: 30-year fixed mortgage plus down payment assistance and Mortgage Credit Certificates.
TDHCA program providing a federal tax credit equal to 15% of annual mortgage interest paid (roughly $2,000/year in savings) for eligible first-time homebuyers, usable alongside a first mortgage.
Estimated all-in monthly payment for a home price you have in mind.
Check which down payment assistance programs you likely qualify for.
What actually reaches your account after federal tax, FICA, and your state's own brackets — with local income tax disclosed rather than guessed at.
Fewer listings, fewer buyers, and sellers who have a reason to be on the market in December. Here is what a winter discount is actually worth on a $400,000 house — in monthly payment, in lifetime interest, and in the seller concessions a quiet market makes possible — and the three ways a winter purchase goes wrong.
Texas is constitutionally barred from charging a real estate transfer tax, which is one big reason closing on a $345,000 Texas home can start near $3,450.
The operational guide to buying property with a partner, friend, sibling, or parent — credit and DTI mechanics, title vesting, a clause-by-clause co-ownership agreement, and how the exit actually works.
A month-by-month plan for the year before you buy: what to do in each phase, what never to touch, how to document every dollar, and how to survive closing day.
Texas guide
Buying a home in Texas involves the same broad strokes as anywhere else in the country — get your finances in order, find a home, make an offer, close — but the details that actually determine your budget and timeline are specific to this state. Texas has no transfer tax at all, but property tax and homeowners insurance both run well above the national average; the state also runs an unusually deep bench of first-time-buyer assistance programs, and its homestead exemption is one of the more genuinely valuable ones in the country once you understand how to claim it. A generic national guide won't walk you through that combination, and it changes how you should think about your true cost of owning a home here.
This guide walks through the whole process in order, with real Texas figures at each step. It's written for a first-time buyer with no background in real estate or mortgage jargon — where a term matters, it's explained the first time it comes up.
A note before you start: everything below is general information to help you understand the process, not personalized financial, legal, or tax advice. Texas's real estate rules vary by county and metro area, mortgage terms vary by lender and your individual credit profile, and this guide can't account for your specific situation. For an actual loan quote, talk to a licensed lender; for legal questions specific to your purchase, talk to a real estate attorney licensed in Texas.
It's tempting to start browsing listings first, but the single most useful thing you can do before you fall in love with a house is find out what you can actually afford — and get a lender to confirm it in writing.
Read the full Texas guide →18 min read · Updated 2026-08-20