This article takes you through the 14 basic steps to buying a house in Ohio.
Additionally, you will find answers to the common questions that my clients ask me as a Realtor and lender.
Let’s begin our tour of how to buy a house in Ohio at the beginning — with putting your personal documents in order for your lender.
Step 1: Create Your Document File
To get ready for buying a home in Ohio, you’ll need to assemble a file that includes your personal identification documents: your birth certificate and state- or federally-issued identification, proof of residency, and citizenship.
A passport also works to confirm identity.
Add your financial records. You’ll need your bank and credit card statements and mortgage or rent receipts.
You’ll use these documents when you sit down with your lender to receive prequalification for a loan.
Step 2: Locate a Lender
I’m frequently asked, “Should I find a Realtor or lender first?” A Realtor will usually tell you that you should find an agent first. And a lender will say the opposite.
I am both a Realtor and a lender, so my answer is unbiased: a lender is the first professional you should consult with when buying a house.
A meeting with Ohio lenders will help you determine your target price range for home shopping.
It will depend on your finances, including your credit score and history, and it’s the lender who can properly analyze it, unlike a real estate agent.
After finding out how much you can spend on a house, you will consult a Realtor without wasting your time looking at homes that don’t correspond to your preferred price range.
Your checklist for selecting a lending agent should include:
- A history of funding loans — and on time
- Positive former client reviews
- Type of customer service that matches with your needs
- No high-pressure push for you to accept the loan
- At least three years of experience
- Possession of a license that can be verified by using the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS)
- Excellent communication skills and ability to explain the loan options and terms
- Ability to cooperate with any supplement lending grants or assistance you might receive
Step 3: Shop for a Loan
Savvy buyers set aside time to shop for lenders to find the best loan.
Federally-backed mortgages are funded through local lenders. While the federal loans set specific terms to be met, your local lender has additional requirements — lender overlays.
Begin your search with a list of the most popular lending products available to Buckeye home buyers, including:
- Conventional private loans
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loans
- Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans
- US Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USRD) loans
You should also consider the various types of lending products available.
- Fixed-rate mortgage
- Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM)
- Conforming loans
- Jumbo loans
- Balloon-payment mortgages
First-Time Home Buyer Assistance
If you’re a first-time home buyer (which means you have not owned a primary residence in the past three years), you’ll want to research any first-time home buyer grants in Ohio that you and your property may qualify for. These include:
- OHFA Down Payment Assistance
- Ohio Heroes
- Grants for Grads
- FHA Loans
Supplemental Home Buying Assistance
Other supplemental assistance can be found for the down payment and closing costs. Research to see if you meet the qualifications for these loans.
- Mortgage Tax Credit
- Next Home
- USDA’s Section 504 Home Repair
- Home Weatherization Assistance Program (HWAP)
Loan Checklist
Here is what you need to consider when shopping for a home loan:
- Quoted interest rates (APR)
- Loan type and terms
- Any prepayment penalties
- Specific fees
- Closing costs
- Ability to lock in the quoted rate
- Required down payments
- Ability to combine (stack) down payment or closing cost assistance programs
- Ability of the lender to actually fund the loan
- Soft versus a hard credit check — a hard credit check inquiry slightly lowers your credit score while a soft one doesn’t
- Expiration date for your interest rate and terms for your prequalification letter
- Availability of a formal pre-approval letter
- Confirmation that the lender will retain the loan and not resell it to another lender
- Terms are transparent
- Terms are in writing and you receive a copy
Within three days of your written application, you should receive a printed copy of the loan terms. This is required under the federal TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule.
This three-page document will include a loan estimate (LE), terms, loan cost, good faith estimate, lender requirements, and your personal identification.
Another question home shoppers typically ask is, “How many lenders should you apply to for a mortgage?”
The answer depends on whether you’re screening agents who represent one lender or you’re working with a broker who represents a number of lenders.
A loan broker will be your representative, and will shop your financial package to collect loan packages from a number of lenders for you to select.
If you’re shopping yourself for individual lenders, you’ll want to screen them and apply for loans with experienced professionals offering the best terms and conditions to match with your needs.
Once you narrow your search down, the lender will pre-approve you for a loan. You may receive several pre-approvals from different lenders.
Step 4: Obtain a Pre-Approval Letter
Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a critical step in your home search.
I’m frequently asked a number of questions about loan prequalification and pre-approval. Let’s address those now.
What is the difference between mortgage prequalification and pre-approval?
Prequalification is a quick review of your borrowing abilities based on survey answers you provide to your lender. It doesn’t include a detailed review of your credit history and score.
Pre-approval requires your lender to verify the information you provide and give you a pre-approval letter that is a more solid proof that you do qualify for a loan.
How to get pre-approved for a mortgage? Every lender has a specific checklist for approval, but typically you’ll need to satisfy the “4 Cs.”
These include:
- capacity (your income and current debts)
- capacity (your ability to make the down payment and any reserves you may have
- credit (your score and credit history)
- collateral (the formal appraisal of the home you’re buying)
How long does it take to get pre-approved for a mortgage? While prequalification can be done after a short interview, pre-approval may take a day or two to verify and confirm your documentation.
When to get pre-approved for a mortgage? The approval typically has an expiration date, so you’ll want to obtain it when you’re serious about doing home shopping.
Why get pre-approved for a mortgage? Sellers look for buyers with lender pre-approval and prequalification letters before accepting sales offers. This gives you an advantage over other buyers.
What’s a mortgage pre-approval letter and how do I obtain one? This letter provides a firmer statement of the amount of the loan you’ll qualify for.
Your lender will complete one after they’ve confirmed the information you’ve supplied on your loan application.
Apply for mortgage pre-approval now without risking to lower your credit with a hard inquiry so you’re ready to roll in your property search.
Step 5: Find a Realtor
A real estate professional can be a major asset when buying a home.
They are your legal fiduciary, and you can use their expertise to advise you. They’ll also take on the time-consuming tasks required in a property sale.
A Realtor with the expertise in your target area knows the current inventory and the details of the sales that will be used as comps for an appraisal.
Professional agents have access to proprietary software and systems, such as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), that assists them in locating available properties and assembling prior sales to compare to your target house.
Your real estate agent vetting checklist should include:
- At least three years in the real estate industry
- Extensive experience representing buyers and sellers in your targeted price range
- Positive reviews from former clients
- Effective communication skills
- A personal approach
- Ability to fully answer your questions accurately by using understandable terms
- Professional membership in the National Association of Realtors and a local association board
Expertise in both real estate and mortgage lending will be helpful — this way you will have guidance in all phases of the sales transaction.
Your Realtor will require you to sign an agency disclosure once you select their brokerage and the agent to represent you.
This form states you’ve been informed of the role your agent will play and the responsibilities that go along with that charge.
Step 6: Develop a Wish List
Make a list of your ideal home’s features and another that itemizes additional practical features you hope to find in your new home.
- The number of required bedrooms
- Type of bathrooms (half versus full) and number
- Number of floors (single versus multi-story)
- Laundry placement
- Gas versus electric appliances
- Type of heating system
- Proximity to local schools
- Availability and access to public transportation
- Type of home development (multiplex versus single family)
- Garage and number of spaces to park
- Yards versus community-shared landscaping
Complete the list of your necessities and then put a star by the items that your home really must have.
Once you’ve completed your list of your dream home features, rank the items in order of importance.
These items, and the ranking, can help you focus when you’re looking at properties.
Step 7: Highlight Local Neighborhoods
An experienced Realtor who knows the various neighborhoods can be instrumental during this step.
Lay out a paper map and highlight the neighborhoods you’re interested in. Use this when you’re driving in the local area.
If you aren’t aware of the community details, ask your agent to give a brief summary of the neighborhoods with homes in your price range.
Step 8: Shop for Homes
Shopping for a home is the next step, and finding one that matches your lists of needs and wants may take some time.
Your Realtor will select homes currently on the market for the tours, or the agent might send solicitation letters to non-owner occupied homes in neighborhoods you’ve highlighted in step 4.
Tips for Home Shopping
- Use your list of needs as a guide. Focus on those items when you tour homes.
- Don’t be distracted by home staging. You’ll be living with your own furnishings, not the former owners’ furniture and belongings.
- Look at the home’s layout and determine if it meets your needs.
- Ignore things that can easily be changed, including paint color.
- Focus on any obvious issues with the property, including any cracks in walls or the home’s foundation.
- Look for any major repairs that need to be done. This might include a new roof, required fencing, or driveway repairs. While these conditions may not be dealbreakers, you’ll need to estimate the costs to do these repairs if you make an offer on the property.
Step 9: Negotiate an Offer
A trained negotiator (your Realtor) is critical for this step in the home-buying journey. A good negotiator can not only justify a lower price, but they can also handle disputes over price and terms.
Both buyer and seller have the option of countering the price and presenting different sales conditions in place of the ones you offer.
Counteroffers, once signed by both buyer and seller, are incorporated into the sales contract by the escrow agent.
When your Realtor presents your offer, you’ll need to put an earnest money deposit in an escrow account — typically 1-3% of the price you’re offering.
That’s cash that is put upfront to show the buyer that your offer is serious and you intend to purchase the property.
The amount you’ll need for earnest money depends on the price of the home and the amount of cash you have on hand.
If the seller requires a higher earnest money deposit, they’ll counter the offer with that stipulation.
Step 10: Decide on a Mortgage Product
You’ll need to reconfirm the terms and interest rate you found during your preliminary lending research. These may have changed during the time it took to locate a home to buy.
Your lender will want you to update your documents to make sure your financial profile hasn’t changed since your initial meeting. You’ll need to redocument:
- Your credit report and score
- Last credit card statements
- Most recent checking and savings account records
- Your employment and current salary
Once you’ve decided on a loan, your lender will begin preparation of the formal documents and readying the paperwork to send to your escrow officer.
If you’re using supplemental or assistance grants or loans, you will be in charge of collecting the documentation required for each one and making sure your lender is following the guidelines mandated by those programs.
Step 11: Buyer Due Diligence
Your agent, or the seller’s agent, will take the offer and any counteroffers and open escrow on the transaction. Your earnest money will then be transferred to the transaction escrow account.
During this time, you’ll shop for and obtain homeowner and hazard insurance. You will only pay for it if and when the sale closes.
You also may decide to hire a home inspector to verify the items listed on the required homeowner’s property disclosure and possibly find problems that the owner doesn’t know about.
If your home loan is backed by federal funds, the property inspection is mandatory.
Your lender will ask the real estate agents involved to arrange for the required lender home appraisal of the property.
One of the Ohio title companies will track the property’s ownership chain during this time. It will also look for any outstanding liens and obtain title insurance on your behalf.
During the home due diligence process, you may discover some issues that impact the price or your decision to purchase the house.
Damage
A home inspector licensed in Ohio may discover serious damage that impacts the sales price.
The property disclosure is an inventory of known problems, but your seller may not be aware of the issues found by your inspector.
Appraisal
Lenders require the home to undergo a professional valuation by one of the licensed Ohio home appraisers. If you don’t use a loan to buy a house (“paying cash”), you aren’t obligated to order a home appraisal.
When the appraisal report doesn’t match the sales price, you have several options. Your seller might hire a second appraisal in the hope that it matches the sale price.
Lenders require the property appraisal to match or be higher than the sales price. When it doesn’t, you can pay cash to make up the difference or renegotiate the price based on the appraisal.
Your sales contract should include a clause that requires the house to appraise at the sale price at a minimum. That protects you when the appraisal is lower than the purchase price.
If you’re using an FHA-backed loan to buy, your appraisal will automatically incorporate a property inspection. FHA requirements incorporate strict guidelines that must be met, and the appraisal must match the sales price.
Other Undisclosed Issues
Your due diligence may discover other issues. You may find the house has HOA restrictions that make it undesirable to you.
The title search might turn up a number of unpaid liens on the property.
Other new discoveries of conditions might influence your purchase, including property right away claims or a location under an air traffic route.
Your Options
When undisclosed or newly discovered problems are found, you can:
- back out of the deal
- renegotiate the purchase price
- ask the homeowner to do the repairs or resolve other issues before the transaction closes
- ask to have the amount of the repairs put into an escrow holdback account for your use after closing
Your original sales offer should include a clause that returns your earnest money in full should the home have serious condition or other issues that aren’t itemized on the property disclosure.
Step 12: Final Home Walkthrough
The final walkthrough of your home will take place several days prior to closing. This is the time to inspect the home to make sure it’s in the same condition as when you wrote the offer.
When your sales contract requires the seller to repair items, you’ll check at this time to make sure these fixes were completed to your satisfaction.
If the repairs haven’t been made, or they don’t meet your standards, you’ll need to wait to sign the closing paperwork.
Step 13: Pre-Closing Activities
The last activities during escrow have a specific time limit to be completed.
Lenders must present you with a written formal Closing Disclosure three days prior to your official closing. This document summarizes all the terms and details of your loan.
You should examine it closely and report any errors you see so they can be corrected before the day of the final closing.
Step 14: Closing and Transfers
You’ll sign the final formal documents at the closing, and you’ll receive the keys and any security codes to the property. Your cash will be transferred or your loan will be funded at this time.
The real estate title will be transferred during the formal signing. The signed deed will be notarized and then delivered, along with the Statement of Value (DTE-100), to the county auditor.
Once the auditor approves it, the county recorder will accept the deed and input the data on the official public register. This formally recognizes your ownership.
It’s wise to confirm that your property title has been properly recorded without any errors. You can do this by checking your county registrar’s website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old do you have to be to buy a house in Ohio?
For a contract to be legal in the Buckeye State, the signer must be at least 18 years old, and that includes real estate sales contracts.
But it’s unlikely an 18-year-old buyer would qualify for a loan. Lenders look for at least two years of credit history and the ability to make a down payment and closing costs.
Unless the teen has cash to pay for the home, intends to purchase the house with a qualified co-signer, or has the ability to earn regular income to make the loan payments, it’s unlikely to see an 18-year-old buyer.
If you’re that buyer, or you have a friend or young family member who meets those qualifications, I can assist in writing a legal sales contract that would allow someone under the age of 18 to purchase a house.
These terms might include sharing title with a more senior family member or working with a legal professional to appoint a legal guardian to protect the minor’s interests until the eighteenth birthday.
What do you need to buy a house in Ohio?
Here is a list of items you need to legally buy a home in Ohio.
Legal Requirements
The buyer must:
- be at least 18 years old
- hold U.S. citizenship
Financial Ability to Purchase
You have several options under this category. You either:
- have the ability to pay cash for the property
- have gift cash to buy the home
- can obtain mortgage financing
Ability to Meet Specific Mortgage Requirements (When Not Paying Cash)
When you need a mortgage to buy, you’ll need to meet a number of requirements, including:
- proving your identity
- proving citizenship
- covering the down payment and closing costs
- holding a good-to-fair credit score
- have regular and steady income to pay your bills
- be able to obtain hazard insurance coverage for the property
A Valid Sales Contract
A verbal real estate agreement isn’t valid in the Buckeye State. Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules, Section 1345.23 state the contract must be written with all parties signing their agreement on the document.
A legal and binding real estate contract must include:
- Mutual intent, sometimes referred to as the “meeting of the minds on the sale.” Both buyer and seller need to understand the terms and agree to them without any reservations.
- Legal competency. Both parties must be a minimum of 18 years old and have sound mental capacity.
- Legality. The real estate transaction must be legal under the law. For example, you can’t buy a property that the seller doesn’t have the right to sell.
- Offer. The contract has a clear action that’s done by both parties to the agreement.
- Acceptance. Both buyer and seller need to agree on all terms and then sign the written sales agreement.
- Consideration. Something must be given in exchange for the property. It doesn’t need to be money, but it’s required to be something of value.
How much does it cost to buy a house in Ohio?
There are a number of individual factors that go into pricing a home in Ohio.
At the time of writing this, the median price for a home in the United States is $462,206, while the median price in Ohio is anywhere between $248,000 and $276,900.
The Buckeye State offers one of the most affordable home markets in the country.
Every property, however, must be carefully evaluated by using the following factors to establish value and set a price:
- Location and neighborhood
- Desirability of the home itself
- Total square footage
- Usable square footage
- Amenities and special features
- Amount and type of upgrades and improvements
- Locality features, entertainment, proximity to transportation, commute time
- Property age
- Condition
- Fluctuations in the real estate market
- National and local economic conditions
- Mortgage interest rates
- Quality of local schools
- Supply and demand
- Comparative and conforming sales
Let’s consider a few examples of specific pricing.
Rural homes typically have lower asking prices than many houses located in the suburbs of larger Ohio cities.
The median price in 2025 for a single-family home in Ohio counties with older and more rural properties is approximately $175,000.
A home of the same age with the same square footage in a suburb of a major Ohio city can bring a price of up to $552,000.
What is the average percentage of closing costs in Ohio for a home purchase?
The average closing costs in Ohio for a home buyer run between 2-5% of the sales price.
This figure includes payment for title insurance, property appraisal, loan origination fees, deed or title transfer fees, mailing, delivery, and fund transfer costs.
A number of usual closing costs are negotiable, and you can shop various service providers to obtain the best pricing.
