What your home is worth, how to prepare it, the order a sale runs in, and the taxes a seller pays in Virginia, the District and Maryland.
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Artur Guney was fantastic from start to finish with helping me sell my condo in Alexandria. Artur is incredibly personable and he guided me through preparing the condo all the way to after closing making the entire process incredibly easy for me. I’m extremely happy with the experience and highly recommend Guney Real Estate!
The house comes first: the repairs a buyer’s inspector would find, clearing and cleaning, then photography. Start the paperwork at the same time, because some of it comes from other people.
In Virginia, the owner gives the buyer the residential property disclosure statement that the Real Estate Board publishes on its website (Va. Code § 55.1-703). In the District, the seller delivers a real property disclosure statement on the District’s form before or when the buyer signs the purchase agreement (D.C. Code § 42-1302). In Maryland, the seller of a single-family home, with some exceptions in the statute, gives each buyer either a property condition disclosure statement or a disclaimer statement on the State Real Estate Commission’s form (Real Property § 10-702).
For most housing built before 1978, federal rules require the seller to give the buyer the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home and to disclose any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards before the buyer signs the contract (EPA).
In Virginia, the seller obtains the association’s resale certificate and gives it to the buyer. The association has 14 days from a written request to deliver it, and the seller pays the fees for preparing and delivering it (Va. Code § 55.1-2309, § 55.1-2316). The buyer may then cancel within the period the contract sets, or within three days if it sets none (§ 55.1-2312). In Maryland, the buyer of a condominium unit may rescind in writing within 7 days after receiving everything the Condominium Act requires the seller to furnish (Real Property § 11-135). Ordered before the home is listed, the documents are ready when a contract is ratified.
Inside Alexandria’s locally regulated historic districts, which include the Old and Historic Alexandria District, new construction and exterior alterations visible from a public right of way need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Board of Architectural Review or its staff (City of Alexandria), so pre-listing work on a facade, windows or a roof there needs time for that approval. The Old Town guide covers the district in more detail.
How long homes are taking to sell: Bright MLS’s monthly figures for the City of Alexandria as a whole, across every price point. Most of the area guides carry their own county’s figures, and the housing market report covers the city month by month.
Based on information from Bright MLS for September 1, 2026 through September 30, 2026; data is reliable but not guaranteed.
These are the taxes and fees on the deed itself, under each jurisdiction’s law as of October 2026. The rest of a seller’s settlement statement depends on the sale: the mortgage payoff, agent compensation under the listing agreement, any credit agreed with the buyer, the property-tax adjustment the contract provides for and, for an association home, the resale-document fees.
| Where the home is | Tax or fee | Rate | Who pays, by law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Virginia: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park (§ 33.2-2501) | State grantor tax (§ 58.1-802) | $0.50 per $500 of the price (0.1%) | The seller, unless the parties arrange for the buyer to pay some or all |
| Regional congestion relief fee (§ 58.1-802.4) | $0.10 per $100 (0.1%) | The seller, unless arranged otherwise | |
| Regional WMATA capital fee (§ 58.1-802.3) | $0.10 per $100 (0.1%) | The seller, unless arranged otherwise | |
| Washington, DC | Deed transfer tax (D.C. Code § 47-903) | 1.1% of the price; 1.45% on a residential sale of $400,000 or more | The seller; the buyer is jointly liable if the seller does not pay |
| Maryland: Montgomery County, which includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac | State transfer tax (Tax-Property § 13-203) | 0.5%; 0.25% on a sale to a first-time Maryland homebuyer | Shared equally unless the contract says otherwise; all of it the seller’s on a sale to a first-time Maryland homebuyer (Real Property § 14-104) |
| County transfer tax (Montgomery County) | Typically 1% of the price | Shared equally unless the contract says otherwise; the seller’s on a sale to a first-time Maryland homebuyer unless expressly agreed (§ 14-104) | |
| Recordation tax (Montgomery County Council) | Tiered, per $500 of the price, since October 1, 2023 | As for the county transfer tax (§ 14-104) |
On a $1,000,000 sale in Northern Virginia the three come to $3,000, $1,000 each. In the District, the transfer tax on the same sale is $14,500. The Fairfax Circuit Court’s schedule of land-record taxes and fees lists the Virginia three side by side. The settlement agent confirms the exact figures for a sale.
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It is a starting point: it cannot see renovations or condition. Artur prepares every valuation personally, from recent nearby sales and a walkthrough of your home.
The seller, by law: Virginia's grantor tax of $0.50 per $500 of the price is paid by the grantor, although the parties may arrange for the buyer to pay all or part of it (Va. Code § 58.1-802). In Northern Virginia the regional congestion relief fee and the regional WMATA capital fee, $0.10 per $100 each, follow the same rule (§§ 58.1-802.4 and 58.1-802.3).
The District's deed transfer tax is imposed on the seller: 1.1% of the price, plus an additional 0.35% on a residential sale of $400,000 or more, so 1.45% at that level. If the seller does not pay it, the buyer is jointly liable for it (D.C. Code § 47-903).
Unless the contract says otherwise, Maryland law presumes the buyer and the seller share the recordation tax and the State and local transfer taxes equally. On a sale to a first-time Maryland homebuyer who will live in the home, the seller pays all of the State transfer tax, at a reduced 0.25%, and all of the recordation and local transfer tax unless the parties expressly agree otherwise (Real Property § 14-104; Tax-Property § 13-203).
Before you list. In Virginia the association has 14 days from your written request to deliver it, and the seller pays the fees for preparing and delivering it (Va. Code §§ 55.1-2309 and 55.1-2316).
For most homes built before 1978, yes. Federal rules require the seller to give the buyer the EPA's lead pamphlet and to disclose any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards before the buyer signs the contract.
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