Buying a first home in Bastrop County is easier to manage when you separate the process into financing, property research, contract protections, and long-term ownership costs. These five checks can help organize the questions and documents that need attention.
1. Set a comfortable budget before choosing homes
A lender’s maximum approval is not the same as a comfortable payment. Include principal, interest, taxes, homeowners insurance, possible mortgage insurance, HOA dues, MUD or PID charges, utilities, maintenance, and emergency savings.
2. Compare loan programs and assistance carefully
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s loan-types guide explains that conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and other loan options can differ in eligibility, down payment, mortgage insurance, total cost, and other terms. Compare official Loan Estimates and ask licensed lenders to explain which options fit the buyer and property.
The TDHCA Lender Guide, effective May 15, 2026, documents requirements for the TDHCA programs covered by that guide, including participating-lender, income, primary-residence, and second-lien assistance provisions. Those terms are program-specific, can change, and should not be applied to a different assistance program. Ask a participating licensed lender for the current written terms and eligibility review; no assistance program is automatic or guaranteed.
3. Keep your own property protections
A general inspection can identify visible concerns, but it does not guarantee future condition and may not cover septic, well, sewer scope, pests, structural engineering, environmental conditions, or every specialized system. Choose inspections based on the property and contract deadlines. New construction also deserves independent review.
4. Verify the exact address
- Taxing units, exemption assumptions, and special-district obligations
- Insurance quote, mapped flood information, and drainage
- Utilities, internet, road maintenance, easements, and deed restrictions
- School assignment directly with the district
- HOA documents, budgets, restrictions, and current fees when applicable
5. Understand the contract and closing money
The current TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), Form 20-19, effective July 1, 2026, contains separate provisions for earnest money, the termination option, financing, appraisal, title, and closing. Whether a buyer may terminate or receive money back depends on the signed contract, applicable addenda, deadlines, notices, performance, and facts. This page cannot determine whether any payment is refundable.
Review the actual contract and deadlines with your agent. Obtain advice from a Texas real-estate attorney when a legal interpretation, termination right, default, or refundability question is involved. Before closing, compare the lender’s Closing Disclosure with earlier Loan Estimates and ask the lender about unexplained changes.
First step: organize your finances, speak with lenders, define your property criteria, and preserve appropriate reserves. Then search with a repeatable checklist instead of reacting to each listing.
Sources checked: the CFPB loan-types guide, the TDHCA Lender Guide, effective May 15, 2026, the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), Form 20-19, effective July 1, 2026, and the Texas Comptroller property-tax overview.
Scope: CFPB supports broad loan comparison; the TDHCA guide supports only the programs and version it covers; Form 20-19 is a current form for the resale transactions described by TREC; and the Comptroller explains Texas property-tax administration. Eligibility, payment, cash-to-close, tax, contract rights, termination, and refundability remain buyer-, property-, lender-, document-, deadline-, and fact-dependent.
Review again: At least twice yearly and whenever CFPB guidance, the TDHCA Lender Guide, the applicable TREC contract form, or Texas property-tax guidance changes. Verify the effective document version before retaining a program or contract-specific statement.
Body and sources reviewed August 22, 2026. Loan, assistance, tax, and contract rules change, and eligibility is individual. This is general real-estate information, not lending, tax, contract, or legal advice.
Call or text (512) 993-8488, or send me a note, for a first-home planning conversation in Bastrop County.
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