Virginia Contract & Transaction Specifics

Virginia is a caveat emptor (buyer-beware) state, so purchase contracts shift much of the burden of property investigation onto the buyer rather than imposing broad seller condition-disclosure duties. Sellers typically provide a Residential Property Disclosure Statement that advises buyers to conduct their own due diligence, while licensees must still disclose known material adverse facts. Earnest money and other client funds tied to a transaction must be deposited into a separate escrow or trust account and never commingled with brokerage operating funds. Virginia is not a community-property state, so a married seller's property interests and signatures follow ordinary title and conveyance rules rather than community-property principles.