Moving to DC from the UK

The translation, term by term

Most of the confusion in an international move is vocabulary. Here's the dictionary:

• Solicitor / conveyancer → title company & settlement agent. In the DMV, a title company (often with a settlement attorney) runs the searches, holds the money in escrow, and conducts the closing. Your agent coordinates them; you don't hire a separate lawyer for a typical purchase.
• Stamp duty → transfer & recordation taxes. There's no SDLT here; instead, DC, Maryland and Virginia each charge their own one-time transfer and recordation taxes at settlement, and who pays what is partly custom, partly negotiation. Kelly's closing-cost calculator shows the numbers for all three jurisdictions.
• Gazumping → ratified contracts. The pleasant shock of American buying: once both sides sign, the contract is binding. The seller cannot accept a higher offer the week before completion. Competition happens up front instead — often through escalation clauses in the offer itself.
• The chain → contingencies. There are no chains. Each sale stands alone; the roles chains play in Britain are handled here by written contingencies (financing, inspection, appraisal, sometimes home-sale) with fixed deadlines.
• Exchange & completion → ratification & settlement. One signing makes the deal binding (ratification); a single settlement day transfers money and keys — usually weeks, not months, later.
• Survey → home inspection. Ordered by you, done within days of ratification, and used to negotiate repairs or credits inside a set window.
• Leasehold / freehold → fee simple, condos & co-ops. Nearly all houses are owned outright ("fee simple"). Flats are condominiums — you own the unit and share the building — or, occasionally in DC, co-ops, where you own shares in the building's corporation. Monthly fees replace service charges; there's no 99-year lease ticking down.
• Freehold ground rent worries → HOA/condo fees. The recurring cost to scrutinise here is the association fee and the health of the building's finances — Kelly reviews both on every condo her clients pursue.

Money: what changes

Financing. US mortgages are commonly fixed for the full 30 years — a genuine difference from the UK's shorter fixes — and they hinge on US credit history, which new arrivals haven't built yet. That's workable: some lenders have programs for relocating professionals and international buyers, relying on visa status, employment and overseas records, though expect more documentation and sometimes a larger deposit ("down payment"). Kelly can introduce lenders experienced with newly arrived buyers — the right lender matters more for you than for a domestic purchaser.

Taxes at purchase and after. You'll pay one-time transfer/recordation taxes at settlement (see the calculator), then ongoing property tax — the rough analogue of council tax, but tied to your home's assessed value and paid to the local jurisdiction, usually through your mortgage payment. Cross-border tax treatment of your UK assets, income and any property you keep is specialist territory: get advice from a professional who knows both systems.

The money trail. Funds for closing generally need to be in a US account, settled and traceable, ahead of time — international transfers add days, and settlement day is not the day to discover that.

The timeline: faster than you're used to

A typical DMV purchase runs about 30–45 days from ratified contract to keys — a pace that startles buyers used to British conveyancing. The rhythm:

• Pre-approval first. Sellers here expect proof of financing with the offer.
• Tour and choose — then offer, possibly with an escalation clause.
• Ratification makes the contract binding for both sides.
• Inspection within days; then the lender's appraisal.
• Final walk-through, then settlement day — you sign, funds move, and the home is recorded in your name.

The full step-by-step, with what happens at each stage, is in Kelly's buyer's guide — the process there is exactly the one British clients follow, minus the translation.

What surprises British buyers most

Four things, reliably. First, you have your own agent, and the seller has theirs — buyer representation is standard here, with your agent's role and compensation set out in a written agreement before you tour homes. Second, earnest money: your offer includes a good-faith deposit held in escrow, credited to you at closing. Third, title insurance stands in for much of the solicitor's search-and-guarantee role — a one-time policy protecting your ownership. Fourth, the speed: decisions that take months in England happen in days here, which is why preparation before the search — financing, funds, priorities — decides outcomes.

And one happy absence: no gazumping, no gazundering, no chain collapsing a fortnight before completion. Once ratified, you can book the movers.

An agent who has made the move herself

Kelly Balmer is a Vice President at Compass and a partner in the Mollaan Babbington Group, with $130M+ sold and a Best-of-Zillow, 5.0-star record across 130+ client reviews — and an Englishwoman who navigated this exact relocation before making the DMV her professional home for 13+ years. She's licensed in DC, Maryland and Virginia, which matters in a region where one house-hunt routinely crosses all three, and she handles every client personally, including fully remote purchases with video tours for buyers still in the UK.

Start with a conversation — about neighbourhoods, timing, lenders, or simply what the process will feel like. She answers personally.

Kelly Balmer
Vice President & Partner, Mollaan Babbington Group at Compass · Licensed in DC · MD · VA