Buying your first home in East Nashville

To buy your first home in East Nashville, start with your financing and a monthly budget, learn how historic homes, renovated homes and two-home HPRs differ, and plan for a thorough older-home inspection. Jordyn Hollingsworth, an East Nashville realtor with Compass who teaches The How to Buy a House Class, walks first-time buyers through each step below before they commit to anything.

Step 1: Know your numbers before you look

Start with a lender, not a listing. A preapproval tells you what you can borrow; your budget tells you what you can live with. Add up the whole monthly cost: principal and interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and any HOA or HPR regime fees. Then plan your cash to close: down payment, closing costs and a cushion for the first year of ownership.

• Conventional loans can require as little as 3% down for some first-time buyers.
• FHA loans allow 3.5% down with qualifying credit.
• VA loans can require no down payment for eligible veterans and service members.
• Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) programs help eligible first-time buyers, including down payment assistance. Income and price limits apply and change, so check THDA's current numbers with your lender.

Step 2: Choose the kind of home, not just the neighborhood

In East Nashville, the type of home shapes your budget as much as the street does:

• Historic originals (bungalows, cottages, Victorians) bring character and often higher maintenance.
• Renovated older homes combine character with updated systems; ask what was updated, when and with permits.
• New construction, including many two-home HPRs (Horizontal Property Regimes), offers modern layouts and warranties with smaller yards and shared regime documents.
• Condos and townhomes are often the most affordable way into walkable areas like Five Points.

The full comparison is in Historic home or new build?

Step 3: Learn the neighborhoods

East Nashville is a dozen small markets. Lockeland Springs and Historic Edgefield are walkable and historic; Shelby Hills and Rosebank sit near the area's biggest parks; Inglewood in 37216 often offers more yard for the money; Cleveland Park and McFerrin Park are close-in and changing fast. Start with the neighborhood guides, then visit at different times of day.

Step 4: Make a strong offer without overpaying

• Before touring, you'll sign a written buyer agreement with your agent. Ask how your agent is paid and what's negotiable.
• Price your offer from recent sales on the same blocks, not from online estimates.
• Decide which protections matter most to you (inspection, appraisal and financing contingencies) and how much earnest money to put down.
• When a home is popular, terms like a flexible closing date can matter as much as price.

Step 5: Inspect an older home the right way

Many East Nashville homes were built before 1950. A general inspection is the start, not the finish:

• Sewer scope to check the line to the street.
• Electrical, especially original wiring in very old homes.
• Foundation and crawl space for moisture, settling and past repairs.
• Termites (a wood-destroying insect inspection is common in Tennessee).
• Radon, an inexpensive test worth doing.
• HVAC, roof and water heater ages, to plan future costs.

Step 6: Close and settle in

Expect an appraisal, final loan approval, a final walkthrough and a closing with a title company. Jordyn keeps every deadline on one plan so nothing falls through the cracks, then stays your resource long after you get the keys.

Learn it before you buy it

Jordyn teaches The How to Buy a House Class in Nashville, a free, nationwide home-buying education program with no obligation to use any particular agent or lender. It's the fastest way to understand the process before you start touring.

First-time buyer questions