We Buy Houses in Central Virginia: Every Area I Cover

I’m based in the Richmond area, and my family’s company buys property across the city and the counties and cities around it. When people search “we buy houses in Central Virginia,” they usually want to know one thing: will this buyer actually come look at my place? This page answers that. Each area below has its own page with local details, like where probate is handled, when taxes are due, and how code notices work there.

The areas I cover

  • Richmond: Houses, rowhouses, and small rentals inside the independent city, where the city (not a county) handles taxes, code enforcement, and probate.
  • Henrico County: The county that wraps around Richmond to the north, west, and east. More than a third of its occupied homes are rentals, so the county has a lot of landlords.
  • Chesterfield County: Richmond’s large neighbor to the south and west, with established neighborhoods, newer subdivisions, and bigger lots. Estates go through the Circuit Court’s Probate Division.
  • Chester: An unincorporated community in eastern Chesterfield near I-95 and Route 10. There’s no separate town government, so county offices handle everything.
  • Midlothian: Western Chesterfield around Midlothian Turnpike and Route 288, where the mailing name covers a wide area and doesn’t tell you which county office you deal with.
  • Hanover County: North of the city, from Mechanicsville neighborhoods to farms and acreage, including land enrolled in the county’s land use program.
  • Ashland: Hanover’s only incorporated town. Owners there get a small town real estate tax bill on top of the county’s.
  • Petersburg: An independent city with many older and historic houses. It keeps a vacant building registry, and about one in seven of its housing units was counted as vacant.
  • Colonial Heights: A small independent city across the Appomattox from Petersburg, where about one in five residents is 65 or older.
  • Hopewell: An independent city where the Appomattox meets the James. It has a rental inspection program, so landlords there have extra paperwork to think about.
  • Prince George County: A mostly rural county south of the James, home to Fort Lee, with homes, acreage, and parcels that don’t fit a typical listing.

Why the local details matter when you sell

Virginia is unusual: its independent cities aren’t part of any county. A house with a Richmond, Petersburg, or Colonial Heights mailing address might sit inside that city, or it might be in Chesterfield, Henrico, or Prince George. The line decides a lot about your sale:

  • Which circuit court handles an estate. A Virginia will is probated in the circuit court of the city or county where the person lived, so the deceased owner’s home address points you to the right clerk’s office.
  • Which treasurer collects the taxes. Due dates and penalties differ from place to place. Any back taxes get paid from the sale proceeds at closing, but you want the right office when you call for a balance.
  • Which office sends code notices. Cities and counties each run their own property maintenance and zoning enforcement, and a town like Ashland can add its own rules on top of the county’s.
  • Which rules apply to rentals. Some cities require rental inspections or vacant building registration. The county next door may not.

The easiest way to check is your real estate tax bill. Whoever sends it is the locality you deal with. The deed will also name the city or county where it was recorded.

What I buy in every one of these areas

Everywhere on this list, I buy the same way: as-is, for cash, with no commissions or fees charged by me. I buy single-family homes, duplexes and small apartment buildings, vacant lots and acreage, and commercial buildings. Occupied or empty, dated or damaged, with tenants, liens, or an estate still open, it’s all fine. You pick the closing date. That can be about a week out once title is clear, or later if you need time.

We buy houses in Central Virginia beyond this list

These eleven pages cover the core of where I buy, but they aren’t a hard boundary. If your property is somewhere else in the region, call me and tell me where it is. If it’s too far outside the area I work in, I’ll tell you so plainly, and I won’t waste your time.

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