You are purchasing a home and find out you need to set up the home inspection; or perhaps you are selling your home and eagerly awaiting this next step. Either way, there are many aspects of the inspection process you should become familiar with.

You’ve decided you want to take the plunge into homeownership, but there are multiple decisions you need to make before you can really even begin your home search.

As a prospective home-buyer who will be considering a mortgage, you will have to determine how to come up with a down payment for your new house.    The standard down payment for a conventional loan is 20 percent; however, there are other loans that might be available to you, such as the FHA loan, in which you might only be required to put down 3.5 to 5 percent of the purchase price. 

Anyone that has been in the market for a new home, or just has an interest in the real estate industry, knows that it has been nothing other than a seller’s market. Over the last few years, buyer frustration has been at an all-time high, while sellers have enjoyed the high-priced trend.   Across the country, home values have continued to increase at an above-average rate, while the available inventory has been lacking, at best.  This demand for homes has successfully allowed sellers to raise their asking prices, and the competition has pushed buyers to make offers that are considerably over the listing price, often finding themselves in a bidding war with other prospective buyers.   But what do we have in store for the upcoming spring?

If you are financing your new home, the home appraisal is one of the key elements of the home buying process.  If fact, it is impossible to be approved by a mortgage lender without an appraisal.  But what exactly is an appraisal?  The short answer is an appraisal reports the home’s value.  Below you will find out how to prepare for your appraisal, what happens during the appraisal, how long the appraisal will take and what to expect after it is complete.