First Time Home Buyers

Should Get a Professional

Home Inspection

There are many reasons for first time home buyers to choose not to purchase a home inspection, and those reasons are primarily in the form of dollars. But keep in mind that a professional home inspection can save you time, money and heartache in the long run.

If you are looking for a first time home buyer home loan, you may be having some trouble with the entire process. You've probably seen advertisements for low loan rates, but when you become the home buyer, you may have been surprised by the rates and terms of loans you've been offered. A professional home inspection will help assure the lender that the property is worth the amount you're borrowing and that their loan is secure.

Many home buyers confuse the appraisal with a home inspection. An appraisal is an expert's opinion on the fair market value of a piece of property, home, building or combination of these. It s defined as the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for that property on the open market, in an arm's-length transaction., which is simply another way of saying that the buyer and seller do not know each other, and neither has any interest in doing a financial favor for the other. While property often has sentimental or other forms of emotional value, that is not what determines appraised value.

If you re looking at a particular first time home buyer program, a home inspection may be required. The appraiser will make an inspection of the home and property, but remember that appraisers are generally not trained in home inspection, nor are they liable to find any flaws in the mechanical, heating, cooling, or other systems of the property. The appraiser's only purpose is to determine the value of the property as it is, and will typically note that he assumes all mechanical systems (electric, heat/air, and plumbing) to be in good working condition, even if that is not the case.

A home inspector will crawl in all areas of the house, examine electrical wiring, plumbing systems, heating and cooling systems, windows, roofing, and structural members looking for problems and potential problems. After the home inspection, the home buyer will know if there are things that need to be fixed and will even be given some ideas of what repairs will be needed in the near future. Many first time home buyer grants also require both home inspections and appraisals. Again, the purpose is to protect both the home buyer and the lender.

First time home buyers may be thinking that the requirements like appraisals and home inspections make the process less than appealing, and they may very well be right. But keep in mind that this is a big financial investment; the largest most people will ever make. Having appraisal and professional inspections cane make both you as the home buyer, and the lender as well, more confident that the house and the loan is a good investment.