When considering a home purchase, the first and most important step is assessing how much home you can afford. In other words, how much of a monthly payment is comfortable for you? An experienced mortgage broker or loan officer will be able to help you figure how large of a loan you can be approved for, but the most important question to ask yourself is how much are YOU comfortable paying each month when factoring in your P.I.T.I. (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance)? Just because a lender says that you can afford a $2500 a month mortgage, for example, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what you should aim for. Remember, you are the one who has to make that payment each month and it is ultimately up to you to decide what works.

The appraisal is an opinion by the appraiser of the property’s value for the lender.  An inspection is a general assessment by a certified home inspector that helps to educate the buyer about the condition of the home and its major components. The appraiser’s primary focus is on the value of the home. An inspector judges a home’s overall condition and does their best to ascertain both existing and potential future problems.  

Both an appraisal and all inspections are paid for by the buyer.  

Your lender will hire the appraiser.  We can help you find a home inspector to suit your needs, and will help you understand the results.

When preparing your home for sale, you’ll want to pare down as much as possible and depersonalize. We always remind our clients that nobody actually lives the way they list.  You want a prospective home buyer to be able to easily imagine living there the moment they walk in the door. Clearing your house of clutter and cleaning like you’ve never cleaned before are excellent first steps. With each home we sell, we provide our clients with a specific list of “to-do” items to help them ready their home for sale.