In most cases, yes, you will need to purchase a homeowners insurance policy before the lender will allow the closing to proceed. Otherwise, the loan won’t be finalized and funded — and nobody wants that. In a typical scenario, the borrower will bring either the policy itself, or proof of the purchase, to the closing / settlement process. It can also be faxed to the lender and/or escrow company prior to closing.

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When you buy a home, you’re in it for the long haul. You’ll have a mortgage payment for 15, 20 or 30 years, so it’s smart to shop around to find the best mortgage lenders out there.

Types of Lenders: 

Mortgage lenders: These are companies that lend money to a borrower to purchase a home and set the terms of the mortgage, including interest rates, term, conditions, repayment schedule and lending fees.

Mortgage brokers: Brokers are independent, licensed professionals who act as matchmakers between lenders and a borrower to find loans that best suits the borrower’s needs. Brokers are paid by either the borrower or the lender (but not both) and charge a small percentage of the loan amount (1 to 2 percent) for their services. They do not fund loans, and they don’t set interest rates or loan origination fees, or make lending decisions.

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Before you buy a home, one of the things you should do is to have the home checked out by a professional home inspector.

Your first clue that a home inspection is important is that it can be used as a contingency in your purchase offer. This contingency provides that if significant defects are revealed by a home inspection, you can back out of your offer, free of penalty, within a certain time frame. The potential problems a home can have must be pretty serious if they could allow you to walk away from such a significant contract.

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Radon is a colorless, odorless gas and comes from the natural breakdown of uranium found in water, rock and earth. As this occurrence happens, radon rises to the surface into homes, water and air. Like carbon monoxide, radon is extremely harmful because there are symptoms of dizziness, headaches, nausea or anything that would alert someone that they are breathing in the deadly gas. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, the first being smoking. It is of great concern for youth because they take more breaths than adults, which means their aspirations are twice that of an adult. Therefore, radon testing is extremely important because often there aren’t any symptoms related to the gas until a doctor diagnoses one as having lung cancer.

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