Well, there are several ways to get a good determination of value. 

First I would go to www.Zillow.com and type in the property address.  It will tell you an approximate value and the values of all the houses in the neighborhood.  Now don’t take this number as the official number as this site is sometimes a little behind on updates, however it will give you a great starting point.

Then contact your Realtor, or a Real Estate Agent that you will work with in the future and have them run a comparison of the subject property.  They will tell you all the similar properties on the market in that neighborhood and the listing prices.  They will also show what similar properties in the area have actually sold for in the last 6-12 months.  This will give you a great idea as to where values are heading in that area and if they are in line with the house you are looking at.

Finally, if you decide to put an offer in on that house, you will need to have an appraisal ordered and they will certify the value of the house.  Just make sure you put a clause in your contract offer that you can back out of the deal if the appraised value comes in lower than the offered price.

These tips will help make sure you are buying a home that is at the value you are buying it for.

Another way to look at things is what a great value new home buyers can find when shopping for a home.  A few years ago, new home buyers were shut out at buying the larger home that they wanted because the prices were too high and out of their budget.  Now they can find the same houses at nearly half the price on the foreclosure lists.

In my eyes, this is a great time to buy a house.  I am seeing tons of deals coming through our office for new purchases of properties that cost twice as much two years ago.  Housing is now affordable again.

If you have been putting off buying a house because you thought they were not affordable, maybe you should go out and take another look.  The deals available now (and probably for the next 12 months) are incredible.

Today’s home loan standards are changing almost every day.  It is a combination of the declining home values in some cities and the sub-prime mortgage “melt-down”.

There was a time not too long ago where all you had to do to qualify for a home loan was to apply.  Well, it was a little harder than that, but it seems like it was that easy.

You didn’t need a down payment and you didn’t need to make a lot of money.  At least that is what some home loan lenders would lead you to believe.

Now, for the most part, you will need a down payment and you will have to verify that you make enough money to afford the home that you are buying.  That sounds like commom sense if you ask me, however that is where the industry has put itself.

The down payments do not have to be large, they can be as little as 3-5% of the purchase price and there are still a few ways to obtain 100% financing.  You need to talk to your home loan lender or mortgage company and find out what is available today.