News, guides, and market updates from National House Search.
Ideas, insights, and a little inspiration for what comes next.
To get a USDA home loan, the home must be in an area USDA calls rural, you must live in it as your main home, and your household income cannot be more than 115% of the area's median, according to…
Mortgage underwriting is the lender's check that you can repay the loan and that the home is worth what you are paying. On a new-construction home, that check often happens more than once, because…
The down payment on a house can be as low as 0% to 3.5% of the price, depending on the loan. FHA loans need at least 3.5% down with a credit score of 580 or higher. Fannie Mae conventional loans can…
The two newest big forecasts see a flat housing market in 2027: home prices up less than 1%, sales about the same as 2026, and 30-year mortgage rates above 7%. Fannie Mae's Oct. 12, 2026 forecast and…
Whether you must carry flood insurance in Florida depends on two things: your loan and your insurer. If you have a government-backed mortgage on a home in a FEMA high-risk flood area, flood insurance…
Owner's title insurance is optional, but it is the only title policy that protects you. The lender's title policy that most lenders require protects the amount they lend, not your own money. On a…
Property tax on a new home in Indian River County, Florida is based on the home's value on January 1, not on the day you close. Florida law says a home that was not ""substantially completed"" on…
A certificate of occupancy (CO) is the official sign-off from the local building department that says a new home passed its inspections and can be lived in. On a new-construction home, it usually…
Your interest rate is what the lender charges each year just to borrow the money. Your APR (annual percentage rate) is a bigger number that adds in points, lender fees and some other loan costs, so…
Property tax on a new home in Martin County, Florida is based on the home's value on January 1, not on the day you close. If the house was not ""substantially completed"" on January 1, Florida law…
