New at Redfin: Interactive Home Inspection Guide & Annotated Forms

Yesterday Alisha Alway Braatz wrote on Inman News about nurturing real estate newbies and reminding us all to remember that many first-timer home buyers don't know what we're talking about when we talk about closing costs, and many experienced buyers who haven't bought recently are quickly figuring out that the rules of real estate have changed in the last few years.

At Redfin, we've taken this thought to heart. A year ago we published a real estate glossary and a a few months ago we launched a mortgage guide as our first section. Today we're re-launching it as the Redfin Home Buying Guide as we've added a huge section explaining what to expect once your offer has been accepted. This Closing the Deal section covers everything you need to know about:

• Purchase and sale agreements
• Earnest money
• Disclosures
• Title reports and issues
• Inspections
• Getting a mortgage
• What to look for during a final walkthrough
• The signing appointment
• Getting your keys

For some topics, a picture really is worth a thousand words. That's why this new section includes a hot interactive home inspection thanks to the hard work of our designer Angela Salvo, our coder Jason Brackins and our writer Bryan Howell:

Just click on the yellow hot spots to get an explanation of what to look for. Aside from the explanations, this interactive feature contains over 200 photos of common inspection issues contributed by home inspectors from all over the country. Thanks go to:

• Robert Wittenberg and HomeFront Inspection, LLC.
• Rich Aiello and I-Spy Home Inspection LLC.
• Scott Dana and Dana Home Inspections Inc.
• Larry Robbins and Veterans Home Inspection
• Will Johnson and Inspection Perfection LLC.
• Gary Cornia and Cornia Consulting, LLC.

Here's a peek at some of the photos we have explaining roofing issues:

We also know that buying a home involves some confusing paperwork. To help you sign the dotted line with confidence, we've created interactive forms that explain every detail. The first two forms that we've tackled are the GFE (Good Faith Estimate) and the HUD-1 settlement statement.

What's next for the Home Buying Guide? We've got a few more interactive forms on the way, including a loan application and a sample title report, and we're writing up full sections on how to search for a home, what to look for in an agent and the best ways to write a winning offer.