re: Buying house from for Sale by owner

The easiest/quickest solution would be to talk to the lender and find out their requirements. They will set-up the appraiser, but you will need to set-up the inspection (most lenders do not require). Find the standard contract on-line and fill in as necessary. My wife and I used the contract to submit the initial offer in order to make it official, but did all negotiations via phone/e-mail before the seller filled out the counter to reduce the back and forth.

Also, once you start the process get in touch with an Insurance Broker and get your own quotes. If you rely on the lender, they are almost higher than what you can get via open market.