Mortgage newbie buying townhouse I am already renting

[Jul Hamer]

I have been renting a townhouse near a Baltimore, Md suburb for about 8 years. It's a nice area very close to the local shopping centers and not far from 95. I approached the owner about selling and they are interested.  We had a tentative discussion and decided to schedule an appraisal and then go from there with how to proceed, cost, etc.  The appraiser appt was 2 weeks ago.  I have not heard back about the results but I imagine it will be about $200k.  I just want to be sure I am prepared to move forward.  It will be a for sale by owner situation, so I want to know what I will need to have prepared in lieu of a realtor being involved. I have not sought professional advice yet, I was going to wait for the owners to give me a price.  Guessing a letter of intent and home inspection is needed before I can get a traditional mortgage.  Are there other non-traditional payment options available to me?

Also I am a first time home buyer with excellent credit...what type of mortgage would be best? I would like to pay more than the monthly cost (so i can pay off early and hopefully without penalties) but have wiggle room to go back to minimum payments should i need the flexibility.  Any advice on my next best steps would be extremely appreciated. I am new to all of this.