[BDBohnzie]

I bought my 2nd house last October, and naturally, these guys are dead on.

Look at what houses are selling for in the areas you are looking to buy in, use mortgage calculators to see what it will cost, and compare it to how much you can afford each month. When I bought my townhouse, my mortgage almost tripled over what I was paying on my condo, however from the sale of the condo, I was able to pay off a lot of debt and my expenses now are basically the same as they were before.

I am fortunate to know several agents, and happen to use a very close friend of the family that sincerely had my best interest in hand. She made sure that every angle was covered in terms of Comps, what we could afford, etc. and was not pushy at all. Just be aware of what you want in a house, and only make compromises for your sake, not theirs.

Call a few Home Inspectors and ask for their references. The guy we had inspect the townhouse was very thorough, and explained to me every single detail about various things in the house, from how to adjust the temperature on my gas stove to how to change from the gas furnace to the AC unit to whether my type of sprinkler heads were on recall. If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Definitely shop around for the best rates, and be wary of the fees and such that lenders have to obtain those rates. If you can, get a fixed rate with no points. However, if you the ARM rates are low enough, go for it, but be ready to refinance down the road. But be aware that your rate could very well be higher when you Refi. I refinanced my condo to pay off some debt and use some of that money to fix up the condo in order to put it on the market. My rate went from 5.125 to 6.75! However, I moved several months later and it really didn't affect me because mortgage payment didn't go much much.

There are also many first time buyer programs that you can take advantage of. Look into these as well.