1. Know Your Credit

• Get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a loan before you even begin searching for a new home, this determines how much “home” you can afford.  This allows you to act quickly once you find something suitable to your needs.  It also indicates to the seller that you are serious and really can afford to buy the property. Use the mortgage calculator to help you get started if you are not pre-qualified already. (Link Mortgage Calculator)
  
• Know the difference between pre-approval & pre-qualified.
  
• Get the best loan for your individual needs.  For example:  If you are a first time home buyer, there are FHA Loans available.  If you are military personnel or are a veteran, there could be VA Loans available to meet your specific needs.
  
• Shop around for the best mortgage rates and terms.  A difference of even half a percentage point can mean a huge savings over the life of a loan.
  

2. Define What You Want in a Home

• Location, Location, Location!  You hear this phrase frequently used in the context of real estate, but there is truth to this saying.  Where you want to live is a very important factor in determining what you want out of your home buying experience. 
  
• What kinds of amenities are you looking for?  (Link to Amenities)
  
• One story or two story home? (Link to Home Finder)
  
• How many bedrooms and bathrooms are you looking for? 
  
• What features are most important to you?
  
• What size lot are you looking for? 
  
• Would you like to be in a certain school district?
  
• What do you want out of your community?
  
• What are the recreation options available in the community?
  
• Are there adequate shopping facilities nearby to suit your specific needs, i.e. grocery stores and pharmacies?
  
• Are you looking to buy a pre-built home, work with a builder to design a look all your own or choose a specific floor plan to meet your needs?
  
• Create a checklist of amenities.  Be flexible, your dream home may have all the right features, but it may be located on a small lot. This list needs to consist of the things you want/absolutely have to have and the things you can live without. 
  
• Keep this checklist with you while searching for a house.
  

3. Start Searching for Your Home

• Now that you know what you’re looking for, it’s time to get out there and find it.
  
• Don’t forget to bring that checklist of amenities mentioned above.  This is to make sure you don’t leave anything off your list of features and benefits that are important to your buying decision.
  
• Carefully inspect each home you tour and list the things you like and dislike about each of them.
  
• Rate the homes that you tour and compare them side by side to help you make a decision.
  
• Review the list of homes and your comparisons and possibly tour them again to finalize your feelings on each of them.  You may find a feature that you dislike about one but you may love a certain feature about another home.
  

4.Make an Offer

• Now that you’ve selected a home that suits your tastes, it’s time to make an offer for purchase.
  
• You may want to act quickly, in case there are other home buyer’s interested in the same home.  They will be making offers as well, sometimes they may even counteroffer your bid and/or bid higher in order to obtain the home.
  
• Negotiations on price and certain aspects of the home will be made during this time.  And may be negotiated yet again after inspections have been made.
  

5.