Identify a trustworthy loan officer who will help you to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Ask friends, relatives, co-workers, etc. about who they may have used. This enables you to negotiate from a position of strength. Without a pre-approval letter, your offers will never be taken seriously. Identify a licensed Realtor in your area. Again, ask friends and relatives for recommendations. You will want to interview several candidates, because you are hiring them to assist you in a very important purchase. Hopefully your Realtor will be able to point you to a web resource that will assist you further. Something such as this example (it's for Minnesota, though) ... http://MotivatedAgent.net/Demographics/page_1122808.html A few of these resources are national in scope, so feel free to use them. Good luck!

get some buyers insurance so if something is wrong after you purchase the place, your insurance picks upthe tab. that means they will inspect the house first so you get a report if anything is wrong before you buy the house. plumbing is the big thing. rotted pipes under the house, in the garage, the wrong kind of pipes, and wood rot around the pipes if they leak or did leak water. termites like to eat wood so that is another thing to check for. bathroom floors like to rot away. wood and plumbing around the tub/shower.

Study the neighborhood. I knew someone who only looked at a house on Sunday. That was the only day that the Gravel Trucks didn't use his road to go to the Quarry! All Day Long! Get an Independent House Inspector. Then you'll get an impartial look at what the house looks like, and what it needs for maintenance. Our Entry Electrics weren't according to Code, so the owner had to fix it before we would buy. Line up Financing before you start to look. Shop for the best rates and lowest down payment. It will be tough for the next year or so, I'll bet! Your Realtor should show you houses according to your wants and needs. Make sure he/she knows and complies. It's a buyer's market in most of the country, so try to get valuations/sale prices of similar homes in the area, and be prepared to bargain. It costs, but I found it worthwhile to have a Lawyer present at the Closing. One of them once found that the Builder pulled a scam on the entire development by squeezing another house into the block, messing up all the property lines. We were able to get the two Realtors involved pay for extra Title Insurance to protect us against that complication. Good Luck!