Tip #1: Research Is The Key To Discovery
Home sellers won't call you with an offer to buy a maintenance-free home with a wonderful mortgage. You have to find the gems yourself! Only by reading available materials, talking to friends and experts, and spending time looking at different homes, schools, and neighborhoods will you end up with your American dream. Avoid the nightmares by learning how best to buy and maintain a home.

Tip #2: Make A Plan And Get Pre-Qualified
Every important decision needs to be clearly thought out. Developing a home buying plan can help you focus on the important factors and organize the entire process. Loan pre-qualifying helps you determine the home price you can afford and presents you as a genuine prospect to the seller. A lender typically uses the 28% formula (your monthly mortgage can't exceed 28% of your monthly income) in approving your loan. Planning your actions and getting pre-qualified will keep you out of the panic mode and allow you to take advantage of opportunities. A thorough plan will save both time and money!

Tip #3: Value, Value, Value
The days of 10-30% annual appreciation have passed. Homebuyers in the 1970s benefited tremendously from what seemed like ever appreciating home prices. Nowadays, you're looking at slow growth while guarding against the possibilities of falling prices, skyrocketing ARM rates and corporate layoffs that can dramatically affect your home values. The classic rule of buying the worst house in the best neighborhood still applies. If you buy with an eye towards improvement, you can customize the home to fit your needs. The saying, "make money buying a home, not selling one," should keep you focused on the long-term importance of the purchasing price.

Tip #4: Create A Top 10 List of Amenities
When shopping for a home, list the features (fireplace, fenced-in yard, new appliances, etc.) that are most important to you in deciding on which home to buy. Establishing "your criteria" early on will save time shopping for inappropriate homes and may keep you from buying a home on a whim — for example, because of a circular stairwell — that doesn't meet your fundamental requirements. As detailed in Tip #3, your top reason for buying a home should be the value you are getting. Some of your top 10 amenities should logically be sacrificed if an incredible value is available.

Tip #5:Fixed vs. Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Which type of loan fits your particular needs? If this will be your first home or a "transitional home" — one you plan to own for a short time, an ARM may be the best type of loan. If it's going to be your dream home or one you plan to raise a family in, then you may want the stability of a fixed rate mortgage. Whichever loan you choose, make sure that you scrutinize all the closing costs.

Tip #6: Sign A Contract That Protects You
Make sure that the contract you put on a house allows you to arrange financing, inspect the home and negotiate any problems that you uncover.

Tip #7: Put Yourself In The Seller's Shoes
You are about to make one of the most important decisions that will affect both your life and the life of the seller. If you take time to understand the reasons the seller bought the home, their reasons for selling, and the home improvements they have or have not made, you'll be in a better position to evaluate the home and negotiate a better deal. In the end, the home buying process comes down to the individuals buying and selling the home. A closer look at the seller may help you in deciding whether to and for how much to buy a particular home.

Tip #8: Develop A Mortgage Shopping Chart
One of the biggest decisions to make before putting a contract on a home is how to finance the purchase. When choosing a lender, you want to avoid apples to oranges contrasts by comparing fixed rates to fixed rates, not fixed to ARMs.

Tip #9: Get A Quality Home Inspection
Although it is hard to believe, more people pay for inspections before buying used cars than when making the biggest investment of their lives — their homes. Paying for a qualified home inspection before you buy a home isn't just spending "a little extra" for peace of mind; it's absolutely essential for anyone who doesn't want to spend thousands of dollars for repairs.

Tip #10:Peace of Mind: Home Protection Plans
To protect both yourself as a buyer, and well as the seller, it is a good idea to purchase a home protection plan. What exactly is it? A home warranty, or home protection plan, isa service contract, normally for one year, which protects homeowners against the cost of unexpected repairs or replacement on their major systems and appliances that break down due to normal wear and tear. A negotiable contract between the buyers and sellers which do not overlap or replace homeowner's insurance policy, this type of warranty can save the new homeowner lots of headaches, as well as put seller's fears to rest. The warranty covers mechanical breakdowns, while insurance typically repairs the related damage, for example: if a hot water heater burst and destroyed a wall in your home, the warranty would repair the water heater and your insurance would pay to fix the wall.