1. Make yourself an informed educated buyer. There is so much information at our fingertips. Use the Internet to research neighborhoods, prices and the home buying process in general. Checkout the website of the city your researching.
2. Find a realtor. Feel free to research online, but use a realtor. They will provide you with an invaluable insight to the process. If you are buying a home the seller ends up paying your realtor. You pay them nothing.
3. Get pre-approved for your home loan. The biggest mistake buyers make is starting to look for a home before their financing is in place. Its free to get pre-approved and it will allow you to plan better ahead of time.
4. Budget. Now you are preapproved, which is great, you know what price range to search in. But this means nothing if you dont have a budget in place. Plan out ahead of time what your mortgage will be, living expenses etc. to determine for yourself if you are looking in your right price range.
5. Determine your housing needs and wants. Determine the functionality required in your new home. There are plenty of "cute" homes in Milwaukee were I am from- but if its not close to work, or too small it means nothing.
6. Determine your ideal location. Verify proximity to work, shopping and schools. And search within this range.
7. Don't make quick uninformed decisions. it's easy to do, especialy if you have looked at a ton of homes and are ready to move. If you are unsure about an aspect of buying your house don't be pushed until you are clear.
8. Do a pre-inspection home inspection. There is a great article about this at my website http://www.himilwaukee.com/ in the forum section.
9. Now that you found your home, sit down and review all aspects before writing an offer. Pros and cons, and items listed above.
10. Meet with your realtor and write an offer. Be sure to get a home inspection preferably by a reccomended certified home inspector.
Kerry Mann is a former real estate agent from Milwaukee Wisconsin. He also runs home inspection Milwaukee website. It is a direcotry of local home inspectors from Milwaukee and Wisconsin. http://www.himilwaukee.com