Get pre-qualified. A lot of sellers will not let you do a walk through until they are sure you are capable of buying. This is always a good first step as it also tells you how much house to look for.

When agent shopping find an agent you are comfortable and let them do the work. He/she is the professional. You wouldn't hire a plumber to watch you fix the sink. Let your agent earn their keep.

Be loyal to your agent. If you see a for sale by owner or listing by another company, let your agent know. They can still help you work the best deal for you.

Decide what your "must haves" and "would be nice" things are prior to looking. It will save time in the long run.

Bring a camera when doing a walk through. Once you have looked a several houses it is almost impossible to remember one house. One picture can sometimes jog your memory.

Bring a pad of paper and pencil when walking through a house. By taking notes it will make it way easier to remember which house had the nice deck or areas needing repair.

Time how far to work, school, church or any other daily runs. With the price of gas it pays to stay as close as possible to those areas.

Check property taxes. The time to find out about taxes is before you buy, not after you own. Depending on how long the previous owner lived there property taxes could double or even triple once a new owner purchases.