Have a pre-approval ready to go. It gets your offers taken a lot more serious.
Always know what you can afford and don't get roped into anything other than a standard loan, never an ARM.
Always have a home inspection and by the most respected inspector you can find. Should take them hours to do everything, not minutes.
Look at as many properties as you have time for, don't keep yourself restricted and settle on the first house you see. Don't force it, if you can't find the perfect house, don't worry about it.
Always bargain, especially in this market. There is no such thing as a low offer, offer $10-20K less than what they are asking. There are plenty of motivated sellers out there, negotiate everything. Ask for closing concessions, a home warranty, repairs, everything. The worst they can say is "no".
Get a good realtor. You are the buyer so they get paid by the seller, don't go with any realtors that charge any kind of consulting fees or anything but their standard commision.
Good luck with the purchase of a home
