By all means take a camera, it will help you to remember a house better after you leave. I always took the hand out from the realtor for each particular house and made any notations on that sheet, example - red bathroom, tacky wall paper, huge backyard etc. That always refreshed my memory after the fact when we were trying to decide if any homes were worth a second look, should be put on our short list, or totally eliminated. Know ahead of time what you absolutely must have in a home and don't compromise on the must haves (3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, ranch or 2 story, basement or not, etc.) As you're looking you will find that some of the things you want are not as important and you may actually change your mind on some of the wants because you may be able to add those wants in later. The things I usually ask are -- how many days on market (this could give you an idea about how negotiable the sellers will be on price ), reason for selling (although not all realtors will know this or be forthcoming, if you're lucky enough to get a valid answer, it also may help you in the negotiating process or to know if possession will be a problem), another thing I ask - is there going to be a problem with possession (sometimes sellers cannot move til they find another home, their new construction home is complete, or til the end of the school year etc.). Also make sure you ask whether some particulars are included or negotiable (things like appliances, drapes etc.). Most importantly -- nothing is a stupid question, if you're not sure of anything, ask the realtor.

1) If you sign a purchaser's agreement with an agent, they cannot reveal anything to the listing agent. However, if you did not sign purchaser's agreement, the agent is then obligated to tell the listing agent everything. And to let you know, you will not be able to hide the fact you love a home. I can always see it on a person from even 200 ft away.

2) Drive around the areas you want to buy in first. Search MLS for homes in that area to get a feel for prices. Remember BUY AREA not house.

3) Pictures? If Homeowner is not there, yes. If there, ask.

4) Don't let condition of home put you off as the biggest deals are passed by with 99% of the people. This means you are in a better bargaining position when you do not have to compete with 10 other buyers wanting the house more than you.

Personal Advice is, get a purchaser's agent, look at as many homes as quickly as possible. If you can, see 10 to 15 in a day. 10 to 15 minutes each. You will know almost immediately if its the house for you and can then setup a second showing. I knew the style and sort of layout I was looking for as well which helped tremendously. I bought without my wife seeing it (only pictures I took) as she knew the layout from seeing others a year ago. But what sold me was the area. Its a large affordable house (190K) on a street that has multimillion dollar custom homes. Never lose money on it that way.

Sin, JJA

If you sign a purchaser's agreement with an agent, they cannot reveal anything to the listing agent. However, if you did not sign purchaser's agreement, the agent is then obligated to tell the listing agent everything.

This is NOT TRUE in all states. In my state (Oregon) and many others an agent that works with a buyer does have a fiduciary duty to the buyer even without a signed agreement. Make sure to check the agency laws of YOUR STATE.

I agree with jeff147 on driving around neighborhoods and doing your research before you contact an agent.

Financially, know what you can and cannot afford in a mortage. Know how much money you can put as a down payment. Most of the time its 20% of the selling price. If you can, get pre-qualified for a mortage before you start your hunt.

I also agree with jeff147 in that you must look beyond what is there. We purchased almost 2 years ago. The house was on the market for almost 8 months, had 2 price drops and didn't sell. Why, the house was not well taken care of and it showed very poorly - frankly it was a fixer upper, all cosmetic. In a market were price wars were common, we had no competition and purchesed the house almost $200,000.00 under the market resale value!

Agreements with real estate agents differ from state to state. Check you state laws regard real estate agents and their responsibilities.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

cordovamom has good suggestions. We just bought a house and I carried with me a spreadsheet that had our wants/needs listed on it. It grew longer as I looked at more houses and was able to narrow down what I liked/didn't like. But it made it easier to quickly mark a house off the list if it didn't meet the criteria. It's hard to remember those kinds of wants/needs when you're out looking around. Write them down and share them with your realtor, so he won't spend time showing you inappropriate houses.

We had moved from a different state so I didn't know the area well. I asked a lot of questions about traffic patterns and checked the maps to see where the light rail stations were etc. When we went to a neighborhood we would drive around to see what the rest of the houses were like and how busy the streets were.

If a house you like is near a school you should look at a time when school lets out. That way you can see how many kids are walking through the neighborhood, if there are traffic problems due to parents picking up kids, if it's too noisy, etc.

Look for other things that might bother you: train tracks close by, commercial areas too close, being in an airport flight path, etc.

Take a camera. Take notes. After a few houses you will begin to forget which one was which. I did the same as cordovamom - use the flyer for each house to write the notes on. Keep them in a file so you can refer back to them for comparisons.

I would suggest that you do the initial looking but that your husband try to see the house before buying. If you haven't bought before you may not really know what kinds of things he's most interested in. And he may not know either, without looking at a few houses.

Don't rush into anything - unless you are in a total seller's market you should have enough time to make a good decision. But I'd also advise not trying to find the "perfect house" - it's not out there. Find the house that best suits your wants and needs, even if it isn't your dream home.

Good luck! House hunting can be a chore but can also be fun and exciting.

Your comment about keeping a poker face and your reference to "my realtor" leads me to believe you need to sort something out first: what does the phrase "my realtor" actually mean to you, as a buyer?

Pay attention to the local laws regarding buyers' and seller's realtors. It varies considerably from state to state, so you must know who the person you're going around with has a fiduciary duty to. Many people (buyers) refer to "my realtor" and would be shocked to know that "their" realtor actually works for the seller, so everything they say about their personal situation will be used by the sellers to negotiate against them.

Get this worked out first, before you start looking at anything with anybody. And double check what you are told to make sure you really understand it correctly. As a rule I shy away from dual representation situations. I actually would be willing (and have) paid a fee for true buyers' representation, but you don't have to go that far. However you do need to know who's working in whose interest right from the start.

It's perfectly OK to look at houses with sellers' agents. You just have to keep in mind that the person is not "your realtor".

Molly~

Pull your credit reports now so you can fix any errors, and so you know what sort of interest rates you're likely to get.

You have gotten sound advise. Know your needs and your wants prior to shopping. But be careful. It is so easy for the realtor to say, "that's an easy fix" when you say ooh those floors are ugly or these countertops will never do. But all those easy fixes can add up to big bucks. If you buy a house that needs lots of attention make sure you plan for that financially. I do think it is important to look at lots of houses if you can but for me more than 5 or 6 in a day is just overload!

Forgot one before. Remember the realtor's agreement of purchase and sale is not written in stone. You can change ANYTHING you want (within the local statutes). I have seen contracts where ONE word meant the difference of $$$ thousands. That's why I advised a lawyer review the agreement before signing.