Do a financial prequalification and don’t look at houses you can’t afford. Ask about the schools serving the neighborhood. Ask if it’s in a flood zone. How much are the taxes and will they go up after the sale (seller may have exemptions you don’t). Ask about the crime rates. Ask about marketing time and how long this house has been on the market. Ask about utility costs and maintenance. Choose your own inspector, Consider getting your own appraisal before making an offer. Use a camera and voice recorder to keep notes on each property you look at.

First thing is to figure out just how much house you can afford and get a pre approval. Plenty of Mortgagecalculatorss online to help with that. Then draw up a list of what you need. How many bedrooms and baths, garage, basement. what neighborhood. You let the realtor know all this info and his/her job is to setup appoints to see homes that fill your criteria. You might also spend some days attending open houses in the area you are interested. This will give you a true idea of how much house you can get for your money.