The process of buying a home is not something to be taken lightly. A home is a large investment, and its your responsibility to select a home that fits your needs and find a manageable mortgage for itno mean feat. Well help break the process down into the most important pieces.

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In the process of buying a home, the fun part comes firstdeciding what you want in your new home. Be organized, go ahead and make a list of the features that are most important to you. But remember to be flexible; your priorities may change once youve looked at a few homes.

Preparing to buy

Its necessary to get pre-approved and pre-qualified before you get down to serious home shopping, or sellers wont take you seriously. Youll also want to obtain a copy of your credit report from at least two reliable credit bureaus. The credit score is the primary determining factor of what rate you will be able to getand the rate in turn helps determine your monthly payments. Do some playing around with your budget and a mortgage calculator, and determine exactly how much home you can really afford to buy (it may be less than the number you can get approved for).

Home Shopping

A realtor can help you go straight to the homes that meet your criteria, making the process of buying a home much faster, but if you enlist the aid of a realtor make sure you get a buyers agent, or one who works exclusively for buyers and is not actually working for the seller and trying to secure them the best deal. Its important to get an appraisal for any home youre seriously considering purchasing, as the appraisal can inform you of aspects of the home that arent readily apparent (i.e. condition of the plumbing and electric systems, condition of the roof and foundation, and more).

Haggling Mortgage Details

This is probably the most important part of the process of buying a homemost people wind up paying more money in interest than they ever do towards their home. Youll have to decide whether you want a fixed or a variable rate (a fixed rate is usually better if you plan to be in the home ten years or more), and how much you want to pay down. In the past, lenders required everyone to make a down payment of at least 20%, but those days are gone. However, if you pay less than this down, you could wind up with the extra expense of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), unless you piggyback the loans (essentially getting two small mortgages instead of one large one).

Remember that mortgages are not set in stone; they are customized for each individual situation. You can often negotiate the interest rate down by paying more up front, or negotiate the down payment lower by paying more in interest. As with a used car purchase, someone is making commission from your purchase, and if youre not afraid to haggle youll probably get a better deal.

Although it makes more work for you, its also imperative to comparison shop. Not all mortgage lenders are equal, and you cant even go by word-of-mouth recommendations because there is no one mortgage company that is the best in every situation.

Youre probably aware by now, if you werent before, that the process of buying a home is going to be no walk in the park. Youre going to be dealing with a lot of people who want your money, and its your job to protect your own interests. But if you remain organized and dont miss any of the steps listed above, youll be able to get the best deal available for someone in your situation. Your hard work will pay off in the long run.