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Are you going to buy a house or a home? There are a wide range of information, resources and services to guide you through this process that include features and information, tips and professional advice and more for first time and and experienced home buyers online. There are some most common rules one has to follow going to buy a home without buying trouble.

Understand today’s home finance choices. Never before have home buyers had so many mortgage finance alternatives. The best and cheapest choice, however, is usually “seller financing.” That may mean assuming an existing low interest rate mortgage, such as a VA or FHA loan, making a modest cash down payment, and asking the seller to carry back a second mortgage for the balance of the purchase price. Or the seller may carry the entire loan. This seller finance method also is the easiest because there are no tough loan qualification rules.

But not all home sellers will help finance the sale. Then the buyer has to obtain a new first or second mortgage. Most banks, S&Ls and mortgage brokers have strict loan qualification rules such as mortgage payments cannot exceed 25, 28, 33, or even 40 percent of the family’s income. Generally, the lower the cash down payment, the lower the maximum percentage allowed for maximum home mortgage payment qualification.

Choose your home price range and type carefully. If you are a first-time home buyer, don’t expect your first residence to be a perfect dream home. The important thing is to buy the first home, start building equity instead of wasting money on rent and in a few years buy a nicer home. Consider townhouses, condominiums, manufactured homes and even mobile homes as possible alternatives if you can’t afford a single-family house.

As a general rule, most prospective home buyers can buy a home priced up to three, sometimes even four times their gross family income. For example, if you and your spouse earn $30,000 a year, you can probably afford a home with a maximum $90,000 to $120,000 price tag. Of course, your down payment amount, mortgage interest rate, sales price and terms will ultimately determine how much home you can afford.

Work with a knowledgeable real estate agent. The key to successful home
buying is to find an aggressive realty agent who knows the local residential market thoroughly. Ask for agent recommendations from friends and business associates.

However, another good way to meet realty agents is to visit advertised weekend open houses of homes for sale. If the agent isn’t too busy, talking to the agent in a relaxed atmosphere is a great way to get acquainted. By interviewing several agents who are holding open houses and telling them what type of home you want to buy, you will eventually find the right agent for you. But remember, the realty agent is paid by the seller so “your agent” is really the seller’s agent too.

Don’t be afraid to make written purchase offers. When you and your realty agent find the right home you want to own, don’t hesitate to make a written purchase offer on the terms you want.

Be aware, however, that homes often sell for thousands of dollars below their asking prices. Before making a written purchase offer, ask the agent to prepare a written “competitive market analysis” form showing recent sales prices of similar nearby homes as well as comparable neighborhood homes which are currently listed for sale. By adding or subtracting value for the features and drawbacks of the home you want to buy, you can then make a fair purchase offer with confidence you aren’t offering too much.

Be persistent, patient and don’t give up. Buying a home often takes months, especially if you have a limited budget for down payment and monthly mortgage payments. But virtually any wage earner can afford to buy a home. If you make enough purchase offers and inspect many houses, eventually one of your offers will be accepted. Don’t give up until you move into the right home for you.

Don’t buy if you can’t stay put.
If you can’t commit to remaining in one place for at least a few years, then owning is probably not for you, at least not yet. With the transaction costs of buying and selling a home, you may end up losing money if you sell any sooner – even in a rising market. When prices are falling, it’s an even worse proposition.

Start by shoring up your credit.
Since you most likely will need to get a mortgage to buy a house, you must make sure your credit history is as clean as possible. A few months before you start house hunting, get copies of your credit report. Make sure the facts are correct, and fix any problems you discover.

Aim for a home you can really afford.
The rule of thumb is that you can buy housing that runs about two-and-one-half times your annual salary. But you’ll do better to use one of many calculators available online to get a better handle on how your income, debts, and expenses affect what you can afford.

If you can’t put down the usual 20 percent, you may still qualify for a loan.
There are a variety of public and private lenders who, if you qualify, offer low-interest mortgages that require a down payment as small as 3 percent of the purchase price.

Buy in a district with good schools.
In most areas, this advice applies even if you don’t have school-age children. Reason: When it comes time to sell, you’ll learn that strong school districts are a top priority for many home buyers, thus helping to boost property values.

Get professional help.
Even though the Internet gives buyers unprecedented access to home listings, most new buyers (and many more experienced ones) are better off using a professional agent. Look for an exclusive buyer agent, if possible, who will have your interests at heart and can help you with strategies during the bidding process.

Choose carefully between points and rate.
When picking a mortgage, you usually have the option of paying additional points — a portion of the interest that you pay at closing — in exchange for a lower interest rate. If you stay in the house for a long time — say three to five years or more — it’s usually a better deal to take the points. The lower interest rate will save you more in the long run.

Before house hunting, get pre-approved.
Getting pre-approved will you save yourself the grief of looking at houses you can’t afford and put you in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house. Not to be confused with pre-qualification, which is based on a cursory review of your finances, pre-approval from a lender is based on your actual income, debt and credit history.

Do your homework before bidding.
Your opening bid should be based on the sales trend of similar homes in the neighborhood. So before making it, consider sales of similar homes in the last three months. If homes have recently sold at 5 percent less than the asking price, you should make a bid that’s about eight to 10 percent lower than what the seller is asking.

Hire a home inspector.
Sure, your lender will require a home appraisal anyway. But that’s just the bank’s way of determining whether the house is worth the price you’ve agreed to pay. Separately, you should hire your own home inspector, preferably an engineer with experience in doing home surveys in the area where you are buying. His or her job will be to point out potential problems that could require costly repairs down the road.