The challenge of buying a home for the first time can seem so enormous that it's tempting to either just buy the first house that falls in your price range or continue to rent. To help you demystify the process and get the most out of the purchase, we'll examine what you'll need to consider before you buy and what you can expect from the buying process itself.

HOUSE HUNTING

• Before you begin to house shop, you need to have a fairly sharp idea of what kind of neighborhood you want to live in and the style of house you want.
• Real estate never sleeps. If you're trying to buy a hot property, you have to move quickly, or you could possibly lose it.
• When it comes to investing, the best place to invest is in an up-and-coming area.
• You can't negotiate maintenance fees with a condominium, and those fees tend to go up periodically.
• You don't necessarily want to buy in a building that has a high percentage of tenants because they don't take care of the property the way they would if they owned it.
• If you're going to live in a city, you often have to sacrifice space.
• Feelings often take over the first time you go through a house, but the second visit allows time to do a thorough inspection led by your head, not your heart.
• It is especially important to have a home inspection if you are looking to buy an aging or older house. They look past the visible surface to the infrastructure, inspecting plumbing and looking for faulty fixtures and waste lines. They check electrical systems to make sure they aren't overloaded or a safety hazard. They also look at possible structural problems like the foundation, walls and floor joists.

 FINANCING

• It's prudent to have your financing in place before you begin seeking a house because houses are bought and sold overnight. You could lose your dream property waiting to secure the financing.
• According to experts, you should be able to afford a mortgage three times your income.
• When you buy new, you have to put down 10 percent within six months or 15 percent within nine months. Also, until the place is registered, you can't get title. Until you get title, you can't place your mortgage, so during that time you're paying what's known as a phantom mortgage or an interim occupancy fee that goes toward nothing -- it's like rent.
• It's better to walk away if you're not comfortable with the situation.

 MAKING AN OFFER

• When you're house shopping, make relevant queries about what other homes in the area have sold for, how long ago the sale was and what amenities they have.
• It's the market that determines the value of a house.
• When making an offer, you want to go as low as possible without insulting the sellers.
• Try not to fixate on the list price of a house, but rather the fair market value.
• When a renovated house is priced low, it is a good indication that the owners are looking for a bidding war -- they want to get as much money as possible out of the sale.
• The three most important matters when it comes to negotiation are information, preparation and realism.
• When you buy a property, you should always have a home inspector come through.  If the home inspector should find something, then you can use it to your advantage to renegotiate the deal. Or you might have to walk away.
• The key to success when buying a home is to trust the experts.