1) Know What Your Perfect Home is Like. Working with pen and paper, brainstorm what your perfect home would be like. Where would it be located? How many rooms would it have? How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you want or need? Would your ideal home have a garage? Do you want or need a formal dining room ? or a solarium, family room, great room, or other rooms, for that matter? What size of yard do you want? How many stories do you prefer? What amenities do you want? How old would your ideal home be? At this stage, do not worry about what you and cannot afford ? just brainstorm what your perfect home would be. Consider creating a scrapbook of images of homes that you like. Finally, divide you wish list into two sections ? ?must haves? for your home and ?preferences? or ?nice to have.? This will keep you from having a too-narrow focus. While this may seem like a lot of preparatory work, keep in mind that a home is major investment. You may live in your new house for years or even decades, so it makes sense to do a little extra work to find a property that will truly suit you.

2) Know How Much You Can Afford. If you have no idea, speak to a mortgage expert at your local bank or call a few lenders up to get a sense. If possible, look for a home that is slightly below what you can afford ? living paycheck to paycheck is not a great option.

3) Get Your Financial Details in Order Before You Go Shopping. You can shop for clothing on a whim, but a home is a much larger commitment. Before you even start looking, make sure that you do the financial prep work. Get your financial statements in order, get proof of employment. Check your credit score and credit history by calling all three major credit bureaus. If your credit score is not great, you will have a hard time qualifying for a great rate, so consider working hard to get your credit score in shape before you go shopping for loans. Finally, get pre-qualified for a home loan. This will ensure that you have the financing in place when you do find that perfect property.

4) Decide to Invest the Time. Some homebuyers only look at a few properties before rushing to close. If you want a home that is truly great, you need to give yourself time to look at many homes so that you can understand what is on the market and what a good bargain is.

5) Define Your Plan of Attack. Again working with pen and paper, determine what steps you can take to find the home of your dreams. Maybe you could speak with friends and family. You could look online or in your local newspaper. You could talk to real estate agents. Check out a few search methods to see where the homes you are interested in appear and then focus on that search method.

6) Get a Buyer's Agent. A buyer's agent can save you enormous amounts of time and frustration. He or she can use years of real estate expertise to track down that perfect house for you, so consider a buyer's agent if it is at all possible.

7) View Homes ? Armed With the Right Tools. View as many homes as you possibly can. Come in comfortable clothing and armed with a level, a flashlight, an instant camera, a notebook, and measuring tape. Look into every nook and cranny and take notes so that you can review the viewing later. When you find a home that seems promising, get an inspector and assessor to take a look at the property for you as well ? such expert opinion is invaluable.

8) Do Your Research. Research neighborhood property values, resell times and crime rates. Learn as much as possible about the area where you will be living and opt for neighborhoods that are up-and-coming or very well cared-for. A house never exists in a vacuum ? your area and neighbors will have a big impact on whether your home is a dream house or a nightmare.

Following these steps, you will eventually find a house that you can afford and that makes your heart beat faster. When you find it, you will know that you can close, having seen to all the details for a hassle-free purchase.