1) get your credit straight.
1a) dispute any negative charges you dont recognize on all 3 credit reports (
https://clark.com/credit/free-credit-report/)
1b) going forward your spending on ANY credit card can not be more than 29.99% of your available balance. Example you have a card with a $1k limit you can NOT have a outstanding balance on that card more than $299.99. Any higher WILL lower your credit score.
2) read, read, read!. You have to know about the different type of loans that are out there. You have to learn about PMI (private mortgage insurance). you have to know what an ARM is,, only interest loans, fixed mortgage, You have to decide in the length of your mortgage.
3) when you are choosing between homes consider contacting your insurance company to see what your insurance rate WOULD be if you lived there. Typically people are only thinking about how much the mortgage, home insurance and utilities will be. YOu also have to consider than your car insurance may go up if you live in one zip code as opposed to another.
4) get precertified before you start looking. That way you dont look at things that are way out of your price range
5) Never, not ever use the maximum your mortgage company has approved for you to buy a home. If you have good credit and a stable job at the time you apply they can approve up to 40% of your gross income. You cannot afford to go out to eat, buy Xmas gifts, save for a rainy day, save in your 401k or go on a vacation outside of driving range if your buy a home at the top of your range.
5a) add up your expenses outside rent (date night, food, vacations, healthcare/prescriptions, emergency fund, cost for a kid or potential kid, clothing) and add them into your potential mortgage, utilities, home owners insurance, condo/association fee, property taxes and PMI) to see what you can REALLY afford
6) YOU have to check with AT LEAST 3 mortgage companies at the same time to ensure you are getting the best rate based on your credit. bankrate.com is a good starting point. DO NOT use a nationwide bank (wells fargo, Bank of America, ext...) their rates will be 1/2 a point higher than others.
7) try to find a real estate agent that owns rental property, has been involved in renovations/repair or is/is around contractors. If you are in a competitive market that info is worth its weight in gold. You instantly know/ or can get to know if that one thing you are concerned about is an easy fix or a 30K fix. they can also tell if you can update things to potentially gain equity in the property. For example, building a 1/2 bath by a kitchen or a carport would cost you 20k but would increase the home value by 40-50K