Your dream of a home. Your dream home. How exactly do you get from one to the other? We've organized the facts right here in an easy-to-follow format. We've translated useful information and will walk you through the entire process. Before you know it, you'll be ready to cross the threshold to your very own home.

Find out How Much Home and Mortgage Can You Afford?

You can save yourself a lot of wheel-spinning if you take a minute to figure out how much mortgage you can afford. Generally, a lender will want your monthly mortgage payment to total no more than 29% of your monthly gross income (that's your monthly income before taxes and other paycheck deductions are taken out.) You also need to consider current loan interest rates. The lower the interest rate, the more expensive the home you'll be able to afford. Follow our tips and use these simple calculators to see how much you can afford in a mortgage payment.

Get an estimate of what your new mortgage payment will be by using our mortgage payment calculator and your household budget.

Find a Real Estate Company and Broker

You'll want to start searching for a broker as soon as you decide to buy a home. Talk to several and find someone you think you'll be comfortable working closely with. Many of your friends and relatives have probably bought and sold their homes through brokers. Ask them who they used and what their experiences were. You can find out which brokers specialize in the kind of home or the area you want by looking in the Yellow Pages or your local newspaper's classified real estate ads. Or drive through neighborhoods and note the names of brokers on "for sale" signs. When you talk to prospective brokers, ask questions about the areas and types of homes in which you're interested. Do they seem knowledgeable? Most important, is their personal style a good fit with your own?

Mortgages and Homebuying Programs

Create Your "Wishlist" : Make your wish list. Focus on the features you want in a home: 2 bedrooms or 3? 1 bath or 2? Garage or no garage? Knowing what you're looking for will help you focus your search. And it will help your Realtor.

Looking for the Best Mortgage: Shop, Compare and Negotiate. Many different kinds of mortgages are available to you. Read about them, and make sure you understand the pros and cons of each. Your real estate broker can help you. HUD and many local governments offer special homebuying programs to help low-income homebuyers. Shop around - you may be surprised at all your options!

Shopping for a Home

Now you really begin house-hunting. Your real estate broker will be able to find listings for you, based on your wishlist. But don't stop there! You can do your own looking, and then ask your broker to show you the house. Start with the Internet. Pick up real estate flyers at local grocery stores and convenience stores. Read the real estate sections of your local newspaper. Drive around neighborhoods that interest you and write down addresses where there are "for sale" signs. Go to open houses. Try everything!

Taking the Mystery Out of Home Buying

Here are the questions we hear from first-time homebuyers - Home Buying Questions and Mortgage Questions.

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