Reddit reviews Home Buying For Dummies, 4th Edition

A house is the largest investment and purchase you will ever make. It's important to actually do research.

I just bought a house last year, and the process took Nine months. I do live in one of the hottest markets in the US, so you likely won't have it that bad.

The first 6 months of the process was studying and getting experience, the last 3 months was actually shopping.

The Very First thing you need to do is read about everything that is required. This is the resource I used. you will also want to take classes. Knowing what you're in for is very important.

The second thing you will do is get in touch with multiple banks, see what kind of 'Pre-offers' they will give you. These are just estimates of what kind of loans you can get from them. They are free, and you want multiple offers. We did not go with our normal bank, and you don't have to either. The "Maximum Loan" is what the bank thinks you can afford without starving to death, do not use the max loan as a gauge of what you can actually afford.

After you have a bank, you will know what kind of loans you are looking at, and what you can afford. It's time to start window shopping. This means going out and viewing houses in your market with no intention of buying. You will likely see houses you really want, but can't have. This will give you experience in walking away from bad deals. Don't buy until you are 100% ready.

When you know what kind of house you want, how much it ought to cost, and how to walk away from a bad deal, get an agent. Now you are ready.

You want to read this: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/0470453656

Also, look for a Mortgage Broker who work with different institutions. They will know whats best to shop your loan to different banks.

We did a 3% downpayment via the VA guaranty program. Very doable.

Did you know that there is actually a "Homebuying for Dummies" book?

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Dummies-Eric-Tyson-ebook/dp/B0026LTMHI/

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-For-Dummies-Edition/dp/0470453656/

I bought this when we bought our house because I was similarly clueless. It helped me feel like I had a better handle on things.

Eric Tyson is great on financial-related books:

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/0470453656