Contact the agent?

I strongly recommend you get a copy of The Virgin Homeowner. It covers, among other things, how to find a good home inspector.

Contact the seller or their agent and make an offer. Your offer can be contingent on financing, and on whatever else is agreed between the seller and you, but it's in your interest to be reasonable. You can't usually make an offer that is contingent on a neighbor cutting down a tree you think threatens the house, etc.

Anything less is kicking tires. A lot of people kick tires for years. Shopping for houses can become an art form. Buying a house is a scary, messy, thrilling, exhausting business. Good luck!

You might find this AskMe helpful.

That's a great thread, Otis. Did you get the house?

Others might disagree with me on this, drezdn, but I took a lot of comfort in having a buyer's agent when we bought our first house. It costs nothing and it was great having someone walk us through the whole process.

Stupid question maybe, but do you have a realtor? We bought our first house five years ago tomorrow, and would have never survived the process without one. S/he will guide you through the negotiations, help with financing and all the legal rigamarole, make sure you get the proper inspections and all that. Ours even helped us find movers and gave us a big food basket for our move-in day!

That's a great thread, Otis. Did you get the house?

Yes we did. The whole thing went pretty smoothly. We were lucky to have a good realtor who came highly recommended. We've had a couple minor house adventures and I've learned a few things, but so far, so good.

What jrossi4r and tr33hggr said. Having a realtor makes things MUCH easier, and less stressful. When we bought our house we were both naive about a lot of things, and the realtor helped us avoid any pitfalls.

Glad to hear it, Otis! I love having my own home. It's not for everyone and I really do understand some people's aversion to it, but I enjoy it. It's taught us a lot, I think. Everything from plumbing to gardening to budgeting. Hands-on. Trial and error.

ALWAYS have a buyer's agent - the seller has to pay their fees (unless the purchase agreement states otherwise) and they will jump through all of the hoops for you. As the purchaser, all of the paperwork has to originate through you and they can make that so much easier... I highly recommend that you ask around for a competent home inspector - they should climb on the roof (of the house and garage), climb under the eaves in the attic, shimmy down into the crawl space, etc. and they should want you to join them in each icky location to see what they see. If you have someone who just wants to do a drive-by or measure the lot size, find someone else.

What's a good way to find a buyer's agent? We don't really know many people who have bought houses in our area, plus we've already (I think) found the house and the financing.

Maybe it's a US thing, but the seller's agent should assist with all the paperwork even though it technically originates from the buyer, to avoid the risk of the sale falling over because of a missing document. If sellers have to pay the cost of the buyer's agent as well as the seller's agent, I imagine that could turn some sellers away from the idea of haggling over the price, which could end up costing you way more than you save.

Arrange Financing. your mortgage is your single greatest expense, so shop around a lot. Prequalify - go to your bank or mortgage lender and talk to them about how much you can borrow. Better yet, your credit union, which may have better rates, and may keep the mortgage servicing in-house. Most mortgages get sold, and having a crappy company own your mortgage can be a pain. My credit union probably sold my mortgage, but they kept the servicing - I pay the credit union, and they're local, therefore easier to deal with.

Home Inspection: Find an independent home inspector, and make sure you listen to them.

Any agent can be a buyer's agent - except the seller's agent (just find someone you feel comfortable with). You want an agent that is only working for your side of the arrangement. The seller's agent will assist with paperwork, but only as far as getting the sale to happen. The normal agent agreement for a sale is a 6% commission - with 3% going to the seller's agent and 3% going to the buyer's agent. A seller's agent will want you to use them as a buyer's agent as well - they can then get the whole 6% for the same amount of work. There isn't an additional fee to the seller if you have a buyer's agent, unless they are selling "By Owner", in which case, most buyers pay the buyer's agent.

Also, I would recommend looking for an agent outside of the firm that is representing the seller. If they are using Century 21, you use Coldwell Banker, etc.