How to Make Your First Time a Charm

· Get preapproved for a mortgage. You can present a much stronger offer to sellers (and spare yourself worry) by getting your mortgage loan set up before you start house hunting. (This is what's called "preapproval," which means you have applied for the loan and the lender has checked your credit and agreed to give you a loan up to a certain dollar amount.) Shop widely for loans, but apply to only one or two lenders to save money on fees. Check the interest rates and fees charged by your current bank or credit union, other local lenders and a few Internet-based loan companies such as E-Loan and Lending Tree.

· Find a buyers' broker. When you're interested in a house, don't just call the real estate agent listed on a for-sale sign or the agent hosting an open house. Those agents are obligated to get the highest price and best terms for the seller. Instead, ask friends for referrals or check Internet referral services such as HomeGain.com Inc. and RealEstate.com to find a buyers' agent or buyers' broker. They are usually paid out of the commission that has already been agreed to by the seller.

· Shop neighborhoods. You can change practically anything about a home, but it's nearly impossible to change a neighborhood. When you have selected a few areas, drive and walk around them to get a sense of what life may be like there. Pay a visit after dark and on weekends to see if the character changes. Ask residents about homeowners associations and inquire into particular rules that might affect you, such as prohibitions on trucks, boats in the driveway, fenced yards or basketball hoops. And be sure to make a trial commute during rush hour.

· Negotiate. Once you have found a place you want, angle for a deal that works for you. Price is always the biggest negotiating issue, but there are others. Will the sellers pay points on your loan so you can snare a lower interest rate? (One point equals 1 percent of your loan amount, and is paid at closing -- each point cuts the interest rate by about one-eighth to one-fourth of a percentage point.) Or will they pay some closing costs? Hammer out contingency clauses such as a home inspection contingency, finance contingency (which says the deal is off if you can't get a reasonably priced mortgage) and appraisal contingency (which says the deal is off if the appraiser doesn't think the home is worth as much as you've agreed to pay).

· Settle in and settle down. Now that you're a homeowner, prepare for a sudden obsession with Home Depot shopping and catalogue browsing. There's no superintendent to call when the faucet leaks and no landlord to tell you what can't go on the walls, so it's only natural to dig in and customize your surroundings. Enjoy . . . but mind your budget and don't forget to build your savings so you won't be rocked by inevitable surprises.

Elizabeth Razzi is a Washington journalist and author of "The Fearless Home Buyer" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2006). An interactive version of this article appears at www.washingpost.com/realestate.