Prepare, Prepare, Prepare thats what you do.

1st.  find out what your credit score is.  You qualify for a free credit report each year but that does not tell you what your score is.  You can get your score at  www.myfico.com.  They also provide you with some great tools to show you how much money a good credit score can save you.

2nd  Do not acquire any more debt.  Reduce your credit card debt.

3rd  Save additional monies for your inspections.  Every buyer should have two inspections completed.  Home inspection run around $300 to $400 and a WDO or Termite inspection is just under $100.   These inspections will usually save you that much and more so they are worth it.

4th  Prepare for your Escrow Deposit.  At the time you write an offer to purchase you will be required to place what is known as "good faith money".  That means you will live up to your end of the contract and purchase the house according to the provisions of the contract.if the seller signs the agreement.  That money will come back to you as a credit at you closing but if you do not purchase the house you could lose it.  Normal escrow amounts are 1 to 2% of Sales Price.  i.e.  $200,000 home escrow should be $2,000 to $4,000.

5th Begin shopping on line to get a sense of what homes are going for.  Now is a good time to look for a Realtor to work with.  They can feed you properties in you target area.  Find a few homes you like and watch the sales cycle.  How long did it take to get a contract on it (go pending in real estate terms).  How long did it take to close.  What did it actually sell for.  Did it have multiple offers on it.  Your Realtor should be able to provide you with that info. 

6th Monitor your credit report and challenge those items that are negatively affecting you score.  This should be a life long process.

Doing those 6 things will prepare you for a succesfull home hunt.  Good luck. Call us if we can help.

Some great web sites to assist you further is:

http://www.freddiemac.com/

http://www.floridahousing.org/home   see if you qualify for some of the assistance programs.