So you’ve decided you want to buy your first home, and you’re busy getting pre-approved for a mortgage (more on that in a future episode). But before you can move in, you first need to find a home to purchase! I mean, you can try moving into a home you haven’t found and purchased, but you’re either going to end up in an imaginary home or one owned by somebody who has no intention of selling.

Throughout the blogathon, I’ll be sharing some of the different ways you can find your first home.

• Hire a Realtor. These folks are specially licensed to help you buy and sell your home. They’re the ones who work at RE/MAX and Century 21 and the like. And you probably won’t have to pay your Realtor a dime for his or her services; he or she is typically paid by the seller of the house you buy. A Realtor can help you find houses in your price range, cart you around the city to view them, and draw up all those nasty real-estatey papers. If you decide to go with a Realtor (as most of you should and will), I recommend finding one on ZipRealty.com because in many states you can obtain 20% of your ZipRealty Realtor’s commission, and that could be about $2,000 in your pocket on a $350,000 house. We found ours through that service, and she’s working out great so far!