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

• On a website. Here, I’ll once again recommend the services of ZipRealty.com which can not only refer you to a Realtor willing to give you 20% of his or her commission but also give you access to pretty much the entire Multiple Listing Service (MLS, a.k.a. the Big List of Houses for Sale). Just punch in your zip code(s) of interest and other features you’re looking for in a house, and you’ll get every matching piece of property on your computer screen absolutely free. You can even check out pictures of the property, information and statistics about the home’s neighborhood, previous sales in the area, and driving directions from your front door.

But please, please, please don’t count on the information presented on any website to be 100% accurate (well, except Punny Money, of course). Instead, use real estate websites to help put together a list of homes you’d like to see and learn more about the properties available for purchase.