When you have found propective properties when buying homes, you must screen out any unwanted prospects. Always drive by before you actually make an appointment to see the home. This will save you a lot of time by eliminating any obviously bad neighborhoods or homes. Besides the obvious observation of the home you are thinking of buying, also look at the neighborhood around it. The condition of other homes on the block will tell you (or them) a lot about the neighbors. Look at the cars parked in the driveways, are they new and shiny - or rusty junkers? Take note of the parking situation on the block as well, you may want to drive by at different times on different days of the week. Is there sufficient parking, or will you have to park a mile away from your new house and walk it home? The homes immediately next to and around your prospective new home should be scrutinized, are they well maintained and worthy of living next door to? If a home is too delapilated, it is possible that it will be knocked down and rebuilt in the near future - do you want to have to live next to a construction site? And worse, what monstrosity will they build in its place?

You should also walk around the neighborhood, up and down the block, side streets, and especially behind the home you are thinking of buying. Visit at different times, during quiet periods as well as when you would expect it to be a busy time. Do you feel safe walking around, remember you will be living in that neighborhood for a long time should you buy the home. How is the traffic around the area, is it noisy, a racetrack, buses puffing fumes, is it easy and safe to cross the streets? Avoid buying homes on corners or on main roads, just pulling out of your driveway into traffic could be a daily nerve wracking affair. Watch for bus stops, where there is a bus stop there will always be buses - and hordes of bus passengers. Do you want to live next to an incessant line of exhaust emitting buses, and an unending line of bus commuters (most of whom will be tossing their coffee cups and lunch wrappers on your lawn)? Are there any schools or parks or other public places around, that could attract excessive crowds and cars and noise? Is there a police station or firehouse within earshot? Emergency vehicles are very noisy, and they tend to be noisy around the clock as they respond to emergencies. It is good to have emergency services NEAR the home you are buying, just not NEXT to it.

In the home buying world there exist some critters called Real Estate Brokers, or Real Estate Agents. These brokers, or agents, are often used by sellers to sell their home. Real estate brokers charge the seller a commission, usually 6% of the selling cost of the home (although this amount varies in different parts of the US). Home buyers can also use brokers or agents to represent them in buying homes, buying brokers do NOT charge any fees or commissions to the buyer - the industry secret is: they split the commission with the selling broker.

For their huge broker commission, the seller usually gets a classified ad in the local newspaper and a listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) - advertising the home for sale. Most sellers don't know that they can do this little bit of work themselves (or they don't want to bother with it) - for only a few hundred dollars or even less! The sellers simply tack the price onto the home they are selling, effectively pushing the cost onto you - the home buyer.

Most real estate brokers are lazy and indifferent. While this does not apply to ALL brokers, most are - they make fat commissions on sales for literally doing nothing, and they work one day a week and goof off the rest of the time. In theory, real estate agents are supposed to provide some additional services to the home seller. They are supposed to advise the seller on a suitable price for the home being sold, based on "comps" or Comparables.

A comp report is simply a list of prices for similar homes in the area. However, most brokers simply suggest the highest price knowing that they will get a fatter commission - even though it may take longer for the home to sell at the inflated price. Or, the home for sale may need to have its price reduced in the future, making for more delays in selling.

Home buying brokers are supposed to aggressively negotiate the price on the buyers behalf, but as they stand to make more money if you pay more for the home, they rarely bother. Selling Brokers are also supposed to aggressively seek buyers. The easy way for them is to simply post a classified ad in the local newspaper, and/or a listing on the local MLS website. Then the broker goes on vacation and waits for buyers to call and leave messages on their voicemail.

Some buyers use brokers to help them find a home to buy - these "buying brokers" do not charge the buyer any fees - they simply split the commission with the selling broker (usually 50/50 but it could vary in different areas). Selling brokers prefer to deal directly with buyers so they can eat the whole commission - oftentimes ignoring messages from buying brokers. Generally, it is not useful to use a buying broker - often it works against you and makes it harder to get to see a home for sale.

Another service that selling brokers are expected to provide is pre-screening of offers and showing the home for sale. Pre-screening should include credit checks and/or ensuring that prospective buyers have their mortgage pre-approval/pre-screen letters ready. This eliminates any non-serious buyer offers and saves time. The broker is also expected to show the home being sold to the prospective buyers - unfortunately most brokers are too lazy and simply let the seller deal with strangers who comes over to look over the home. Home sellers often complain that the only two times they see (or hear) from their broker is when they first meet to grant them exclusive rights to sell the home - and at the closing when the broker demands the commission check.

There is generally zero benefit in using a buying broker when you are buying homes. In fact, it may be harder to get to see the home as the selling broker will usually dodge your buying brokers calls. You the buyer get absolutely no services advantages from a buying broker. If you can read a newspaper (classifieds), and can operate a computer sufficiently to reach Google (and find the MLS) - you have absolutely no need for a buying broker.