It is relatively easier to find homes for sale today, than it was a decade ago. With the growth of Internet technology, the world is quite literally at your fingertips, anything can be found with a few (or several) mouse clicks - including homes for sale. Newspaper classified ads used to be the primary source for new home sales listings in the old days. Even today, local newspapers can provide quite a few leads in your new home buying quest. Some old timers may only put classified ads in the local newspaper, either not knowing or not trusting the Internet and the online homes for sale listing services.

The first step would be to start subscribing to the major local newspaper(s) in the areas that you are considering moving into - at least three months (or more) in advance. This will give you a handle on the comparable prices of homes for sale in the areas that you are considering buying your home. When reading newspaper classifieds be sure that all pertinent information about the home is clearly mentioned. Some home sellers obfuscate their home for sale listing with things like "2 bdrm conv" which probably means that it is a one bedroom that has been (or can be) converted to 2 bedrooms - translation = 2 tiny bedrooms. Another famous acronym is "TLC required" - translation = tender loving care required, so expect to pour money into repairs.

Some ads may not have any information about the property at all, just a phone number for you to call. Beware of these ads, they are usually teaser ads put by unscrupulous real estate agents who will thereafter barrage you with return calls for every home for sale listing they can find. Also keep in mind that homes for sale prices mentioned in classified ads are ALWAYS negotiable - there is no such thing as a "firm" price on a home for sale.

Friends and family can also help in your home buying adventure. Most home sellers plunk a giant HOME FOR SALE sign in their yard, your friends and family members can let you know about the homes for sale that they encounter on their daily journeys. Even better, they may know of a neighbor or another friend who may be selling their home in an area that you are interested in buying your home. This would give you an opportunity to approach the seller and make an offer long before anyone else hears about the home for sale - preventing any costly price bidding by other interested home buyers. Buying a home FROM a friend or family member may be a difficult situation, as you will not be able to negotiate as aggressively as you could with a stranger who was selling their home. However, buying directly would eliminate the real estate agent (or broker) middleman, and reduce your cost.

The real estate agent or real estate broker is often used by sellers. In most parts of the US, the broker is paid a commission by the seller (about 6% in most parts, but this varies by location and demand). Even though the seller is paying the broker, they are still passing off that cost to you - the buyer. Real estate brokers may also offer their help in FINDING a home (a residential unit built on a plot of land, or an apartment in a building that is built on a plot of land) for buying, at no cost to you the buyer. The reason for this is a real estate brokerage secret called the CO-BROKE. The selling broker splits the commission with the buyers broker (usually 50/50). You, the buyer, are still going to feel the pinch in the price that you will pay - and your "buying broker" is doing absolutely nothing in your interest in this deal. You can talk to the selling broker directly - which may help you in negotiating a price, since the selling broker knows that he will not have to split his commission and may be eager to convince the seller of the home to sell the home to you.

The Internet offers a huge assortment of resources for buying homes. Just keep in mind that sellers usually pay all advertising fees, as a buyer you are not expected to pay any "membership" fees or "listing fees" to view ads on homes for sale online. Most real estate brokers participate in Multiple Listing Systems (MLS). The MLS is an aggregation of all homes for sale in a particular area (city or region). This allows the brokers to find buyers and pocket half the commission - most MLS databases are publicly available and you can do this yourself (often more promptly and more accurately).

A Google search for MLS and your city/region name will usually turn up the online database of MLS homes for sale listings. Some national websites also carry all listings country wide, such as Realtor.com - this is an aggregation of the aggregated listings from almost all MLS systems nationwide in the US.

Doing the Internet search yourself, instead of using a buying broker, can be faster and easier. The sad fact of the real estate brokerage market is that MOST real estate agents are lazy and hardly do any work. Since they get enormous sales commissions they tend to work only one day a week and goof off the rest of the time. While this may not apply to all brokers - most do behave in this unproductive manner. Searching Realtor.com by yourself allows you to put in specific criteria for the home to buy, and even see photos and virtual tours (if available) - making it easy to eliminate the homes that you can see immediately do not match your needs. Then simply call on the homes that match your specifications.