Before hiring a real estate agent, you might want to do some research on your own. In this way, you can look for the ideal home you would want to settle and be at peace with, you can also size up how much can you afford and how much you are willing to give in exchange of a particular type of home. By doing surfing the net and going to open houses, you’ll have your own idea of what neighbourhood you would want to live in, what kind of neighbours you would be willing to exchange stories with.

Follow the primary steps you would want to take prior to house buying.

A. Access listings of houses for sale:

1. View online listings. The vast majority of home buyers now use the Web as part of their search. Many websites draw from a central database known as the multiple listing services (MLS). Each site’s presentation and ease of use is different though, so you’ll want to check around for the ones you like best. Or you can use one run by the realtors’ association in your home state or region or check the websites of major real estate companies. Although they may have fewer listings, they may do a more thorough job of describing the house, complete with exterior and interior photos.
2. Read the local newspaper classifieds, especially the Sunday edition. If you’re focused on a particular neighborhood, find out whether that neighborhood has a community newspaper with real estate listings. Many newspapers also post their classified sections online.
3. Drive through neighborhoods that interest you. You may spot “For Sale” signs of homes whose listings you overlooked. Some may be “FSBOs” — that is, homes for sale by owner, without the help of a real estate agent. FSBOs are not always advertised widely. Another way to make sure you don’t miss any FSBOs is to check websites dedicated to them, such as www.owners.com.

B. Decide what you want in a house:

1. Features that you can’t live without, such as a good school district, no difficult stairs to climb, or space to grow vegetables.
2. Features that you hope for, but that aren’t crucial, such as a fireplace, a separate laundry room, and walking distance to a coffee shop.
3. Features that are “absolute no ways,” meaning you know you’ll forever be sorry if you buy a house that has them. These tend to be location problems, such as location at the top of a hill, in a flood zone, in a lousy school district, or in a high-crime or noise area.

C. Working with an Agent:

Having taken these preliminary steps, you’ll find that, if and when you do hire an agent, you’ll be able to focus the agent’s energies on the most productive, final phases of your home search. You may also find that, even after hiring an agent, you prefer to visit some homes on your own, for convenience or even to escape the agent’s influence.