What should first time property buyers be aware of before beginning their home search?

Question: What should first time property buyers be aware of before beginning their home search?

Answer: From what I see most first time home buyers have limited funds to purchase a home so they pursue a government sponsored and subsidized loan like an FHA or a low down conventional loan.  While the downpayment can be as low as 3.5% that's not all  you need to buy a home.

There are other cost involved in purchasing a home and additional cost to owning vs. renting a home.

The additional purchasing cost include, appraisals, inspection cost followed by upfront mortgage insurance premiums, prepaid like insurance, taxes and prepaid interest plus possible HOA fees all of which can easily amount to several thousand dollars.

Even home buyers have enough to comfortably purchase a home there are additional cost after the close.  When you rent a lot of the costs of ownership are hidden to a tenant.  They become very clear once you own a property.  

Such costs can include: maintenance, HOA monthly fees, deferred maintenance all of which add lots of cost to the normal mortgage payment.  Lots of people forget about these cost even when calculating what they can afford to pay.