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You should also be looking at things like age/condition of roof and foundation, age and type of major utilities (furnace/AC/heat pump/what kind of refrigerant in the AC, water heater/softener/filters, sewer line/septic condition, well condition if not on municipal water), flooding/fire/wind risks, school district quality if you’re planning to have kids, property taxes, distance to things that would be considered a nuisance or undesirable (landfills, farms, industrial sites, train tracks/busy highways/airports), signs of mice/termites/roaches/etc., things that can make insurance more expensive like pools or attached/basement garages, hazards like knob and tube wiring/polybutylene piping/recalled panels or breakers, and signs of foundation settling/cracking or drainage issues.

You should also do some learning on pros/cons of different roofing/exterior types, things like crawlspace vs basement if it applies in your area, and look up invasive or nuisance plants that are found in your area to watch out for (for example, I have to watch out for tree of heaven and Japanese knotweed, and I’m allergic to cottonwoods, so I made sure I knew what they looked like in the season I was house hunting).

Its not always possible, but a south-facing driveway. When you get snow, it dries up faster with the sun exposure.

get your inspections. general, termite, sewer, roof, and radon if there’s a basement. Look for outside drains for the sewer lateral - one was missed during ours and it was collapsed.

I'll preface this by saying I'm also inexperienced, and have only gone under contract (and walked away) once, but here are some tips based on what I've learned so far.

You can use your own agent or use the Remax agent, Zillow agent, etc. You can shop around for agents. Also, you may be asked to sign a touring agreement with the agent. These agreements can be a day, a month, a year, etc. It shouldn't cost you anything to sign a touring agreement.

Look up permits for the property you're interested in. Are there any current open permits? You typically want any open permits to be closed before buying the house.

What kind of past permits/ work was done on the house? Also be familiar with what kind of work your local government/ city requires to be permitted. E.g., Let's say an unpermitted addition was made to the house. This may make you liable to fines if the city were to find out and may give you trouble with insurance claims.

It is absolutely worth it to pay for a full home inspection, not just a 4 point inspection. If you have the time, attend your house inspection! Also, age of the roof, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and water heater are all good things to find out about.

Also while you're touring houses can you do your own "mini" inspection. Look around for mold in the bathrooms, check under sinks for leaks and look in cabinets for bug or rodent droppings, run the hot and cold water (do sinks/ showers drain), flush toilets (do they flush), look inside appliances, bring a pencil with you to check if surfaces are level (does it roll when you put it down on a counter top), look for wood rot on the outside of the house, look to see if there are tree limbs hanging directly over the house that you'd need to cut back, etc.

Shop around for lender and for house insurance, you don't have to go with the first quote you get. Also some lenders will match, so if you like a specific lender but someone else is giving you a better rate, see if they will match. Also if the home your interested in was made by a specific builder, look up that builder. See what things people do or don't like about the builder and if there are any common complaints.

First, talk together about what you want in a house! Make lists of must-haves, plusses, minuses, and dealbreakers. Those vary a lot from person to person. Include basics like max price and min number of bedrooms/bathrooms, but also anything else that matters to each of you. Maybe you want to be in a great school district, or on a bus route or a quiet street; maybe you insist on a two-car attached garage or mature trees or a basement; perhaps you want or hate a pool or a gas stove or whatever. Big yard, or small, or none; sunny area to garden, or dog/kid-proof fence, or don't care? Move-in ready, or are fixer-uppers okay? And so on. When you look at listings, that's what you're looking for. When you look at photos, you're looking for any visible problems. Nix anything that doesn't meet your criteria, has foundation or water damage, or that you just don't like.

Consider looking for a first-time-homebuyers class in your area; they're usually free and informative. If you're not already pre-approved for a loan, get that done now, so when you find a place you're ready to bid. But know that banks approve far more than most can comfortably afford, so work out your current budget carefully and decide the most you could comfortably pay per month to cover all house expenses (mortgage, PMI, homeowner's insurance, property tax, HOA fees, at least 1% of the purchase price to save each year toward repairs/replacements, anything extra like higher commute fees, etc.). Tweak per any known upcoming issues (e.g. having kids or surgery or returning to school soon). That's your cap, not whatever the bank tells you. Come up with a contingency plan in case you lose income.

You can use any realtor; the buyer's and seller's are ideally different people. You could use none, but as you're already overwhelmed you're better off having one to help you through the process. Give them your lists to narrow down what you're shown. When you make an offer, don't waive inspections or inspection contingencies, as inspectors check everything and point out any red flags or must-fix things that the realtor hasn't already; our inspector also commented on the landscaping and told us what would likely last how long.

Happy upcoming first house! :)

I've found an inspector on YouTube, Inspector Preston, that shares things he finds during his inspection in a way that is very educational and entertaining. I've learned a lot and it helped me learn some things to keep an eye out for when I was touring places.

Go out and look at a lot of houses. This is annoying, but you get a lot of knowledge doing so. We were shopping for five months, just about every weekend seeing three houses at minimum, and making an offer on one of them most times. It was incredibly frustrating. But, this did give us a very good database of what was something we could compromise for and what wasn't, where the market was, and what houses were selling for. We were in the US and this was in 2022/3, so the market was pretty hot still. Ultimately, when we did get our house, we felt great that we had stuck to our guardrails, and felt very confident that we were making as good of a decision as possible. Folks in the neighborhood couldn't believe that we paid what we did for our house, but they were also totally divorced from the market as they had bought years before we did. We didn't go over our budgeted max and felt very good that we paid market price. And, we wanted to buy then, so of course could have waited and theoretically paid less, potentially. Still feel great about what we paid when we did.

Your posting is in Canada so not sure what the historic laws are there. But we bought in an older neighborhood - which is what we wanted. So, I got very educated on asbestos, lead, and water damage. We hired not only a regular house inspector, but also an environmental inspector to tell us exactly what we were getting into with regards to these topics. We also had both of these folks ready to go for whenever we made an offer and had done our research on inspection companies beforehand. Probably wouldn't have had to do that with a new build in the same way. I also researched heavily what it would take to make repairs to a house, so was able to balance that out with the estimated market price.

Ultimately all of this was a lot of time and energy, and very frustrating in the moment. But, without all this work, I don't think I would have come away feeling as good about the house we did end up getting.

Use Google Earth and see what's around. Any factories, farms, quarries etc?

Make a list of needs and a list of wants. Needs can be, e.g., 30 minutes or less to work, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a certain school district, etc. Wants may be, e.g., corner lot, garage, a certain style of house, etc. Every home will be a compromise unless you are very wealthy. If you meet most of your needs and some of your wants, you are doing well. Home value is based upon age, condition, size and location. Better school districts are usually more expensive. New construction is usually more expensive. Hire a good inspection company to tell you the condition of any home you are considering. Buy when you have at least a 10% down payment, plan to live in one place for at least 7 years and the monthly mortgage payment is not more than 30% of your monthly salary. Ownership comes with repairs, regular maintenance, property tax, insurance, added utility costs, and any HOA fees on top of mortgage payment.

You focus on important and expensive systems: foundation and grading around house, heating, electrical. plumbing. Roof and attic insulation. Feel free to reach out with questions.