What do we do first?

Hi all -

i know this question has probably been posted a ton of times, but i'm fairly new to this board and wanted to get some advice.

My hubby and I would like to begin the process of buying our first house. We know next to nothing about the procedure so need some help.

What do we do first? Who do we contact?
What do we need to know?

i.e - do we contact a realtor first, a mortgage lender to get pre-approved, or a bank?

Any suggestions on any of the above? We live in Rockville Centre and would like to stay as close to it as we can.

We need all the help we can get!

TIA

Re: What do we do first?

first- I would sit with a finacial planner - or use an online mortgage calulator to see what you can afford (not what a mortgage banker says you can afford - and my DH is one- and that is his advise)

then sit down with your bank and at least 3 other people before you get pre-approved

then once you know how much house you can afford and that you can get a mortgage- then I would contact a real estate agent

that's what I would do- and go to open houses while this was happening

a pre-approval doesn't take long