There is truly nothing more exciting (in the world of real estate) than buying your first home. My experience was a bit askew since my first "home" was a duplex. But when I built my first home and spent that first night in it, it was an experience I'll never forget. The feelings of independence, ownership, pride and self-reliance all swirled around my head that night. Other first time buyers have expressed feelings of being grounded, stable and secure. All in all, it is a big step in your "adulting" life and one that could change your perspective for good.

The process of getting to the closing table, especially for first-timers can be wrought with obstacles and hurdles that can start to feel daunting and overwhelming. Our goal here today is to offer a few suggestions that will not only increase your chances of making it to the finish line, but doing so without feeling like the proverbial dog being wagged by the tail.

Let's talk turkey. Get yourself (or yourselves) to your bank and get a preapproval. I have been hearing that some agents won't even take buyers out to see properties until they have a preapproval in hand. I could not agree with this idea more. If you don't even know how much house you can afford and are simply going on what you "think" you can swing, you are wasting everyone's time. This can go poorly in two ways. Either you will miss out on the house you love because the other buyers already have their paperwork completed and made the offer you could not, or you will spend (waste?) your time, the agent's time and the sellers' time exploring options for (and falling in love with) a home you simply can't afford. Get yourself to the bank before you even get started.

The next piece of advice is simply to find and work with a reputable and seasoned real estate agent. This may sound super obvious but you'd be amazed at how many first time buyers decide to tackle this process on their own. Make no mistake; there is a ton of valuable information out there online that can get you started in the right direction. You can get a sense of the local market. You can look at some houses in your price range and you can even setup a showing to walk through the house you are interested in. But you are only getting a small percentage of the full picture. A local, experienced real estate professional will be able to provide volumes more information that you simply will never get from a national, impersonal, corporate website.

We brought this topic up a couple weeks ago, but another great strategy is to seriously consider homes in need of some TLC. Now, this doesn't mean you should throw all your eggs into a worn down, broken, un-fixable "basket". But if you are willing to spend a few days or weeks upgrading or renovating a home you may be surprised at what you'll find. Not only will you have the satisfaction of remodeling a room or two exactly how you want them, you will also find that the majority of buyers are not as savvy as you. Most buyers are looking for move-in ready homes. If you're willing to apply a little elbow grease, you'll expand your search to a whole new crop of homes and be generating sweat-equity in no time flat!

Another savvy move that I've just become aware of is chatting up the local landlords. The good news is there's no secret meeting group that you need to get invited to. There are always places to rent in just about every neighborhood out there. You don't need to be misleading in your intentions, but buying a landlord a cup of coffee for the opportunity to pick their brain about the neighborhood and any property opportunities might be the best three dollars you spend this month. The ultimate prize would be stumbling onto a landlord who is considering selling, but has not put the home on the market yet. Badger Peabody & Smith Realty agent (formerly Badger Realty), Denice Tepe notes, "Because they tend to be keenly aware of their neighboring homes and availabilities, landlords are great resources for local information."

We all know that location is a key ingredient in the world of real estate. The home we currently live in would list for nearly double what we paid for it if we were a mere 5 miles East of our property (Does anyone have a trailer?!) When you are looking for a new home, especially as a first time buyer, don't neglect the neighboring towns and neighborhoods when you are creating your search area. Most of us have a desired location and tend to be pretty picky about wanting to stay within a couple miles of that target. But consider expanding your search area a bit and you may be surprised at the added variety of homes and price points. Even though you may be a tad outside your target area, you may still be able to take advantage of the schools, the playgrounds and all the amenities that are just another mile or two away.

Being a first time homebuyer can be a daunting role. One of the more important things to remember is that you do not have to do this alone. As we stated above, get in touch with a qualified agent and lender and don't hesitate to reach out to other professionals in the industry to help you along the way. Nobody is expected to understand all the in's and out's of purchasing a home the first time around. It is the same reason most of us don't waste hours of our precious time doing our taxes. It is OK to rely on professionals in these kinds of situations!