Honestly I am not sure if buying a home would be that good of an idea. At first it would seem like it because you get told that your payments would end up as equity and not just thrown out as rent money...It's not as expensive in terms of rent vs mortgage and that it was the best time to buy a house because the market is so low. This is what happened to me a year and 3 months ago, market ended up tanking even more, mortgage rates went down even further. So I got screwed on that account alone.
When you buy a house you also have to factor in monthly repair and maintenance. I have spent god knows how much money last year on maintenance; Terminix monthly pest and termite control (I hate bugs so I make sure there are never any in my house) Home warranty payments, and at least 10 various repairs here and there. In the end I would have spent less money just renting than I would have if I purchased my house and I also wouldn't be dealing with negative equity.
Also, do you have 20% of the purchase cost to put into a down payment? Because if you don't you are going to get screwed on mortgage insurance. Honestly, unless you have the 20% down payment, along with at least 10-20K saved up in case the bullshit occurs, I would not buy a home. Renting is just as cheap if not cheaper, and is a lot less stressful because you don't have to worry about things going wrong with your property that you can't afford to take care of. The only reasons I like my house better than an apartment is because of the privacy, not having to deal with neighbors or a landlord & being able to keep my dog.
EDIT: If you do still decide to try and buy a house, take ATLEAST 3 months to look for one. If you find one you think you might like, look at it multiple times before making an offer. Look at every thing conceivable that may cause problems or need replaced and try to make a determination yourself if it is worth going forward with making an offer. This will save you hundreds of dollars on a home inspection that you will still need to do after you make an offer.
Even bigger note: Get a GOOD look and feel of the neighborhood the house is in. You can fix the house with enough money but you can't fix the area you are in. Don't even consider buying a house in a shitty part of town or in a neighborhood that looks shady with dilapidated houses. I don't care how low the price is, there is a reason they will be so low and a lot of times it is because they are in a bad neighborhood or the house has been poorly looked after.
