Southampton - Here are Six Crucial Steps to Home Ownership as seen in the March 2011 Issue of Holmes: The Magazine to Make it Right.

1. Get Preapproved: Put together your financial documents, sit down with your bank's loan officer who will calculate how much home you can afford. The rep will also perform a credit score check and evaluate how your debts may affect your purchasing power. Ask for a copy - you'll need it.

2. Shop for Mortgages: Don't stop at one approval. Interview a number of banks, credit unions and mortgage brokers. Ask each about loan terms, fees, late and pre-payment penalties and payment options, then compare. Before any lender triggers a credit check, give them the copy from your first bank's inquiry - too many raise red flags that lower your score.

3. House Hunt: With your preapproval in hand and an understanding of your financial parameters, you can start your search. Keep in mind that the forms give you haggling power. You can guarantee a specific amount of money versus another buyer offering a higher big who no guarantee they can follow through- an important incentive in this market.

4. Property Approval: If you find your dream home and make an offer, verify there is a "condition on finance" in the purchase and sales agreement, so you don't get stuck with debt you can't get loans for. Your lender not only needs to approve of your finances, but also of the house as an investment. Once they do, mortgage commitment papers can be filed.

5. Walk Through: Congrats, they accepted your offer! Now, roughly one week before closing, meet with your real estate lawyer to ensure everything is in order. She or he will perform a title search, name execution and go over the final mortgage agreement to verify that all of the terms have been met. After that, the only thing left to do is walk through the property to see that everything is in working order.

6. Closing: Get your pen ready to sign a pile of mortgage papers - and hire a lawyer to go over all the fine print. At this point, all of the loan details fees, premiums, and amortization and payment schedules will be committed on paper and agreed upon by all parties. Then, all that's left is to collect your keys, pack your stuff and move in!

Holmes: The Magazine to Make it Right is the recently launched shelter publication by Mike Holmes, the star of "Holmes on Homes" as seen on HGTV. Distributed by Time Warner Retail, the magazine is designed to serve as a manual for every homeowner, man or woman. Covering an array of home renovation related topics, this publication strives to "make it better" by "building it right the first time." The first issue hit stands in the U.S. in November 2010 and will soon be introduced in the United Kingdom and Australia.

For more information go to www.holmesmagazine.com.