When buying a new home before moving. It makes not difference if it is in Valley Ranch, Plano or Dallas Texas. The first question that comes to mind is do you need an estate agent? You can but a new house without the help of an agent and you don’t pay a commission, as the seller pays the commission. However, the commission is included in the price.

If you buy a house on your own with the help of an estate agent you have limited choices as you might not know the new area that you are moving to. Lets say you are in Dallas, Texas and you are moving to Desoto, Texas, then, you might not know the best location in Desoto, nore do you know which properties in Desoto are for sale in Desoto. You only have the local newspaper ads available to you in Desoto or the smaller segment of the property market which is the “For Sale By Owner” market.

So armed with the new info you still need to go and check the property and the housing market in your new area. Be it Desoto, Texas or Glenn Heights, Texas. You need to determine the property value.

Buying a house is not like buying a car. When you buy a car you always have MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price), but in property you don’t have that type of help. You can only use as a guide, what prices are on the property near to the one you are looking to buy. If you are buying property “A” you need to look at what was the last price for property in the area and compare it to what you are buying. Look for the average price of property being sold in the area and compare it to what you are being offered.

Go onto Google and check under the search engine, as an example “Dallas House sale”, “Fort Worth house” or “Dallas house”. This will bring up property which you can use to check what the average house prices are in your area if you are moving to Dallas.

The next mistake that many buyers make, when they find that their choices are limited by only dealing with homes for sale by owners, is to jump into the "listed" market by checking advertisements and calling Listing Agents directly or visiting Open Houses.  This however brings back the commission which will be added to the price by the Listing Agency.

So working on your own might not get you a good price, however trying to find an agency in the area you are moving to might. You might end up paying a commission, however you will have a wider choice to choose from, you don’t need to ask around and you might end up saving with by using an agency. If you are in the process of moving and don’t have much time with an impending move, then to ensure that you move on time, get an agency to deal with all the running around. You don’t want to sell you house or apartment without having another one to move to, now do you?

So go onto Google and check under the search engine, as an example “Dallas House sale agency”, “Fort Worth house estate agency” or “Dallas house agent”. This will bring up a list of property agents in the area you are looking at moving too.

When you have found a property that you like. Remember that the most common misconceptions among home buyers occur when it comes time to making an "offer" or a "bid" on a home. Many believe that even though they have tendered an offer to the sellers, that their options are still open. To some degree, this is correct. If the seller rejects the offer, counteroffers it, or simply does not respond, options are still open. You, as the buyer, can accept the counteroffer, make another offer, or simply move on.

If, however, the seller accepts the offer (and you are notified of its acceptance accordingly) then you are now legally bound by the contract. In the majority of cases, there is not even the need for additional paperwork--the signed offer becomes the contract. So be careful!

1. You propose a selling price; (e.g. $145,000)

2. Conditions you desire the seller to make; (e.g. you must pave first)

3. Conditions: Subject to you being able to obtain a satisfactory mortgage.

4. Subject to any home inspection; (inspection report).

5. Precisely what is to be included in the sale. (Don't Assume be specific!)

6. The amount of the deposit.

The only options left are now the minor issues of who paints what and what gets fixed by whom. So remember to always ensure that you place ALL your issues in your offer when it is made. You don’t want to get stuck legally with a house that you did not like in the first place. Your intentions must be clear.