You should google first time home buyer programs in your city/county/state. Unless you make too much money to qualify you can probably find a program that will help you out with a down payment. I had an incredible program in 2009 that gave me 22% down. This was during the housing crisis, so good luck finding anything close to that.
After you find a program, you might need to work with certain lenders. In general though, you should check with whatever bank you use, a credit union, possibly online banks, and even SoFi. I believe SoFi offers 10% down loans with no PMI and no closing costs, but you should verify.
Keep in mind that if you get all the loan quotes within something like a 30 day span it only counts as one credit inquiry.
Find a realtor. If they want you to sign an exclusive buyers contract with them, find a different one. Personally, I would not use a realtor that was a friend, family, or acquaintance of anyone I knew. The reason for that is if you have problems with them it becomes awkward to fire them if necessary. When I bought my house, I searched for realtors, interviewed one (he drove to my work) told me there were no contracts with him, and if I thought he wasn’t doing a good job I should move on. I worked with him and he was incredible.
If you’re serious about buying you should be looking at Zillow everyday and try getting a feel for what things are actually selling for. Save homes you like, then keep paying attention to them when they go off market, and finally switch back to sold status. Did they sell for more/less than list? Did you immediately recognize it was underpriced and that was backed up by it selling within 7 days or less?
I still look at Zillow everyday, and have seen 2 houses that I really liked and would have considered buying that I knew were great prices. They sold immediately. One was then immediately put up for rent at double the expected mortgage with 20% down and was rented in 6 weeks.
It can be scary, but do the research and you will gain confidence. Other than another home, this will be the largest purchase you ever make, so put in the time to get familiar with things.
