The very first thing you need to do is to get pre-approved from a local lender! I cannot stress this enough! Without a pre-approval, we cannot do showings or submit offers. Additionally, this helps you to determine your budget when shopping! With rates changing all the time, you need to have a grasp of what your monthly payments will be and also use this budget to start to set your expectations on what you can afford!

But I want to find a house I like first, then get pre-approved...
It doesn't work that way. Not only will the brokerage likely deny you the showing, IF you do get to see the house without your pre-approval, you'll likely have found something you liked and missed out on it! Other buyers who are bidding are already past this step, and can submit offers before you while you are just starting to work with a lender to get your needed document.

Title insurance is something issued to you during closing and one of your main closing costs. The price is set by the state based on your purchase price. If you are using a loan to purchase the property, the lender will always require a title insurance policy to cover the lender (their money in the asset) and you will need an owner's policy to cover yourself. Title searches look for things before you close like tax liens, wills, errors in public record... anything that could be levied against your new home. The insurance issued at closing is a protection against anything missed.

This couldn't be farther from the truth. For one, when a seller chooses to put their home on the market with an agent, they agree to a certain commission percentage. That commission is split between their listing agent and your buying agent, generally not costing you anything our of pocket. This has already been agreed to and signed for. The seller knows the value of having an agent handle their transaction.

Secondly, a lot of people who attempt to sell their home on their own do so to make MORE money for themselves, not to save the buyer money. It would seem a little silly that they put themselves through a ton of work and legal risk to hand over a percentage in savings to someone else.

Third, going rogue on a purchase without an agent could cost you way more than you expected. For one, these sales aren't regulated with requirements that a listed property would have. You likely aren't getting full disclosures, many protections, expertise in what to look for before contracting, protected deadlines and contractual obligations on the seller that protect you as the buyer, or an experienced negotiator and real estate advisor who has literally seen anything that could go wrong happen and who knows how to protect you. I've recently had a client come to me to list his property after buying it from a "wholesaler" for WAY more than that property was worth and end up underwater. I've seen people buy directly from a seller and get stuck in a mess of legal and title issues, and others who didn't know to negotiate certain items that they weren't trained to look for.

Lastly, the PAR and NAR offer you many protections as a buyer that you wouldn't otherwise have when it comes to defaults, defects, or litigation.