Know your budget. You need to list accurately your incomes and outgoings. Keep a record of what you spend and on what for a few months to really get to know where your money goes. The idea of guessing your outgoings and incomes could get you in trouble in the near future if you then get a mortgage, the rates go up and you don't have enough of a safety cushion to cover the extra costs. Or your newly bought house has unexpected outgoings and it's you paying for the costs and not the landlord. You need to have enough money for the mortgage and "the extras". Remember property has ongoing costs such as interior and exterior maintenance through general wear and tear, garden maintenance and the dreaded unexpected problem.

Check how much you have saved for a deposit. Despite all the doom and gloom in the media some mortgage providers now offer mortgages where a 10% deposit is needed. HSBC has recently announced that they will making ?1bn available to housebuyers with deposits of 10% at a two-year fixed rate of 4.99%. Other 10% deposit deals offer a rate of around 6%. Compared to the previous average required deposit of 25%, a 10% is more achievable even to first time buyers even it requires a top-up from the Mum & Dad Bank. This lowering of deposit shows that banks are beginning to be confident that house price falls are bottoming out and there is less risk of the property falling into negative equity.

Looking for a new home is exciting so enjoy looking at properties on the internet and check how much properties are in your desired area. Become familiar with the price brackets of what you are looking for. This is the easy bit and looking at the photos and imagining yourself there is the fun part. You could use search engines such as www.wheresmyproperty.com and there are many others out there. Once you know how much property is and how much your deposit is you can work out what mortgage you would require.

The crucial part of buying property is currently getting the mortgage. Speak to a mortgage adviser and check what you will need to provide. Mortgage providers may require proof of your income so that means that your payslips, P60s and if you're self-employed, your tax returns, need to be available and in order. Be 100% above aboard about your earnings and make sure that your earnings can be verified with paperwork. If you don't have these the income can not be put into the equation meaning you get a smaller mortgage, even if you could afford a bigger one. Get a mortgage in principle before looking at properties so you know that when you do look at a property you know that you could buy it.

Having a mortgage approved is currently the big issue when buying a property. Properties are generally easy to find, sellers are desperate to sell and there aren't many buyers around. Do it right and you can make the most of the property downturn.