Just bought a home a year ago. It was my first time, so I'm by no means an expert, but here's some tips:
1) If you can put 20% down, that's nice, but not really necessary. The Fed's manipulation of interest rates means the current mortgage rates aren't much different than inflation, meaning borrowed money is essentially free.
2) FHA minimum is 3.5% down, standard mortgage is 5% down. FHA will require extra mortgage insurance though, which is money being pissed away. Do not take out an FHA loan, pay at least 5% down and go with the standard.
3) You want to be informed when houses hit the market immediately. Good deals will get scooped up within days or 1-2 weeks tops. My realtor did this for me with some automated system, though I'm sure plenty of websites do this as well.
4) Start looking immediately, but don't put offers in for at least a month. You won't have a feel for what a good deal is until you've been watching the market for a while. It's really tempting to start bidding immediately as you're excited about buying a house, but that would be a mistake, and you'd almost certainly end up with a regrettable decision. It took me 3 months to find the right place at the right price.
5) If you don't mind putting a little work into the place, a foreclosure can be a good deal. You pay a premium for move-in ready homes.
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