Here's something that all home buyers should do whenever they are are about to make an offer on a new home. If you don't do it, then you could end up losing the house that you really wanted.

In your written purchase offer to the seller to buy the house, you should specify as short a time limit as possible for acceptance of the offer. The most common time limit is 24 hours. This means that the seller will have 24 hours to either accept or reject your purchase offer.

But supposed you want to be nice people and you want to give the seller a week to accept or reject the offer? Well, here's what might happen. The seller will then have the time to 'shop' the offer to other potential buyers who have shown an interest. The seller might even show your offer to other prospects as a way of proving that they need to offer a higher price. To avoid this, give the seller 24 hours to accept. Chances are they won't have the chance to shop the offer, and you will end up a happy home buyer.

When looking for a new home, be sure and look at as many houses as possible in your price range. By comparing features and benefits you will make yourself a much more informed buyer.