Host of the popular Real Estate show Property Virgins, Sandra Rinomato has written a book for all first time homebuyers, and she gave us the scoop on what we need to know before buying a house!

Sandra's 5 Pieces of Advice for First-Time Buyers

1. Remove the blinders: Forget everything you think you know about real estate. You most likely have only part of the story, or worse - you may have the wrong story.

2. Hire professionals: Mortgage consultants to advise you, home inspectors to find latent defects or to point out obvious ones and teach you how to take care of a house giving preventative tips, and hire a Realtor to work for you on your behalf.

3. Get your finances in order before you start shopping: A year before you want to buy, get a copy of your credit rating. There may be things on there that shouldn't be, or you may discover that you have to take control and build your credit. You need to know how much you CAN spend and how much you are comfortable.

4. Check out all your options: Don't turn your nose up at anything, like condo townhomes, just because you don't want to pay fees. The fees may help maintain the value of your real estate. Don't dismiss an area until you've addressed your preconception with your Realtor, and don't make decisions before you have even started the process.

5. Focus: Once you've done all your legwork with the experts, focus. Make a decision on what, when, where and how.

About the book:
Sandra Rinomato, the host of the hit HGTV show Property Virgins, delivers a "realty check" by pointing buyers to homes that fit their budget, satisfy their needs, and most importantly, achieve their goal of home ownership in 'Realty Check - Real Estate Secrets for First Time Home Buyers'.

About Sandra:
Sandra Rinomato, host of the popular television show Property Virgins, has been a property expert in the Toronto area for more than 12 years and has focused her career on achieving the best possible outcome for her clients. Ms Rinomato is also an active fundraiser for charities in the Toronto area.

Visit Sandra online at:
http://www.rinomato.com/