By KARAN MINNIS,Guardian Lifestyles Reporter,karan@nasguard.com

There's no doubt about it, the thought of turning a key in the lock to your own home is an exciting prospect. After all, you've always dreamed of having a place that you can call your own. But buying a home can be stressful — especially when you're purchasing one for the first time. According to Cara Christie, estate agent rentals manager at HG Christie Ltd Real Estate, knowing what to expect when you look into purchasing your own home can make it a lot easier.

"Despite what everyone is saying, [this year] will be a great year to purchase a new home — especially if it's your first home," she says. "The government has really made it a lot easier for first time homeowners to buy a home and to keep it. It's just a matter of putting yourself in the position to take advantage of that."

The government has increased the stamp tax exemption for first time home buyers from 250,000 to $500,000, which is a huge savings. If you purchase a home for $400,000 you will see a savings of $20,000, which is five percent of the closing costs.

Prior to this exemption, any house valued at $250,000 and more was charged a 10 percent flat rate stamp tax

To ensure that you can take advantage of this, Christie says you need to know what you can afford to spend on a house. "Before you start looking for a home the first thing you need to do is go to the bank and find out how much money you can qualify for, so that you [don't] start looking at homes that are above your price range," she says.

"Next you need to find the right agent to work with. I always suggest working with one agent during the searching process because when you work with more than one, you don't really develop the great working relationship that you would want."

Christie cautions that all agents are not the same, and that it's important that you find and work with a licensed agent. "Do not start by believing that all real estate agents are the same and that they all hold a real estate license. That's [simply] not true. There are persons out there who not qualified to be an agent [who] act as agents and that's not something you want to deal with." She encourages you to speak with the person, then do your research to ensure that they are indeed licensed.

"Also, you don't want to just go with the cheapest and most eager agent you can find. Select an agent based on what you need and what they can offer," she says.

Christie says a knowledgeable real estate agent guides you through the process of buying a home and makes the process much easier — assistance which she says can be especially helpful to a first-time home buyer.

"In particular, an agent or broker can help you determine your housing needs, show you several properties and neighborhoods in your price range, suggest sources and techniques for financing, prepare and present an offer to purchase and act as an intermediary in negotiations, all while providing you with insight into neighborhoods and market activity, which you'll need to make good decisions."

Once you find the house you want to purchase, Christie says you should have it inspected by a contractor. "It's important that before you sign off on anything, that the house you want be inspected inside and out by a contractor." She says it doesn't matter if you use a contractor that you know, but that it's imperative that the house is checked out before you purchase it.

"In general I think Bahamians are very cautious when purchasing a home and they usually have to check out what they're thinking about purchasing, but really that should be a standard," she says. "You really don't want any huge surprises to pop up after you buy a home."

Christie says what should be taken into account also is whether you can afford to make the monthly payments on the home you purchase.

"I personally see home ownership as an investment — however, if you can't afford a home or can only afford the down payment only to be lost each month when it comes down to the monthly expenses, then you're not ready for a home," she says. Therefore, it's important to be smart with your purchase. You really don't want to buy something you can't really afford, only to lose it within a year or two. When you buy a home its should a long-term investment."