There’s a reason that buying a home is one of the most important elements comprising the “American Dream” (even for people who live in other countries). For many people, this exciting event is a hallmark of having “arrived,” of reaching a major one of life’s cornerstone.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to find the best house or condo for the best price, with the best possible mortgage rates. Since this is likely to be one of the single biggest purchases of your life, it’s important to arm yourself with as much information and know just what to look for, what to avoid, and how to find the most competitive mortgage.

Buying a home is an experience that everyone who wants to have really should be able to enjoy. See if these suggestions help.

Reasons to Buy
Savings: The money you were paying in rent is now building equity in your property. Owning a home allows you to deduct the interest from your mortgage, which can lower your tax bill when April 15 rolls around.

Wealth Accumulation: When your home appreciates in value, you have equity. This equity translates to profit when you sell your home (it’s the difference between what you originally paid and your selling price). In many markets, the value of real estate appreciates by as much as 4 percent each year, and often a lot more.

The ABCs of 123s

Although most homebuyers start by shopping for a home first, the truth is that the first thing you should get in line is your financing: In other words, how are you going to pay for your dream to become reality?

Although using a “canned” mortgage calculator—entering your monthly income and bills into a work sheet while ruminating about your general price range—can provide you with a basic understanding of what you may be looking out as you begin your search, these things don’t provide an in depth look at all the mortgage options that are available to you.

Getting pre-approval means you’re approved for a specific loan amount. At the end of the process, you are pre-approved for a home costing up to that purchase price. Pre-approval is win-win for the prospective homebuyer, because you know how much you can borrow, the real estate agent who knows precisely what price range homes for you to consider, and even more importantly, the seller who, if he has more than one offer, is likely to look with favor upon your preapproved offer versus one from a party who has not been preapproved.

Your favorite virtue.
Patience, of which I possess ‘zero,’ but I’m working on it.

Your favorite quality in a person.
Honesty, loyalty, sincerity, and being able to make a hell of a Carbonara.

Your chief characteristic.
Organization. Also, the ability to find someone else’s strengths and talents and help them to make the most of the gifts with which they’ve been gifted.

Something you appreciate most in your friends.
Kindness and understanding (I need them both in large helpings). Being able to forgive, and, if not forget, at least to give me more latitude next time. (I’ll do the same for you: we’re only human, baby.)

Your main fault.
I have an excess of energy, and I like to be busy all the time with numerous projects, but it can drive the people around me crazy trying to keep up because of the ninety irons I have in the fire at any given time.

A fault you can’t tolerate in other people.  
When a person thinks he or she “knows it all.” When you stop learning, they put you into six feet of cold ground. Buh-bye. We should all continue to learn and grow and to help others.

Your favorite occupation.
Exactly what I’m doing now, but with an extra fifteen hours in the day to get it done!

Your idea of happiness.
Being at the peak of health and at the top of my professional game, surrounded by friends, family, and the people I love: not too much different from the reality I’m blessed to enjoy in this life.

Your idea of misery.  
The absence of love.

A person you would be, if not yourself.
Someone who wanted to be just like me! (Immodest?)

Your favorite food and drink.
With a last name like “Marzola,” do you even need to ask? (Hint: foods that end in a vowel– Italian!) And I do enjoy my Grey Goose martinis with stuffed bleu cheese olives.

Your ideal place to live.
I think that home is where your heart is, and your heart is full of the numerous blessings you enjoy at any given moment in time.

Your favorite color.
Is chartreuse a color or an ice cream flavor? I’ll stick safely with “royal blue.”

Your favorite author(s).  
Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Joel Osteen, Donald Trump (sometimes), Carlos Castaneda. I also like Shakespeare, but gave up a while ago trying to get my “thees” and “thous” straight.

Your heroes in film.  
Indiana Jones, Rhett Butler, Tom Cruise in “Top Gun,” and the character Charles Bronson played in all his movies.

Your heroes in real life.  
My parents and grandparents—remember I’m Italian: it’s all about family. Also first responders (fire fighters, police officers, ambulance drivers, and paramedics). And everyone who gets up every day and works to support themselves or their family with a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts.

Something you hate.
Hate is a strong word. But I have no
tolerance for intolerance.

Your present state of mind.
“I like to think sane and happy, but not quite content: there’s still so much to accomplish.
The natural talent you’d like to be
gifted with.
The ability to time travel, so I could squeeze an extra seven or eight hours out of the day.

How you’d like to die.  
At the age of 155, in the arms of a 70-
year-old “younger guy” at the hands of his jealous boyfriend.

The reform you admire the most.  
I admire any person who makes the conscious decision to reinvent himself, whether getting a higher education at 50, or shedding some pounds to improve your health or the way you think of yourself, or deciding that a new career for a new year is just what the doctor ordered. (And if that’s the case: call me! I’m always looking to meet smart and enthusiastic men and women who are looking to make their career in a field that makes success stories every day—God isn’t making any more real estate!)

Your Personal Motto.
Daddy’s buying…this time only, boys!