From Elizabeth Weintraub,
Your Guide to Home Buying / Selling.
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Every state requires slightly different steps to buying a home, although they are basically very similar. Since I am most familiar with the way California does it, here is the path to home ownership in California, broken down into simple steps:

1) Hire a Buyer's Agent

• A buyer's agent will represent you and have a fiduciary responsibility to look out for your best interests.
• Buyer's agents may ask you to sign a buyer's broker agreement, but it is the seller who pays the commission.
• Interview agents until you find an agent you trust and with whom you feel comfortable.
• Once you have settled on an area, try to hire a neighborhood specialist.

2) Get PreQualified / Preapproved

• Order a free credit report online and fix mistakes, if any.
• Ask your agent for a referral to a mortgage broker, but also compare rates offered by your own bank and / or credit union.
• Ask the lender to give you a loan preapproval letter, which means it will verify your income and pull a credit report.
• Determine your maximum loan amount, but choose only a mortgage type that you understand and a payment level with which you feel comfortable, which may very well be less than the maximum for which you are approved.

3) Look at Homes for Sale

• Ask your agent to look at homes for you before showing them to you.
• Narrow your search to those homes that fit your exact parameters to find that perfect home.
• Ask your agent to give you MLS print-outs of comparable sales in your targeted neighborhood.
• Consider all homes on the market, including fixer-upper homes, reos, foreclosures, short sales and those overpriced homes with longer DOM.
• Observe open house etiquette.
• Tell your agent which online home listings you are interested in previewing.

4) Write a Purchase Offer

• Consider writing seller's market offers in sellers markets and buyer's market offers in buyer's markets.
• Select a home offer price based on the amount you feel a seller will accept or counter.
• If you are considering a lowball offer, ask your agent to substantiate this price for you.
• Prepare for multiple offers if the home is considered desirable in a hot location.
• If your offer is rejected, ask your agent to explain why and don't repeat that mistake with your next offer.

5) Negotiate and Write Counter Offers

• Expect the seller to issue a counter offer.
• If the seller counters full price, continue to negotiate.
• During offer negotiation, share personal information about your family to give the seller a reason to care about you.

6) Make an Earnest Money Deposit

• When your offer is accepted, deposit your earnest money check with the appropriate party.
• Do not ever make your check payable to the seller.
• Your offer should contain contingencies that will return your earnest money deposit to you if you cancel the contract.

7) Open Escrow / Order Title

• Your agent or transaction coordinator will open escrow and title, if the listing agent hasn't already done so.
• Ask for the escrow officer's name, phone and escrow file number.
• Give this information to your lender and your insurance agent.

8) Order Appraisal

• Your lender will require an advance payment for the appraisal.
• If you receive a low appraisal, discuss options with your agent.
• Ask for a copy of the appraisal.

9) Comply With Lender Requirements

• Lenders may ask for additional information.
• Do not make home buying mistakes such as altering your financial situation while in escrow.
• When the file is complete, the lender will submit it for final underwriter approval.

10) Approve Seller Disclosures

• Read and question items you do not understand on the TDS, Seller Property Questionnaire, natural hazard report, pest inspection / completion and other documents such as a preliminary title policy.
• Realize you have 10 days to cancel if lead paint is a health hazard.
• Read every document in its entirety; ask questions about all seller disclosures.

Download Sellers' Disclosures

11) Order Homeowner's Insurance Policy

• Order your homeowner's insurance early.
• Sometimes previous claims by a home owner can make it difficult to get insurance.
• Get replacement coverage.

12) Conduct Home Inspection

• Hire a reputable home inspector.
• Bring a home inspection checklist with you.
• Attend the home inspection.

13) Issue Request for Repair

• If the home inspection turns up health and safety issues, issue a request for repair by asking the seller to address those issues or give you a credit for them.
• Realize no home is perfect, and the inspector will find faults.
• Be reasonable.

14) Remove Contingencies

• By default, California C.A.R. contracts give you 17 days to remove contingencies.
• Make sure your loan is firm and the appraisal is acceptable before removing your loan contingency.
• If you do not remove contingencies, the seller can issue a request to perform and then cancel the contract, on top of demanding your deposit.

15) Do Final Walk-Through

• Do not pass up doing a final walk-through.
• Inspect the property to make sure it's in the same condition as when you agreed to buy it.
• If you find a serious issue, address it now before you close.

16) Sign Loan / Escrow Documents

• In southern California, you will sign escrow documents shortly after opening escrow.
• In northern California, you will sign escrow documents along with your loan documents near closing.
• Bring a valid picture ID.

17) Deposit Funds

• Bring a certified check payable to escrow.
• Expect escrow to pad the amount, so you will receive a refund after closing.
• Consider asking your bank to wire the funds to escrow, saving you the hassle of waiting in line at the bank.

18) Close Escrow

• Your property deed, seller's reconveyance and deed of trust will record in the public records.
• Title will notify you and your agent when it records.
• After recordation, unless your contract specifies otherwise, the property is yours -- change the locks immediately.