Exciting AND nerve wracking, eh? I remember, bought my first - and only - house 4 years back. I STILL can't believe it some days! I had lived in 4 different apartments over 16 years.

Use your realtor and your lawyer; the realtor is already paid so make him / her work for it. Don't hesitate to ask a THING! The lawyer, well, this is NOT the place to save money. In the long run, it pays off.

I'm not sure where youa re at. East of the Mississippi, lawyers are used lots in home buying. West of the Miss., lawyers are not used. So if you in an area where they are not used, that is OK. But USE your realtor!

All of my apts., the rent included all the utilities, too. Boy, was I bowled over by the mail the first 3 months. Electric, gas, cable TV, ISP, telephone - local and long distance, real estate tax, water and sewer, home owners insurance, AND the mortgage payment! I found it easiest to put the bills on direct debit, as many as I could anyhow. Can't do that for the mortgage. And it seemed they all came at different times of the month and were due on different dates. Getting those bill payments automated helped me a lot.

If you are planning to paint any of the rooms, do that before you move in if at all possible. Especially if you are painting yourself! It is SO much easier; wish I had. I actually carried the house and my apartment for 2 months to get everything organized. (Closed Nov 1, moved by Dec 31) But that was because the house was closer to a "fixer upper" and needed some work done before we COULD move in. Just wish I had known to be painting while the contractor was doing the other stuff.

My house is 1.5 miles from the apartment I was living in. So I moved almost everything myself and the last minute hired movers for 4 hours to move the big things. That worked out very well. Finished moving smaller stuff over the next few days after that.

There's a few things you can double up on at the start, it will work it's way out in a few months. Things like toilet paper, paper towels, even some cleaning supplies. You have them already at the apt., yeah, but just buy some for the house. That way you aren't haulling them back and forth a thousand times as you clean out the apartment. Also think about a few towels so you can shower at either place. Moving can be dirty work!

That's all I can think of just now.