Your search is finally over. You've found what you hope is the perfect home and now you've got to lock in what you hope will be the perfect price. You can ease much of the stress involved in making an offer to purchase a new home with some research and preparation.

Get pre-qualified. Long before you place an offer on a property, you should compare mortgage options and get pre-qualified by the lender you choose. Sellers often get frustrated spending time considering an offer from a buyer if they find out during negotiations that they have no loan commitment to back them up.

Know the current market. A buyers market can happen when there is a large inventory of houses available and sales are slow. In this kind of market, you may be successful with an offer even lower than the asking price. In a sellers market, the number of properties for sale is usually lower and prices tend to be higher. In this market, you could find yourself in bidding wars so be very cautious.

Look for the motivated seller. A motivated seller is someone a bit more eager to close the deal on a property and because of that will often accept a lower purchase price. Motivations can include financial difficulties and job relocations.

Know how long the property has been listed. Sellers tend to be more willing to deal if their property has been on the market for a long period of time. Keeping a home in good showing condition and being flexible to entertain buyers--often at last minute notice--can take a toll on a seller making them more eager to make a sale.

Check sales of comparable properties. Find out what similar homes have sold for in the area in recent months. While each home is certainly unique, you should still be able to make some decent cost comparisons to help you make a reasonable and fair offer.

Remember contingencies. Be sure you make your offer subject to certain conditions being met so that you protect yourself from problems down the road. This can include the offer being contingent on approval of your financing, subject to the sale of your existing home or subject to a satisfactory property inspection. Property condition is a major consideration in your offer so be sure an inspection is part of your plan.

Final reality check. After you've asked all of the good questions and done your research, take some time and really think about your offer. Do you feel you can handle the payments if your offer is accepted? Have you done some shopping to compare prices? Are you ready for the responsibilities of owning a home? It's easy to feel pressured or rushed into making an offer to purchase a home, especially in a sellers market or during a period of rising interest rates. It's important to be sure you are comfortable and ready before you take the big step, it'll make your new home much more enjoyable to live in for years to come.