Ready to find a home? Increase the odds of finding the right home for you, by searching in more than one way. Here are six ways you can try.

1. Find A Home Online

There are a lot of great sites to check out online. One of the best is Realtor.com. You can enter the city and state you are looking in, and get almost every listing in the MLS. Play around with the other tools too, until you learn how to use them. You can narrow the search, for example, to just homes with 3 or more bedrooms, or just homes under a certain price.

2. Look In The Newspaper

Of course you thought of this one, but have you looked in more than one newspaper? In some areas, more sellers may advertise in a cheaper weekly paper than in the most popular daily. Also, don't forget to look at newspapers online. They sometimes archive classified ads for weeks, so you can search for homes still for sale that don't happen to have an ad in this week’s paper edition.

3. Tell People What You’re Looking For

Tell your friends and others you meet what you are looking for in a house. More than one home has been bought because of a casual mention that resulted in someone saying, "Hey, I know of a house like that which will be for sale soon." If you are exploring a neighborhood you like and see a person working in their yard, stop and ask if they know of anyone thinking of selling. Ask about the neighborhood while you’re at it.

4. Drive Around To Find A Home

Looking online, in newspapers, and in MLS listings are good ways to find a home, but there are always some houses that won't be found in these places. Some great homes just have a for-sale sign out front. To find these, you need to get out and look. This is a good idea in any case, because by driving around you can get an idea about which neighborhoods you like.

5. Advertise

Sellers advertise what they have, but buyers can also advertise. This is how I bought my first home. I put an ad in the paper stating what I was looking for, and the next day an older couple called. They had been thinking about selling their home, but hadn't listed it for sale yet. I bought the home a few weeks later. You could also try putting an ad on bulletin boards in the stores around the neighborhoods you like.

6. Have A Real Estate Agent Find A Home For You

A good agent will not only show you all the MLS listings, but will ask around the office. Sometimes other agents know of homes that will soon be for sale. When you use an agent to help you, be very clear about what you want in a home. Tell the agent what is a necessity for you and where you can be flexible. A written list is a good idea if you want the agent to find a home that works for you.

To see a photo of the house we bought for $17,500 and get a free ebook on how to buy Cheap Homes, visit: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com