Last week, we talked about how a real estate professional can assist you in finding a home and how to know when you have found the right one for you. This week I want to look at all the key members of your home-buying team and decide how to locate the various players.

If you are a typical home buyer, you will probably benefit from visiting the following service providers:

•  Accountant or tax preparer. It's probably a good idea to start here, even before you meet with a lender or an agent. The question you need to ask is "how much will I really benefit from owning rather than renting a home?" Some local gurus claim that the deductibility of home mortgage interest is overrated, but the truth is that the benefit will vary based on your income and your financial picture. And your tax preparer can help you perform a projection of your individual benefit based on a home purchase over a period of years.

• Home mortgage lender. In this initial meeting, your goal is to review your credit history and score and get an idea of what type of loan you might qualify for. Find out now if your credit scores will hurt your chances, and you can talk openly with your lender about how to overcome these hurdles. In addition, a good lender may recommend consolidating certain debts or paying off others to make your overall financial picture look more acceptable.

This meeting, called an "informal loan prequalification," is not a formal application. It should cost you nothing and may even be completed over the phone. Since rates are so similar across the industry, any reputable lender will suffice here. But at the end of the meeting, you should have a very good idea of what you will likely need for a cash down payment and what your monthly payments may be.

•  Real estate professional. Because you will have so much direct contact with this person and because their recommendations will directly affect your home buying experience, I recommend that you interview several agents before finally selecting just one to be your buyer's representative.

Ask for recommendations from friends, associates and professionals you know and trust. Find out who has the best reputation in the areas you seek. Meet and talk with each over coffee and ask them to tell you about their background and professional experiences. You will learn a lot about each other during these brief meetings. If it feels right, spend an afternoon with the agent looking at several homes and see if you have a comfort level.

Once you have found that right agent, talk with him about his company's policies regarding buyer representation. Even though an agent's sales commission is almost always paid by the seller, the agent may or may not be representing you in the transaction. The only way to be sure of your standing is to select one agent to represent you in your search and sign a buyer brokerage agreement with that agent. While there is nothing wrong with working under a so-called "traditional" model, I believe there are substantial benefits to having your own buyer's agent. Chief among them is an obligation to promote and protect your best interests during the transaction. Besides you are, in effect, paying the commission in the purchase price anyway.

•  Real estate attorney. I recommend that you get the names of several experienced real estate attorneys from the lender you met earlier and be ready to have one review your offer to purchase before you sign on the dotted line. Real estate attorneys want to handle your closing and will likely help you review your offer by phone and by fax for about $100 if they can expect your loan closing.

You need to have an attorney review your offer because only a licensed attorney is qualified to interpret legal documents and give you legal advice. While agents receive valuable training on how to fill in contracts and present offers, they are not authorized to write those contracts or give legal advice. Smart agents welcome input from their client's counsel, and you should take advantage of this support.

•  Home inspector. After you have found a home and placed it under a purchase contract, you will want to have it inspected so you know what you are getting. I believe that a qualified inspector plays an important part in the home-buying process. But sometimes, inspectors take on a role of deal breaker by frightening potential buyers with nightmare scenarios and insisting on perfection in the house being inspected.

Look for a seasoned home inspector who sees his role in its proper perspective. A good inspector will know the difference between a major structural defect and a minor annoyance that is part of the ownership experience. It is simply inappropriate for an inspector to inform a potential homeowner that he has a right to insist that a leaky faucet be repaired or he should not buy that particular house. Instead, the inspector's job is to note the leaky faucet and perhaps comment that many homes have leaky faucets today.

Next week: Preparing for the day of closing.

 John Adams is a broker and investor. You can visit his Web site at www.money99.com.