If you are one of the many potential home buyers who are sitting on the fence, I'd like to offer a piece of advice: Now may be the time to jump in and buy a house.

That's because conditions, both interest rates and seller flexibility, are advantageous to buyers like you right now. And if you've never purchased a home, you may be wondering exactly where to begin. There is no shortage of advice, but much of it comes from someone who is trying to sell you something.

If you want to learn more but don't feel confident walking into a real estate office, you are not alone. Here are three steps that will give you information, answer some of your most important questions and still not obligate you to anyone or anything.

• Order a free copy of your credit report. Never before in the history of home lending has your credit score been so important in the loan approval process. Lenders rely heavily on your past credit experiences to predict the likelihood that you will pay on time every month. And all that experience is boiled down to a three-digit number called your credit score. You can get a copy of your credit report for free, and that is the information used to generate your score. You can obtain one free report annually from each of the three major credit reporting agencies by visiting www.annualcreditreport

.com. Your credit report is simply a list of any credit that has been extended to you over the past seven years. It will show all your credit cards, store accounts, lines of credit and past-due bills you may have had. It will also show any public records such as bankruptcy, liens or judgments in your name.

It is important that you review your report for accuracy before you begin the buying process, because an error or discrepancy might lower your score substantially, and mistakes do occur.

• Meet with a loan officer of a major home lender. This may sound threatening, but it's really not. Simply select a local office of a home lender, call them up and request a meeting. Tell them you want to get prequalified before you start your home search, and you want to find out more about the types of loans they have available. It's not important which lender you choose at this point, because you are simply in fact-finding mode and will shop and compare among many lenders when the time comes to source your loan. But that is much later.

Tell the lender that your goal is to find out approximately how much house you could qualify to buy under their most popular loan programs. Have him explain each one to you, and make sure to ask about fixed-rate loans because that is probably what you will want when you find your dream home. At this point, you should show the lender your credit reports, and tell him that you are interested in knowing your credit score. If the lender is serious about wanting your business, he will likely offer to obtain your credit score from each of the three agencies and share that information with you.

Know that home-loan underwriters typically order all three scores, then discard the top and bottom score. In most cases, the middle score is the only one that matters. If your lender doesn't offer to obtain your scores, find another lender.

Once you have obtained your credit score, study the consumer information at www.myfico.com for details about what makes up your credit score and how you can raise it in the future.

• Take a class. The next step is to find a noncredit course in home buying offered by a reputable institution such as a local community college or a local bank or credit union. These courses cover the home-buying journey from beginning to end. Classes are listed in the Free Help for Home Buyers feature elsewhere in this section.

The course should cover financing, qualifying and obtaining a loan. It should talk about the advantages and disadvantages of new construction versus resale homes, examine the roles played by real estate agents and home inspectors, and cover the steps involved in the home-search process.

My experience is that first-time buyers who take advantage of these courses are more confident in their approach to the market and end up making better decisions because they have a clearer understanding of their alternatives.