Building a quality trustworthy team is not always simple and it takes work to maintain the team (even local takes work to maintain a quality team).As for buying your primary residence I have two considerations: 1) how long do you plan to live in the area 2) how are the long term appreciation outlook (in LA the long-term appreciation outlook historically has been excellent). 

Obviously, excellent credit is a MUST!

In fact I went 3 steps further and mapped out 4 scenarios in an Excel spreadsheet if anyone is interested.

I was iuyn Florida recently and visited the Habitat for Humanity outlet stores, they has excellent prices on both new and used items for houses.

Excellent customer service both by email and by phone, and I've spoken to a customer service rep even on a weekend.

EXCELLENT ADVICE! 

Three people I think are most helpful in negotiation and sales are the following:Zig ZiglarTom HopkinsRoger DawsonThe above three can be found on Amazon and get a Kindle $10 a month and really learn sales negotiationMike Terry and Tim Ferry are  real estate agent trainers and they are excellent as far as doing with objectionsAnd I think I'm pretty good at teaching negotiation for sword financing deals or low equity dealsFree video on negotiation http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/3/blog_posts/41...

And it gives you an excellent reason to discount the price, as many will be wary of such a cloud on title that they won't extend any offer.  

It was a deal for a four-plex that I negotiated an excellent price on that made the owner very happy (he was tired of being a landlord and he got royally screwed by his previous tenants).

If you have Excel, there is a template for loan ammortization.