If you've been considering the purchase of a home, the deal of a lifetime - or at least of the decade - might literally be around the corner. Low mortgage rates and stable home prices in most parts of the U.S. and Canada are combining to make the present the ideal time to take a shot at the everyone's dream - home ownership.

Real estate experts, including the National Association of Realtors, say that the combination of many factors is creating a good climate for home-buying opportunities. With home affordability at 132.0 (December 1997), the Association says that half the families in the nation had at least 132 percent of the income needed to qualify for the purchase of a home with a median price of $125,800. This means that first time buyers are being targeted by Realtors and sellers to draw them into the market.

"Today's real estate market is indeed wide open to first-time buyers in many parts of the country," says Kenneth Austin, chairman of HouseMaster®, North America's premier home inspection company. "But they need to be aware of some of the lesser-known, hidden factors often involved in a first home purchase."

A home's condition, he says, is one area of potential concern that many who are new to the home-buying process are unaware of. "For example, the condition of a house is not taken into consideration by the mortgage lender, so it isn't factored in with fixed expenses."

This can become a problem, considering the fact that two out of five - or 40 percent - of homes for sale have at least one serious defect when they go on the market. Those defects, Austin adds, can cost anywhere from $500 on up, depending on the particular situation.

Austin, whose U.S. and Canadian network of more than 270 home inspection offices that inspect residential properties for buyers and sellers, cites the following as a sampling of common defects found in resale homes and what they typically cost to repair or replace:

• Asphalt shingle roof, between $1,500 and $2,200

• Electrical service upgrade, between $600 and $1,200

• Shower pan, between $900 and $1,600

• Warm air furnace, between $1,500 and $1,800

• Inadequate attic insulation, between $800 and $1,100

• Air-conditioning compressor, between $800 and $1,200

Condition is becoming a major factor in determining how good a deal a particular home actually is, Austin says. "It becomes even more important for first-time buyers who are often stretched to the max financially after putting up the down payment."

Many young couples who buy their first home are often unaware of what to look for with regard to the mechanical systems, structure and foundation in a house. "And unless they've availed themselves of a pre-purchase inspection," he says, "their first inkling of a problem comes during a rain storm or cold snap." A better scenario, Austin advises, is for the Realtor and the seller to inform a potential buyer of existing conditions and what is involved in correcting them. If sellers have their homes inspected at the time of listing, they can - in a factual, rather than emotional way - explain to the buyer that either the price has been adjusted to reflect the cost of the repair, or, that the owners will make the repairs.

"A home inspection ordered by the seller at the time of listing can give the seller an added advantage because it allows a buyer - first time or move up - to make a more realistic comparison between homes they are considering," he adds. "The more educated a buyer is, the better it is for everyone in the long run."

And condition is a factor in homes of all ages, says Austin, even in homes that have been well maintained. HouseMaster's technical staff has compiled data on resale home defects based on the age of a home compiled from the 750,000 home inspections they've performed.

For example, basement water penetration is the most common problem found in homes of all ages: Making the necessary repairs can cost anywhere from $600 to $800 to install a sump pit/pump, to $3,500 to $5,000 for waterproofing. Mixed plumbing - meaning a combination of materials, such as copper, brass and lead - is found in 44.2 percent of homes 30 years and older, but rarely in homes less than 12 years old.

"In today's economy, most families have little room in their household budgets for surprises, particularly costly ones, which home repairs often are," Austin says.

"The old expression that the three most important factors involved in buying a home - 'location, location, location' - has been changed, meeting today's realities, to 'location, location, condition'."