I suspect you won't like this answer, but here goes: get yourself a good real estate agent. Specifically one who specializes in the neighbourhood or neighbourhoods you're interested in buying in (ours had sold stuff there and lived there). Yes, it adds somewhat to the cost, but it's really worth it to find places you won't be able to find on your own, and to anticipate pitfalls you might not figure out until it's too late. Hell, we knew exactly which condo we wanted, but we still found our real estate agent helpful on the buying end (he was more than helpful on the selling end).

-J