I attended a house hunting seminar that was put on by a real estate firm in town.  It was free to the public, so I thought it would be in my interest to attend.  They were covering the process of finding a house, getting a mortgage, and purchasing a home through a realtor using the Internet - it definitely had some potential.

The presentation ended up lasting about an hour.  They showed us some of the websites that the public could use to look at real estate - independent of the place you live.  They also touched on the benefits and risks for finding property through an online option and some great tips on how to get a good home through an auction.

They touched on applying for a mortgage online and showed us a real world example of an online application.  They used the Connecticut mortgage rates in their example to show what a family could afford for a mortgage based on their income.  We also learned how much you can save if the interest rate on your mortgage drops half a point - man was I surprised.

At the end of the presentation there was an open question and answer period.  They were also looking for people that were interested in purchasing a home - I guess that is why the presentation was free.