After divorce ended her very brief but unhappy marriage, a filmmaker felt more celebratory than sad. Without a spouse to challenge her plans, she could finally fulfill her dream of owning a small cottage on a creek near Annapolis.

Given her substantial savings and solid salary from an academic medical center, the filmmaker was able to purchase a compact but stylish contemporary house with waterfront views and boat access. The closing went smoothly, and the woman’s move won the admiration of both family and friends.

This true story doesn’t surprise Andrew Cherlin, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University. A half-century ago, he says most Americans bought a home only after marrying, and those who didn’t wed first were considered “weird.”

“Fifty or 60 years ago, if you weren’t married, people thought you were mentally ill. People thought marriage was the only way to live a successful life,” says Cherlin, an expert on the demographics of marriage and divorce.

Of course, not every unattached person who aspires to homeownership can fund a purchase solo. Nowadays, two healthy paychecks are often necessary to cover the cost of buying in many prime neighborhoods. Compounding the affordability problem, a shortage of inventory -- especially in the starter home segment -- continues to push up prices.

Arlen Olberding, a certified financial planner who counts a number of young singles among his clients, says it's often wise for people with unsettled career plans to postpone homebuying. For example, many singles who expect to make a near-term job change or to soon head back to graduate school should delay.

“Solo buyers are more vulnerable to potential foreclosure if they encounter a layoff,” says Olberding, who’s affiliated with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (napfa.org).

Here are a few pointers for single buyers:

-- Choose a place within your financial “comfort zone.”

Merrill Ottwein, a veteran real estate broker, cautions all buyers -- but especially young singles -- against taking on a mortgage that feels uncomfortably large.

“Decide on your affordability target right from the start, before you go home shopping. After that, don’t let your real estate agent or lender inch you up above your comfort zone,” says Ottwein, a past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

Although lending standards remain stringent, he says it’s still very possible to obtain approval for a mortgage that’s larger than you can reasonably handle. That’s because lenders only see the big picture, and don't factor in all the daily expenses of modern life.

“Being ‘house poor’ is an awful way to live, and can cause lots of fear and anxiety,” Ottwein says.

-- Look for a home a roommate could share.

If you shared dorm space back in college, you may be in no mood to share the home you buy with a roommate who pays you rent. Still, Ottwein encourages young singles to seek a property that would be attractive to a potential housemate -- should they one day need rental income to help offset their mortgage payments.

“Also, a house with two or, ideally, three bedrooms will be easier to sell when you decide to do so,” he says.

What type of home works best for accommodating a roommate? Ottwein suggests a place with a second bedroom suite that includes a private bath, so a roommate could live more independently. Also, an outside entrance to this second suite is ideal.

-- Choose an energy-efficient property.

After moving in, many first-time buyers are surprised by the size of their home upkeep expenses. They hadn’t expected to spend so much for everything from electricians’ bills to mulch for the garden. The size of their energy bills also comes as a shock.

Obviously, some costs associated with homeownership -- such as taxes and insurance -- are unavoidable. But home shoppers can more easily contain their energy expenses by choosing a property that’s well insulated and has substantial, double-pane windows.

“Unless you buy an energy-efficient home, you’ve got a big risk for rising power costs looming ahead,” Ottwein says.

He encourages first-time buyers to educate themselves on the topic of energy efficiency housing by going online. One website that provides information on the subject, energystar.gov, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Also, make sure you ask the home inspector you hire to evaluate the energy efficiency of any property you plan to buy in advance of a final commitment for its purchase.

-- Don’t let homebuying constrain your social life.

You don’t have to live in the immediate vicinity of your friends to stay in touch. But if possible, you’ll want to avoid buying a property many miles from your closest friends, even if that’s the most affordable option.

“Buying a nice house is a wonderful goal, but so is maintaining friendships that can last a lifetime and support your happiness and well-being,” Ottwein says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

A couple in their early 30s -- a writer engaged to a federal employee -- spent months preparing to buy their first jointly owned property. They both clocked hours at second jobs to help build a substantial down payment. They perfected their credit scores and then met with a lender to gain mortgage preapproval.

Just hours after they left their lender’s office, they immediately happened upon a house they loved from the moment they stepped inside. It was a brick colonial with gleaming hardwood floors, an updated kitchen and an artfully landscaped patio. Excitedly, they made a nearly full price offer for the place, which pushed them to the top of their price range.

But will the couple in this true story later suffer buyers’ remorse? Despite their love-at-first-sight feel about the property, should they have done more comparison shopping before bidding on the first house they’d toured with their real estate agent? Should they have thought through the pros and cons of the neighborhood? Longtime real estate pros say only time will tell.

“When I hear buyers have fallen in love with the first house they visited, I cringe. That’s like marrying the first person you’ve ever dated. That person could be absolutely wonderful. But have you had enough experience to know for sure?” says Merrill Ottwein, who heads his family’s real estate brokerage

This year, many buyers are grappling with tight inventory markets, rising mortgage rates and competitive multiple-bidding situations in popular neighborhoods. This buying frenzy is also fueled by home values that are still rising.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (realtor.org), predicts that the volume of home sales will drop slightly this year. But he projects that prices will continue to rise, which only adds to the sense of urgency among buyers determined to make a purchase in coming months.

“Realtors in most of the country continue to describe their markets as highly competitive and fast-moving. But without enough new and existing inventory for sale, activity has essentially stalled,” Yun says.

If you’re seeking to own in a place where demand exceeds supply, it can be tough to guard against a mistaken property selection. Here are a few pointers:

-- Search for an area where properties are selling quickly.

Obviously, those seeking to buy for appreciation potential should avoid neighborhoods where many homes languish unsold for a lengthy time. Indeed, evidence that available properties are snapped up quickly is a strong sign of the desirability of a community.

“You’re unlikely to experience eroding values in any area where homes are flying off the market,” Ottwein says.

How can buyers gauge the velocity of sales in an area they’re considering? He suggests they ask their real estate agent for statistics on “days on market” for homes sold in the area during the past two years or longer. The quicker the sales, the more coveted the community.

-- Screen for pride of ownership.

Though sales statistics and census data speak volumes about a neighborhood, subjective information can be equally meaningful.

Ottwein encourages buyers to stroll through any neighborhood they’re considering to look for signs that residents are committed to upkeep -- including the greenery that surrounds their homes.

“Pride is not an intangible when it comes to real estate. It translates into carefully manicured lawns, fresh paint and the absence of such unsightly clutter as junk cars and beat-up building materials,” he says.

-- Don’t rule out an up-and-coming city neighborhood.

Fred Meyer, a real estate appraiser and broker who sells property near Harvard University, says more Americans are becoming like Parisians in their preference for prime city and semi-city areas over communities deep in the suburbs. And that bodes well for values in popular urbanized areas.

“The outer concentric circles around metropolitan areas won’t appreciate as much in the future,” Meyer says.

One way to identify prime urban or semi-urban communities is to look at data from the U.S. Census Bureau -- available online -- which show where high-income people are living.

Why is a wealthier neighborhood a better bet for appreciation? Because over time, Meyer says, “rich areas tend to progress in value, while poor ones tend to regress in value.”

He advises buyers to choose the wealthiest neighborhood they can afford -- even if that means picking one of the smallest homes there.

“Want good clues to a city neighborhood that should hold and gain in value? See if there’s a Starbucks nearby, or pricey restaurants or an upscale department store. Those are very strong signals,” Meyer says.

-- Choose a home with both now and later in mind.

Ottwein says more purchasers now view real estate as a durable good -- like a car or a refrigerator -- that’s purchased for its utility rather than appreciation. But he says all buyers should also factor in a property’s resale potential.

“A home is the ultimate price-sensitive purchase. Buy it the way you would a growth stock. People who think only about lifestyle get hurt,” Ottwein says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

To fund their retirement and move to a cheaper neighborhood, a couple in their 60s had to liquidate their 1912 colonial. Acting on a professional stager's instructions, the couple cleared away every piece of their furniture and also removed all their art and window coverings. Then the stager arrived with a U-Haul full of her own upscale furnishings.

In this true story, the stager’s magic had a seemingly miraculous result. The first day the house went on the market, it attracted five offers at the list price or above.

Whether the couple buying the property -- a pair of lawyers in their early 30s -- got a fair deal on a solid place without serious flaws won’t be known until after they move in. That’s because when they wrote their all-cash offer, they waived their right to a home inspection.

Given the severe shortage of available housing in popular areas, many buyers are pulling out all the stops to outdo other prospects. But buyer advocates fear some overly accommodating purchasers could get stuck with lemons.

“Without due diligence up front, you could come down with a terrible case of buyers’ remorse later. Once the stager’s glitzy stuff is gone, you might discover that the roof is rotten, the foundation is cracked and the appliances don’t function,” says Tom Early, a real estate broker and past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

Early says that as home staging becomes more prevalent, more buyers are overly influenced by the love-at-first-sight effect that can make a flawed home seem irresistible on the surface. But buyers should probe deeper to ensure that all the home’s fundamentals are in order, lest they are lured into an ill-advised purchase, says Sid Davis, author of “A Survival Guide for Buying a Home.”

Reid Guthrie, an inspector affiliated with the American Society of Home Inspectors (ashi.org), says first-time buyers are especially likely to fall for a property that “shows well.” But disenchantment can soon follow.

“Homebuyers are alternately excited, nervous, terrified and hopeful. Those who’ve become emotionally involved with a place must be especially wary,” Guthrie says.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Take full advantage of your first tour of a property.

Obviously, a buyer can learn much more from visiting a home than by simply seeing it on the internet. And a resourceful purchaser will take full advantage of a visit.

Guthrie, a veteran of the home inspection field, urges buyers to investigate when they see furniture or carpets positioned in unusual ways.

“Sometimes the seller will use throw rugs or pieces of furniture to try to conceal problems or defects,” Guthrie says.

In an older home, a peek under wall-to-wall carpeting will sometimes reveal the happy surprise that the carpet is masking hardwood floors in pristine condition. But in other instances, area rugs are used to conceal problems -- like wood flooring scarred by pets or the over-watering of houseplants.

-- Attempt to measure room sizes yourself.

To make homes look spacious, stagers sometimes clear away all but a few key pieces of furniture per room. And when creating a model home for a builder, they may even bring in scaled-down furniture to give the illusion of enhanced size. To guard against such practices, Davis urges buyers to bring along measuring devices when touring properties.

“For a fairly nominal price, you can now buy laser-distance measuring devices,” he says.

He also suggests you bring to your house tour the measurements of your largest pieces of furniture. This will provide you with a further sense of the scale of a home relative to your belongings.

-- Remember that flowering plants are ephemeral.

During the warmer seasons of the year, home sellers have an easy time showing off colorful flowers outside. All year long, they can position flowers artfully throughout a home’s interior.

Color is a natural magnet for buyer interest, and many are swayed by blooming plants. Even so, Davis says would-be buyers should recognize that many of the plants displayed by home sellers will be short-lived.

“Focus on the bones of the house, not its fleeting embellishments,” he says.

-- Find an inspector who is an eager detective.

Guthrie acknowledges that some in his field are more interested in packing multiple inspections into a day than doing in-depth checks.

“You’ve got to wonder about any inspector who doesn’t want his clients there when he’s going through the house because it will slow him down,” Guthrie says.

As Davis says, a quality inspector is enthusiastic about discovering the inner workings of a home and can prove invaluable to sharp buyers.

Granted, buyers in tight-inventory markets often need to act hurriedly to compete with other contenders. In such cases, it can be realistically important to submit a “clean” offer that’s free of a post-bid home inspection. Still, buyers may have time to arrange for a pre-bid inspection at your own expense.

“Hiring a top-notch home inspector isn’t a waste of money. It’s a very prudent expenditure,” Davis says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)