Most likely your mortgage will prove to be your largest expense

Your mortgage will likely prove to be your largest ever expenditure.

It's generally understood that a mortgage will (almost certainly) be the largest lifetime expense you will voluntarily undertake.
You can also safely assume your mortgage will be your longest held debt.
One certain fact about the matter is that you will absolutely be paying interest the entire time.

We've established a mortgage as the largest expense your ever going to encounter.
That fact alone should be enough to convince you to become acutely aware of what you CAN do to lessen the burden.
You may be aware of some of these, but not others. 
The most important thing to remember is this.

The biggest investment your ever going to make is a mortgage.
Because of this, the amount of work you put into the process, the more you will save.  
Perhaps to the tune of TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars.
Heres a list of ideas that will save you money during the mortgage process.

Decide AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE where you want to live and the kind of home you're looking for.
Know as exactly as possible how much home you can afford.

Get the best real estate professional you can find.
This could prove to be the most significant factor involved. 
When we say the best real estate professional, it's understood that it could be somewhat subjective. But not necessarily, at least to Scrooge.

Questions you have to ask:
How long has he/she been an agent. 
Are you a part-time or full-time agent. 
How many houses have you sold. 
What areas do you usually work.

Perhaps the most important question. If I'm not happy with the service of the agent, am I free to hire someone else?
Most agents don't have a problem with that per se, but they might make you give them some reasonable amount of time (maybe thirty days) to produce results. 
That's not unreasonable.

One last caveat. 
If you do simply go into your nearest real estate office and decide to go with one of their agents (HIGHLY NOT RECOMMENDED) don't let them just assign one of them to you. 
Do your research.
 Online and off. 
Hiring the right agent is again, likely the single most important factor in this entire process.

A fifteen-year mortgage only!
If even remotely possible get a fifteen-year mortgage. 
This could save you anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars!

If that's just not possible you have to ask yourself if you can even really afford the home. 
But if the right house has come along and your going with the thirty-year mortgage read on and at the very least take as full advantage of the following tips.

No PMI! (private mortgage insurance).
If your not putting twenty percent down you MUST pay what is called private mortgage insurance (PMI).
PMI is insurance YOU must pay to insure the risk incurred TO THE LENDER!.
 A financial double whammy.
In other words.
 Don't get a house unless you can put at least twenty percent down.

A bigger down payment.
Nothing will save you more mortgage interest than not paying it in the first place.
It may be more painful, at least temporarily. 
But temporarily doesn't mean forever.
Obviously you don't want to put so much down you have nothing left. 
Everyone needs three-six months living expenses regardless of how stable they feel their job situation is.

Money never borrowed against = money never interest owed on.

Shop around for the best rates.
The first place you should check for a mortgage loan is the bank your already doing business with.
That's the first place but certainly not the last. 
Shop around. 
Ask around.
We'll give one example that best illustrates the point.
According to the Investopedia mortgage calculator:
A seven percent (7%) interest rate on a $250,000 loan (minus 20% down) is).
Total: $1,604.44 per month.
Same scenario as above except the mortgage rate is reduced to six percent (6%). 
Total: $1,472.93 per month.
that a savings of One hundred thirty-one dollars and fifty-one cents ($131.51).

Consider an adjustable rate loan or A.R.M.
As of the time of this writing this could make sense.
With interest rates at an all-time high and expectations that rates are about to be cut it could be an adjustable rate sweet spot. 
 Again this is at the time of this writing. 
 Adjustable rates are virtually always lower than fixed rates (6.14% vs. 6.86% fixed).

 Of course neither you or I know what rates will be in three years, three years is generally how often your mortgage rates are adjusted.
It seems a safe, but not certain bet that they will be less than the 6.86% fixed rate currently offered.
If rates do start creeping up in a few years you can simply switch over to a fixed rate mortgage or refinance.

WARNING. We are talking about adjustable rate mortgages and NOT INTEREST ONLY LOANS.

If your the buyer, negotiate hard!
It's a buyer's market at the moment. 
In sharp contrast to the absolute sellers market it has been in more recent times.
Now, if you happen across the home of your dreams you might not be alone.
But that's typically not the case.
 If for instance  you find the right home first ask your agent if they feel it's fairly priced.
Nows the time, as negotiations begin in earnest, that you should be taking note of every issue of concern i.e. roof damage, siding repair, etc.
Negotiating for price is a common part of the real estate game.
 An asking price of $250,000 negotiated down to $220,000 represents $30,000 that never was.
It's a buyers marker. 
Negotiate hard.
Not negotiating hard may be the most overlooked aspect of the real estate process.

Don't buy a house you can't sell! Whatever home you settle on make sure its's something you can expect to resell when and if that time comes.
Theres numerous ways to save money and nearly all of them at least contribute to some money saved.
So take as full advantage as much you can.