Aleks and Bobby, the story of first-time home buyers

Meet Bobby and Aleks. He's 27. She's 24. He's a personnel recruiter. She does development and fundraising work for nonprofits. They're getting married this September after a five-year relationship. They want to buy their first house before then.

We're going to follow them as they do. Bobby and Aleks have agreed to let me blog about every step of their homebuying process so that you can get a window into one of the most complicated financial decisions a person (or couple) will ever make. A few other things you should know before we get started:

Bobby and Aleks live in Lowell, Mass., about a half-hour outside Boston. The Boston area is still one of the most expensive in the country to buy a home despite the depressed housing market. Lowell is significantly cheaper than Boston but there are still headaches: condo fees can push a mortgage payment up by about 50 percent. They're in a good position, though: they're already pre-approved for a mortgage of up to $200,000, even as it's tough for many people to find a loan. They expect to spend between $150,000 and $175,000 for a condo or between $175,000 and $200,000 for a single family.

You'll get regular updates on their search here, and I'll tag all of those posts under Aleks and Bobby to make them easy to find. If you have any questions for them, feel free to post in the comments section.