We bought a house just last year and it took a good part of 2009 to complete the sale but I think we had a pretty good experience.
We did our own research on houses that looked interesting online. I looked on every website known to man for our area, Alsace, specifically Haut-Rhin, Trois Frontières.
Our area is not known for its good deals because we are so close to the Swiss border, but the market is a bit down (or it was at the time).
I think we got lucky with the real estate agent who sold us our house for two reasons. One he just happened to be an honest hard working guy (apparently that's hard to find according to the posts here). Two he is a childhood acquaintance of my husband (that sort of stuff goes a long way in our area).
We were shown a lot of houses by different agents. Some of them didn't seem very competent at all. Others may have been who knows...
I remember that it helped to know people who were familiar with various home builders or were in the trades. People who could look at the electrical set up for example and tell you if it was in good shape.
Asking neighbors and nearby locals about the property saved us a few times (my husband's family has been here for generations so no problem there). If there is a property nearby that is in bad shape and uninhabited, it's good to know if there are heirs and what could happen to it for example.
Sometimes they know the person who built the house you are interested in or renovated it last and can tell you about the guy who did the work. Everyone over here knows everyone's business it seems.
The inspection reports were helpful too.
Also the notaire doesn't always check every detail in the contract. Like if the owner states something, it is usually accepted as fact (at least that was our experience) so if the owner states that the house is hooked up to the city plumbing and there appear to be wells on the property, check with the city.
In cases like these you can have the estimated costs to do the work removed from the selling price.
And (at least for me being an American) everything seems to take a lot longer than in the US.
Good luck with your house hunting!
Suzele
Changing Perspectives: Looking at Life from Different Angles