Anyone want to start a Key Post for first time buyers?

A few fairly basic questions have been asked in this thread.

anyone care to start a Key Post on the topic?

You don't need to be an expert. You don't need to know everything.

Just lay out the thread in a systematic manner and you can edit it later in the light of corrections and comments.

Come on folks, there must be someone out there with an hour or two on their hands!