The only advice I can offer, listen to the people on the forum, you will get a good cross section of opinions, both optimistic and pessimistic but I have learnt that they actually know what they are talking about even if its not what you want to hear.
The best advice I have been given while I am searching and waiting for the boat I want is " Take your time, look at/read the details about, as many boats as you can, even trolling through various web pages can give you an insight to what to expect for a given budget ( search filters are a handy tool)