https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 25 Apr 2026 23:41:17 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2236450 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 15:37:57 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2236450@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It took us for ever and 12 failed offers before we got a house. When we did finally have the winning bid DH and I weren't all that excited. It's a sellers market up here. We went against nine other offers and won with $140k over ask. Stupid.<br /> I'm excited for you guys! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2236442 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 15:09:26 +0000 psw27 2236442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started looking in December, put an offer in in January, it fell through in February and we put another offer in on a place in March... we were supposed to close in June but it has been delayed because of construction issues. So... you have to be prepared for a lot of hiccups and it can be stressful. I would definitely talk to your landlord about your flexibility on your housing. We sold our house and now we are moving into temporary housing for a month, which is a complete pain in the bum. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2236436 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 14:59:31 +0000 Mrs. J 2236436@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We thought it would take us a year. We started looking in late winter, by April/May we had our inspection, and we closed in July. It went a lot faster than we thought! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2236123 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 10:55:09 +0000 snowjewelz 2236123@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We need to move in by May; so we started look the Aug before, closed by March I think and had 2 months to renovate. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2236074 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 10:20:53 +0000 sapphire 2236074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started looking about 4 months before we wanted to move. At about 5 months before we started the pre-approval process. We ended up buying new construction though and thus the process was quick and easy. Now we just wait while our house is built. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235905 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 08:40:40 +0000 catlady 2235905@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It took us 7 months between starting the process and actually getting an offer on a house accepted. Some of our delays were:<br /> - Switched our real estate agent (after he cost us the first house we put an offer in on)<br /> - Switched the towns we were looking in<br /> - Switched lender bank<br /> - Once we finally had our ducks in a row, we had to make three more offers before finally getting a house </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235863 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 08:05:10 +0000 ValentineMommy 2235863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I decided on a Tuesday that I wanted to buy a home. Wednesday started looking. Thursday saw my house and put in an offer. Friday it was approved.</p> <p>Lol it was a whirlwind! I'm still here 8 years later and love it more all the time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235860 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 08:02:43 +0000 Chillybear 2235860@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you're undecided between two areas now would be the time to do the research and soul searching and narrow down to one location. </p> <p>in our experience we were buying in 2009 when there was an $8k credit. By the end of august we decided to contact our realtor (family friend) and do all the preliminary pre approvals. We had been living in an apt in the area for the past year so we were familiar with the neighborhoods and had been keeping an eye on the market for a few months. We looked at houses all through September and almost gave up until a house dropped in price right into our budget. we made an offer at the end of september and closed in mid november. </p> <p>6 years later, we're quickly outgrowing our house and looking to move again. This past march our realtor came out and assessed our house and we came up with a time line to help us get it listed next March. The problem I'm finding is the type of house I want to move into is nearly impossible to find in our neighborhood in our budget. Almost everything is Ranchers and Splits with only 3 bedrooms and needs tons of updating. so we're also at an impasse of looking outside our current area. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235806 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 07:17:58 +0000 mrsjyw 2235806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We got our pre-approval from the bank in early spring, started actively looking in April, found our house in July, Closed a month later in August and moved in September.</p> <p>It was a buyers' market at the time, and it still took several months for us to find our house! It was during the first-time home buyers' credit time.</p> <p>When we bought our investment property in 2013, we got our preapproval, looked for a few weeks, and closed shortly thereafter, I think the whole process was 2 months max. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235707 Tue, 14 Jul 2015 03:31:09 +0000 MenagerieMama 2235707@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went from preapproved to closing in about a month! Put an offer on the first house we looked at. Not a timeline I would recommend and it isn't our forever house or forever city so that made it a bit easier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235611 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 22:07:17 +0000 agold 2235611@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't use a realtor at all when we purchased our home. We looked at open houses and searched redfin. I would contact the seller's realtor directly if I wanted to see a house that wasn't scheduled to be open. We ended up using the seller's realtor to act as my buyer's agent when we did purchase a house and saved several thousand dollars off the transaction. The transaction took three months because we purchased a short sale. I would do it the same way next time (minus the short sale, if we can avoid it.)</p> <p>I would only use a realtor to help me search if I thought there might be "pocket listings" that I don't know about and would want to know about. Best of luck with your house search! That's so exciting! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235604 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 21:56:36 +0000 Foodnerd81 2235604@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think you should start going around to open houses now. For me that was the best way to see what you can get for how much in what area, without any pressure. We went to a whole bunch of open houses, put in one offer, which we did not get (and are now really glad we didn't) and decided we were better off renting for a few more years. Our market is silly right now- places sell for above the asking price before the open house! We did end up buying because the owner of our rental decided to sell but we still like going to open houses to see what's available in our neighborhood. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235590 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 21:36:53 +0000 Mrs. Peanut 2235590@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would start now. It took us 6 months until we closed on our house. If you get something like a short sale or a foreclosure, it can take way longer. One thing I learned is always to expect the unexpected! Crazy things will come up. We were technically homeless for 5 weeks due to our lease! Luckily, we didn't have any LOs, so we stayed with family without too many issues. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235549 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 20:39:42 +0000 Modern Daisy 2235549@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You should start looking now! It's never too early to start educating yourself. We started looking about 1 year out and when our house came on the market we knew it was the one and pounced! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235536 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 20:05:37 +0000 Grace 2235536@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had been looking at open houses for at least a year. It wasn't with intent to buy - it was just fun and a way to spend Sunday afternoon. I met our realtor at one of them. Told her we weren't looking to buy, just looking. She signed us up for MLS email listings and promised not to bug us. One day we saw a house we wanted. Called her up to look at it again, got preapproves for mortgage and made an offer. It was a sellers market, so there was a specific day to put your offer in. We didn't get the house. A month later, we saw a house on kijiji and bought it (our mortgage preapproval was still good). We used our realtor to sell the condo. This was possible because it was a sellers market and we didn't have to worry about buying the house and the condo not selling. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235528 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 19:43:02 +0000 DesertDreams88 2235528@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We got preapproved in mid-july, and used the next 4 weeks to visit 18 houses and put down 6 offers. In our location, the market moves extremely fast, and we have to be willing to put down an offer the day off viewing. Do we have offers were turned down. And three were accepted all around the same time, the two of them were backup Offers where we were the next in line, essentially. We were under contract after a month, and closing the deal took the standard 30 days. There were there were some hiccups at the end that scared us and could have pushed out our timeline. I thought that we moved at a good pace, but we probably couldn't have moved any faster. It was basically 60 days from our initial meeting with the mortgage lender to having the house keys in our hand.</p> <p>Factors affecting this time line: our market is extremely fast we don't have children so we have a flexible house viewing, we had two weeks off of work with which to look at houses, and our house buying was not contingent on selling a house (we lived in an apt prior.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235478 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 18:37:44 +0000 sunny 2235478@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would add to @Mrs D's comments about realtors that even if they are recommended, never forget that their interests are not aligned with yours and they are not a fiduciary for you. Their goal is to get you to buy a house, any house, and quickly. They will recommend offer prices with a high likelihood of being successful. An unscrupulous one may even disclose your "max price" if you mention it in confidence. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235469 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 18:19:04 +0000 clover 2235469@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Both times I started looking at the areas I was interested in and seeing what houses were going for approx 6 months before. I didn't contact a realtor and start touring houses until I would've been ready to make an offer. No point in getting your heart set on a house that won't be there for you when you're finally ready. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235451 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:55:37 +0000 Mrs D 2235451@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@birdofafeather: I like Zillow a lot. When you see houses in the neighborhoods and what not that you like look at their price history - that way you can see what they listed at, what they sold at and when they listed compared to when they sold. You can also see tax information.</p> <p>Realtors will also give you good info but they are salesmen at the end of the day. If you dont have a referral (i.e. someone is telling you that you can trust this person) I would be more concerned about how much they are selling you.</p> <p>Its important to remember they work for YOU. You still have the final say. I have gotten in many of arguments with realtors over offfers they thought would be perceived as offensive and were hesitant to write for fear of the seller walking. This is when I remind them that they work for me and if they wont write it I'll find someone who will.</p> <p>Not saying all realtors are bad - but if you dont know one personally I would take what they say with a bit of a grain of salt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235448 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:50:30 +0000 yoursilverlining 2235448@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think so much of the timeframe depends on how picky you are with finding a home that has what you want, how picky you are about specific neighborhoods, school districts, etc. </p> <p>It took us over 2 years of actively looking to find out home, but we saw plenty of great homes in that time - just not great for us homes.</p> <p>Never too early to pull a copy of your credit report and make sure it's clean and your scores are decent/work on them if you need to. </p> <p>You could always start going to open houses just to start getting a sense of what you can expect to get for $X. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235441 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:41:31 +0000 Corduroy 2235441@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Get a good realtor if you want to move fast. We spent over a year with our first realtor. DH and I looked at hundreds of houses (many without the realtor). We wrote 11 offers and didn't get anything in our sellers market. We changed realtors and a month an a half later moved into our new house. In our market it was all about who your realtor knew since they're all trying to get commission for their freinds/associates. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235440 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:40:19 +0000 sunny 2235440@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think it hurts to look casually and go to open houses when you have time since you can get a feel for how far your money goes in various neighborhoods, as well as see what you like and don't like about homes. </p> <p>We looked very casually for about a year and then seriously for a month (eg. Seeing with a realtor and not just going into open houses) before finding our home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235432 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:28:40 +0000 birdofafeather 2235432@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: so this is probably a dumb question, but how would i find out about my particular market? i'm assuming contacting a realtor, but i'm early in the process and don't want to start getting the hard sell or inundated with info.... it's like when DH go to dealerships to look at cars a year before we want to actually buy... those sales people either dial it in and give us their hard sell or basically ignore us! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235416 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:04:18 +0000 Mrs D 2235416@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it depends on your market and location specifically.</p> <p>With our first house, it took us 6 months of actively looking and making offers before we were successful in getting a house. Before that we had spent 3-4 months researching the areas, mortgage options and putting together a budget. I highly recommend you find a mortgage lender you like and trust - they love to tell you "oh you can afford that" but its important for you to know what you are comfortable affording first.</p> <p>With our new house - we were pre-approved and started looking in Dec - closed on the house Feb 28. Not as competitive of a market at that time of year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235400 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:53:34 +0000 birdofafeather 2235400@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>you all are so helpful! thanks for getting me started with tips!</p> <p>@MaryM: we definitely need to discuss with our landlords what their plan is. ideally we could go month to month after our lease is up because i definitely don't want to be ready to buy, but not have found a place and have to move twice within a short time frame! yuck.</p> <p>@Truth Bombs: i'm looking at homes in the new area to see what our money can buy, not with the hope that i can buy that particular house. also, i like the fact that i can get updates on those homes that i looked at online to kinda get an idea what the market in that area is doing, what houses are really going for, versus being listed at, etc. saving those favorites also gives me a chance to talk with DH about expectations, what we like and don't like about homes, etc. i'm hoping that by tracking some homes that look good to us now, we can see how quickly they sell and how quickly we may need to move when the time is right?</p> <p>@Bluebonnet: yeah, this is what we're discussing now and it seems like getting preapproved, looking at real numbers on mortgage, insurance, property taxes, etc for the real monthly price will be the next step so i'm not looking at things that are completely out of our budget! i'm vaguely familiar with the new area we're focused on, but not the particular neighborhoods/schools, etc. that will be a big part of research and finding a good realtor that knows the ins and outs of the new area!</p> <p>@HabesBabe: dang! as first timers, i know DH and i will want to stay at the low end of what we are probably going to be approved for because we want to make sure we're as conservative as we can be for inevitable money speed bumps! i have a feeling that might mean our pool of houses available will be slimmer so our timeline may stretch out longer! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235390 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:40:34 +0000 HabesBabe 2235390@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It took us over a year. We stayed low on our budget (and missed when the market bottomed out-- we could've gotten a lot more house if we had upped our price range initially!) and we were in escrow with an approved short-sale. It ended up falling through the day before we were supposed to close, so we took a small break and found our current house after a few months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235386 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:36:40 +0000 Bluebonnet 2235386@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think figuring out a realistic budget/price point if the first step (and you can do that now). Find a budget you feel comfortable with and start understanding what that gets you..</p> <p>Do you know exactly what you want in a home and which area/neighborhood you want to live in? If not, start researching and looking online or at open houses to give you a better sense of what you want. </p> <p>I wouldn't start seriously looking (and ready to make an offer)- until 3 months before I wanted to move. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235375 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:27:17 +0000 gingerbebe 2235375@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We knew what area we were interested in and had a price range and must haves that we agreed to before looking. We kept an eye on the listings and went and looked at a few we were interested in around February. We found a certain layout of a house we liked in a certain subdivision but didn't love what was on the market. But DH got the ball rolling to get pre-approved by our credit union and started letting lenders duke it out on Lending Tree. We set up email alerts on new listings and one night in early March we saw a listing for the right floor plan in an ideal location so I went to the open house, knew it was right, had DH see it the next day, and THEN we found a realtor to write up the offer. (We got a referral from a friend). It was probably the easiest money she made all year because we found the house first. We made an offer St. Patrick's Day, had keys in late April. Spent a month doing some minor renovations since we were renting until June anyway and moved in early June. Our offer was competitive because we didn't have any contingencies like selling a house first and we were pre-approved so it went pretty fast. Our closing was delayed only because we used a VA loan and we had to use their appraiser who couldn't get out there for 2 weeks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235366 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:20:43 +0000 jhd 2235366@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I voted 3-4 months. It was probably more like 4. We had looked at some homes together before that just to get a feel for what we liked (probably a couple years before) so we had some ideas of what we were looking for. We contacted a realtor in the summer and bought a house in October. I guess it's important to know that we didn't have LOs (I was pregnant) and we also live in a college town that's not super big so it's not a competitive market to buy a home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-far-in-advance-did-you-start-looking-at-homes-seriously#post-2235359 Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:14:30 +0000 Truth Bombs 2235359@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Looking now won't do you much good because houses you like aren't likely to be available by the time you're ready to buy. I would say now is a good time to go ahead and get ore approved and find a realtor. Have the realtor set you up for daily emails to see what is coming on the market within your parameters so you can get a realistic sense of what you can afford. And then three month out from when you are ready to move start looking seriously. </p>