Six Months From Buying a House? You Are Not Too Early to Start
If you think you might buy a house six months from now, it probably feels too early to call a real estate agent.
It isn't.
I'm not suggesting we spend the next six months driving around looking at houses you aren't ready to buy yet. In fact, that's probably one of the least useful things we could do.
What we can do is make sure you're actually ready when the time comes.
Six Months Gives Us Time to Fix Things
There are parts of buying a house that can be changed quickly. There are others that can't.
If there is something unexpected on your credit report, discovering it six months before you want to buy gives you time to figure it out. Finding it while you're trying to get a loan approved is considerably less convenient.
The same goes for your down payment, monthly budget and the cash you'll want to have left after closing. Buying a house uses more cash than just the down payment, and I don't particularly like plans that end with someone owning a house and having $37 left in the bank.
Starting early lets us work backward from the purchase rather than discovering everything at once.
Talk to a Lender Before You Need a Loan
You don't need to be ready to make an offer before talking with a lender.
A good lender can help you understand what your current finances might support, what documentation you'll eventually need and whether there is anything worth addressing now.
That doesn't mean the lender gets to decide what you should spend.
Being able to qualify for a particular payment and being comfortable making that payment every month are two different things. I care considerably more about the second one.
You Can Start Learning the Market Without Shopping
There is also value in simply watching houses for a while. Where? Use your favorite house search site. I'm not afraid to say Zillow. Or Realtor.com. Or Homes.com. Use whatever site you like. If you want to go directly to the Denver Metro area MLS, here's a link to the [app](https://app.recolorado.com/C45A8637) and the [website](https://recolorado.com/).
What does $800,000 buy in the areas you're considering? What about $500,000 or $1,000,000? How much does another bedroom change the price? What happens when you move five miles west, east, north or south?
You don't need to tour every house to start learning this.
Watch listings. Look at photos. Pay attention to price changes. See which homes go under contract quickly and which ones sit. More importantly, start noticing which tradeoffs bother you and which ones don't.
By the time you're actually ready to buy, the listings should make considerably more sense.
Your Original Plan May Change
Starting early also gives you permission to change your mind.
Maybe the neighborhood you assumed you wanted doesn't offer much of what you actually care about. Maybe you decide you'd rather have an older house with a larger yard than newer construction on a smaller lot. Maybe the monthly payment you're comfortable with points toward a different price range than you expected.
That's useful information, especially when there isn't a moving truck scheduled for next Friday.
A good home search should get narrower and smarter as you learn.
You Don't Need to Have Everything Figured Out Before You Call
People sometimes wait to contact an agent because they think they need to be "ready."
You don't need a preapproval in your hand, a neighborhood selected and a list of five houses you want to see before we can have a useful conversation.
If your plan is six months away, tell me it's six months away.
Then we can talk about what—if anything—is worth doing now.
Sometimes the answer will be quite a bit.
Sometimes it will be, "You're in good shape. Keep saving money and call me in three months."
Either answer is more useful than waiting until you're ready to write an offer to find out what you should have started six months earlier.