What to do in the 6-8 months before purchasing a home

[Caleb Graham]

Hi everyone! First time using the forums :)

I'm a 25-year-old software engineer looking to leverage the power that real estate and more specifically, house hacking, provides. I want to absorb as much knowledge as I can before I jump into the world of real estate investing.

Would love to get people's opinions on what the best use of my time would be in the next 6-8 months before I attempt to buy a duplex. I've read a few real estate books (including BRRRR), I keep up with the market, and I've been doing research into multifamily homes in my target market, but I'm a bit unsure of where to go from here. Does it make sense to be getting preapproved for loans this far out? Should I be running numbers on potential deals in my target area as practice?

For various reasons, I won't be able to buy until spring 2024 and I want to be as prepared as possible.

Thanks in advance!

[Jaron Walling]

@Caleb Graham Adding to what others mentioned before I started making offers... I rode my bike around and did boots on the ground research. Get out of your car and walk the streets. Market research can be exercise and really fun if you enjoy the outdoors. When I started walking properties and making offers I already knew the neighborhoods. Google searching a neighborhood is delayed and never as accurate as boots on the ground. Like @Kerry Noble Jr look for signs of growth. Look for investor activity. If you don't see it don't buy there!