How long in advance do I start to look for a property

Question

Hi all! Life time renter, potential first time buyer here. I currently live in Boston, MA and am planning on being here for the rest of the year. In 2024, I'm planning to move to the Baltimore area, specifically somewhere between Baltimore city and north of DC to be closer to my daughter. Due to certain circumstances, I feel confident that she will be there until at least the end of 2025, so my stay in the area may be as little as 2 years. I don't want to purchase a single family home just for myself with such an unsure timeline, but I thought house hacking could be a viable alternative to renting. I'd be looking to buy sometime in the first half of 2024, so 12-18 months from now. How far out should I start the process of finding a local agent and letting my goals/needs be known? Any advice about getting financially/personally ready for a home purchase in general would also be appreciated. I feel like my research so far has been fruitful, but wanted to pick this lovely community's brain anyway.

Erin Dorsch · Answer

Hi Samuel,

I agree with Nick above. Learning the market and practicing analyzing deals will help prepare you for your move and will give you the confidence and knowledge to make the best investment.

I am a local Baltimore agent and investor, so if you ever have any questions about the area or market, I'm here to help!

Samuel Dukes · Answer

Good to know about 2-3 months. I got a little worried because a friend of mine mentioned starting now, which seemed way too early, thus me feeling the need to ask here :)

Good mention about the taxes Jevon. I'd probably get them done ASAP in 2024. They've always been pretty simple, and shouldn't change this year, so easy to manage before starting the lending pre-approval process.

ABL, a derivative of ABB (always be buying) :D

@Theresa Harris If she moves, I would prefer to keep as a rental for exactly the reason you stated. However, I've never been a landlord before, nor a long distance one for that matter, so I can't say for certain if that would play out well. To try and hedge my bets, I would only be interested in purchasing a property that would work well as a rental after I moved out. I'm okay with renting as I always have if there just aren't any properties that make sense numbers wise.

Joe Norman · Answer

I don't think it's ever too early to start speaking with Realtors. You don't necessarily need to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement right away, but it's good to start the relationship building process. Plus a Realtor can give you MLS access, send potential opportunities to you, and generally help you get a better feel for the market. They can also refer you to lenders and property managers so that you can start the relationship building on that side too.

Chris Mcdonald · Answer

My advice, start finding local experts who can help you  - lender, realtor, etc.. and lean on these people to help you with the next steps. First step is to get a pre-approval to determine your max spend then you can determine where you are a comfortable monthly. Once you have this data, now you can narrow down your search to price, location, and style. Now you wait, search, tour houses. You need to see the bad to recognize the good. I hate when I meet a client as a realtor and I know the house is a winner on our first tour. I see a lot of houses so I can quickly tell winners vs losers in Baltimore. Tour open houses and get feel for the market and be ready to take action. When the right house pops up, you need to execute!!!

Nick Harrington · Answer

Hey Samuel -

I would start taking a look at what's for sale and analyzing the deals now. Make it a goal to spend an hour each week analyzing deals, and see how many you can do in that hour.

The more familiar you can get with the market now, the easier it will be for you to spot what you are after when the time comes.

As far as finding an agent and a lender - you may need an agent to provide you with MLS access, which will provide you with current rents / taxes.

Otherwise, I would recommend 4 months out to have a lender and an agent nailed down - consider it takes a month for closing, so realistically, that would give you 3 months to have everything ready to go.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Always be looking, there is no good time to buy.

Lien Vuong · Answer

Loans: 6-12 months out to work out the kinks if you have anything outside of a W2 income

Agent: 3-6 months to interview and find the right fit

Touring homes: 1-3 months from your desired purchase date

Property Manager: 1-3 months from purchase when you know the area you're looking for

Theresa Harris · Answer

If you may only be there 2 years, what do you plan to do after you leave?  Sell it or rent it?  If the former, think seriously if you want to buy.  There are a lot of costs associated with buying and selling and unless you buy a fixer upper, you may end up losing money.

Stephen Keighery · Answer

@Samuel Dukes ABL

Always

Be

Looking

If you find more deals than you can take start looking for private money or for EMD buyers to wholesale.

In real estate, the more you look the better you do.

Jevon Shaw · Answer

2-3 months is a good amount of time to find a local agent. If you'll be moving around this time next year, you may want to make sure to either be completely done with your taxes before starting the lending pre-approval process or just putting of doing your taxes until after. Your lender will most likely need your tax returns from the previous two years and you don't want to muddy the approval process on your first time.

How long in advance do I start to look for a property

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