So, when it comes to looking for a house to buy while renting, I think most people would agree; the sooner you start your search the better.

Since depending on a few different factors it can turn out to be a lengthy process.

So, unless it’s not possible, and simply put I recommend starting at least 6 or 7 months prior to your rental agreement expiring.

When should I start looking for a house while renting?

First, you need to make sure that now is the best time for you to buy. Also, doing things like getting prequalified and making sure your money is in order before looking for a house is not a bad idea either. Another thing would be to make a list of everything you want & need in a house prior to searching. One more thing, if you’re not able to get to the subject property or you just want to make a speedy offer, doing it sight unseen might be a viable option. Also, don’t make the major mistake of buying a house that you really can’t afford. Now below we’ll discuss this in-depth and more.  

What should you do before starting to look for a house?

The first thing to do is to think about where you’re at in your life and whether or not you should even buy a house right now or continue to rent for the time being.

Are you ready to be tied to one place or would you rather be geographically agile?

Do you have enough money coming in or set aside, not only for mortgage payments but also for unexpected and expected repairs & maintenance?

This can include things such as repainting the house, repairing or replacing the roof, the HVAC unit, and/or a septic system.

Furthermore, if you purchase a house with a yard, the maintenance will now include lawn care as well.

Now, you can pay someone to do it or you can take care of the yard yourself if you want to save a little money.

Although, if you intend to do it personally, you will need to purchase things such as a lawnmower, weed eater, and leaf blower, which will eventually require maintenance, repairs, and replacement too, all of which cost money as well.

Also, if you decide that you want to buy a house instead of continuing to rent, you might want to get a good realtor, unless you’re comfortable doing everything yourself.

So, if you do decide to go the do-it-yourself route, a good idea would be to put together a list of wants and needs to use for your house hunting.

For instance: What is your price range, what area of the city or county do you want to live in, the style and square foot of the house, lot size, HOA or not, and if you have kids; the school district would probably be a pretty important factor.

You should also consider what the housing market looks like at the time you’re planning to buy.

Below is a graph showing the National Median Active listing prices for houses this year (2022):

Another thing to consider as far as the housing market goes is interest rates and how they will impact your monthly payments and your bottom line.

Finally, before you start looking at houses you should research different mortgage brokers and/or lenders and get pre-qualified unless you’re paying cash that is.

How soon before you have to move should you start looking for a house?

My initial response would be as soon as possible.

But seriously, a good rule of thumb would be 6 or 7 months prior to wanting or having to move.

Depending on the housing market, buying a home can be a shorter or longer process.

For example, my mom considered buying a new house to live in towards the end of last year (2021), against my advice by the way.

Since I knew how incredibly hot the market was along with the feeding frenzy that was taking place.

But as I’m her son and I love her, I helped her look nonetheless.

Now, this is how crazy it was.

We would put in an offer on a house that checked all of her boxes and was only listed for about 2 hours.

Yet, there would already be like 10 other offers on it.

Not only that, but the other offers would be at least $25,000 over the asking price, where the houses were already way overpriced anyway.   

Since at that time, they were all kinds of people moving here from the States where $300,000 houses sell for $700,000 to $1,000,000.

So, they have no problem offering $550,000 to $600,000 for a $350,000 house.

They look at it like a bargain.

Now after a few weeks of that, I convinced her to do what I recommended from the start, to keep looking casually, but to wait until the market cools off and prices come down or level off at the very least before getting serious and putting in any more offers.

So, in saying all that, varying market conditions are a big reason why you want to give yourself ample time to find and buy a house.

Also, if you’re a first-time homebuyer or even if it’s your second or third home purchase, there are going to be a lot of things that will need to be in order before you can buy a home.

Such as having enough down payment to cover homes in the price range that you’ll be looking in.

Another thing you’ll want to check on straight away will be your credit score, that way if you need to work on improving it, you’ll leave yourself sufficient time.

Then as I mentioned earlier, if you don’t get pre-approved prior to your house hunting, you’re definitely going to want to get started on that as soon as possible too, again unless you’re paying cash for it.

Also, you should take your time when looking for the house that you’re planning on living in.

Ride around in different areas and neighborhoods, more than once and on different days & at different times, so you can get well acquainted with the area and be pretty certain that’s where you want to hang your hat.

Furthermore, it’s been said that most people look at like 8 to 10 homes before they even put in their first offer.

So, if you take your time and fall within those statistics, you will probably need several months just for that.

Because more than likely, in hot or even normal markets, houses that fit your exact criteria aren’t going to get listed every day, and even if they do there’s no guarantee that you’re going to be the winning bidder.

One more thing, you don’t want to be pushed into buying a home that doesn’t fit your wants and needs because you ran out of time and your rental agreement is up.

This is why I say to start looking at least 6 or 7 months ahead of time, if at all possible.  

Should you put in an offer on a house before seeing it?

So, It really depends on how fast you want to make an offer and what you’re comfortable with.

Putting in an offer on a house “sight unseen” which is generally what it is called, can give you an edge over other buyers and doesn’t have to be as risky as it sounds.

Since there are things that can help protect you if you go to buy a house and put in an offer & then it doesn’t appraise, or other stuff happens that causes you to change your mind.

These things that help protect you are called contingency clauses and they can be and are usually put in contracts & they allow buyers to walk away from the deal if the terms in the clauses are not met.

Such as a home inspection contingency clause or an appraisal clause for instance.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking now.

How can I buy a house that I’ve never seen?

Well, with today’s technology, you can usually see a house without actually being there.

Most real estate listings today come with a ton of photos and a lot of them even have virtual tours.

Also, as far as the area is concerned and the quality of the schools; you can have a realtor get you that info or you can even do the research yourself if you’re so inclined.

There are different websites where you can find this sort of information, City-Data.com has some pretty good statistics and material when it comes to things like this.

So, buying a house without seeing it, or “sight unseen” as it’s commonly called, is not that unheard of nowadays.

What are some mistakes to avoid when buying a house?

I’d say the number one mistake a lot of homebuyers make is biting off more than they can chew.

In other words, purchasing a house that costs more than they can really afford.

Furthermore, you ought to do your best to calculate all the expenses that go along with homeownership too.

Such as homeowners insurance, maintenance & repairs, and taxes to name a few.

You should also think long and hard before spending everything you have saved up on a down payment or any part of purchasing your new house for that matter.

Since, it’s highly recommended to always have an emergency fund for unexpected expenses that may and usually do come down the road.  

Not getting pre-approved prior to making an offer can cause you some headaches too.

Since, along with other advantages, doing so should let you know how much house you can afford and therefore it might help you avoid making mistake number one.

Also, if you don’t do enough research on the area or neighborhood you might live to regret that later on as well.

Finally, if you’re not in construction or the real estate industry & you don’t know that much about houses and you neglect to have the home inspected, this can turn out to be a very costly mistake too.

So, to sum it up

To start with you should make sure now is the right time for you to buy rather than continue to rent, that way you can be sure to have everything lined up. Another thing, getting prequalified before you ever start to look is recommended as well. Deciding exactly what you want and need prior to your house hunting is a good idea too. Also, if you’re feeling a time crunch and you want to try to beat out other buyers, making an offer sight unseen might be a viable option. Finally, avoid mistakes a lot of homebuyers make like not budgeting for things such as unexpected repairs or buying houses they can’t afford.