How long to house hunt?

I apologize in advance, I tried to use the search function several ways including just searching for the word "buying" and could not find what I was looking for, so here goes...

DH and I plan to fly to our new future city after Match Day and spend two weeks house hunting. DH grew up in the area and his entire family still lives in the vicinity, so we're very comfortable with the area and know already what kind of budget and house we're looking for. With the current housing market, we know we'll have several houses to look at. Is two weeks long enough to find a home? We'd love to close by May. This is our first home, so I'm nervous we're rushing it or being too optimistic. And by rushing it I panic that I'll miss out on an even better home that goes on the market in May or June if I'm rushed to find one in April. I also know that we should get pre-approved ahead of time so that speeds up the process. We're also planning on working with a realtor and will tell him or her when we're coming so he/she can line up several appointments for us. I'd love any advice or experiences anyone can share. We have a backup plan where we can live with DH's parents in the meantime, but I would love to avoid that for reasons I'm sure everyone can relate to!

[mommax3]

Re: How long to house hunt?

I am assuming (although maybe I shouldn't) that this is your first home and that you don't have a house to sell. If that is the case, two weeks will be plenty of time and may even be more than enough, since you are already familiar with the area. We visited a new city, found a house, and made an offer/had it accepted in three days once....it wasn't ideal, but it worked. Other times we have had a week (both in fairly large cities) and it worked just fine.

Use the internet and try to hook up with a realtor ahead of time (if you haven't already). Preapproval is a good idea, too. You may need to get a letter that states what your SO's income will be once residency starts since you won't have a pay stub. If you think you might get a better deal by waiting until later in the spring, or if you don't really see anything you like during your March visit, I would urge you to wait, especially if you have a place to stay. With the real estate market the way it is right now, you can afford to be choosy!

Good luck!

Sally

Re: How long to house hunt?

Thanks for your reply and advice, Sally. And yes, you are correct to assume that we do not have a house to sell. Definitely very nice we don't have to worry about that right now. Thanks!

[SuzySunshine]

Re: How long to house hunt?

I think that is more then enough time. DH matched at the end of January, we flew to our new town three weeks later and stayed for 9 days. I had never set foot here. We found a realtor right after the match and traded LOTS of e-mails, etc. with her between match and our visit. During our visit she showed us as many as she could in our range and request in the first two days. The only thing I wish we had done differently was I wish we had spent a day on our own before we put in a bid on the house we got just so that we could get a feel for the area. It doesn't sound like you'll have that issue though if you match where you hope to.

Good luck!

Re: How long to house hunt?

That is a TON of time. We looked at 25 houses in 1 1/2 days here ... made and offer and were done. And we didn't know the area. You'll be fine.

Re: How long to house hunt?

Wow, I feel much better and less panicked now. Thank you for the responses! I think that's why I wanted at least two weeks to visit. To be able to sleep on it a few nights and drive around the areas of the few towns we're looking at and just get a feel of whether or not it felt "right."

[Meenah]

Re: How long to house hunt?

That should be enough time, but you could always rent for 6 months and really take your time looking.

Re: How long to house hunt?

That should be enough time, but you could always rent for 6 months and really take your time looking.

I've definitely considered that as well. I think if we really didn't know anything about the area, we'd definitely rent. But DH literally grew up in this area we're planning on going to, so we're definitely more comfortable with the prospect of buying. His uncle is a developer as well so we trust his judgment and will ask him to come with us for the final decision to give us his opinion (after the inspector, of course!)

[madeintaiwan]

Re: How long to house hunt?

Same as Jenn here. We came out in mid April and looked at 18 houses in 1 1/2 days and made an offer on the second day. Closed on the house on May 15th and moved out here on the 21st. We used a realtor recommended by one of the residents. We were semi familiar with the area because DH's cousin's wife grew up here. It was still a very stressful time. I strongly recommend having your loan stuff done prior to looking so that if you find a house you can give them your pre-qualified letter with your offer and there aren't funding issues. It was also nice to have the bulk of the loan stuff already finished. Good luck, two weeks is probably more than most people get. All of our friends had 2-3 days like we did.

[migirl]

Re: How long to house hunt?

I also think 2 weeks should be plenty of time! We had a little under a week, and we ended up in the same town where we went to college so we were pretty familiar with the area. We had our realtor line up a bunch of houses for us to look at while we were here, but didn't make an offer or close on the house before we left so we ended up finishing everything long-distance! We were able to do a lot of things via fax, and then assigned power of attorney (I think?) to my dad when he went to the closing in our stead. So that's also an option for you, since you have so much family in the area.

Good luck, how exciting!!

[Phoebe]

Re: How long to house hunt?

Two weeks should be plenty of time. We had one weekend without knowing the area.

[peggyfromwastate]

Re: How long to house hunt?

We had a week in the height of the bid-er-up frenzy. We found a house the last day...

2 weeks in this market should be fine.

Re: How long to house hunt?

I hope you do but honestly, our transition into residency was much harder due to the transient nature of our domestic situation. All of our stuff was in storage except the luggage we brought in our cars for the first three months - and living in someone else's apartment is stressful since all their stuff is there and you don't want to move anything, etc.

I think this is why DH is more eager than I am to find something sooner than later because he doesn't want to move later this year after he's started residency. I also will start my new FT job by August so I'd like to not have to deal with moving again either.

[Vishenka69]

Re: How long to house hunt?

And I thought our 2 months to find a house was too little time. DH refuses to seriously look at anything or meet with a mortgage person before the boards, so we won't be starting until May and our lease is up in July. We could extend our lease, but you all know how much I hate our neighbors. My new #1 condition is not to be within earshot of anyone.

with your house search.

[alison]

Re: How long to house hunt?

My new #1 condition is not to be within earshot of anyone.

And this coming from NYC gal! Isn't it funny how city noise (sirens, horns, etc.) is easier to deal with than loud neighbors?