When is the right time to start looking for a home in Fort Wayne?

I've written about this topic before, but I've been asked this questions many times since, so I figured I'd cover it again.

When is the right time to start looking for a home in Fort Wayne?

I had a buyer reach out to me just the other day.  He is going to be buying a new  home, but won't ready to buy until spring of 2014. He asked me if it was too early to start looking at homes now.

My reply was YES.  It's way too early.

Even though he wouldn't be buying anything until spring, he was excited of the idea of buying.  He said again that he just wanted to go out and look at 3-5 homes, just so he could see what's out there.  He couldn't understand why that could be a bad thing.  

Here's what I explained to him:

1.  What happens if we get out there and you find a home that you absolutely fall in love with?  Do you think it's going to be on the market in eight months when you are ready to buy?  The odds are against that.  

2.  If #1 does happen, then guess what?  No other homes you see are going to match the perfection of this one.  Everything else will be a let down.

3.  What about the sellers on these homes?  They will get the showing request and probably get excited. They'll clean the home, pack the kids and the dogs into the mini van, and go drive around for an hour while we look at their home.  Their listing agent will then ask me for feedback, and I'll tell the agent that we aren't ready to buy for another eight months, we just wanted to see what's out there.  Not good.

My advice?  

Keep your eyes open online.  I'll set you up on an auto search through our MLS that will email you homes that fit your criteria the second they are listed.  You can watch the market that way.

If there is an open house on a home that you want to see, feel free to stop by, just remember to let that agent know that you already have your own agent.

I think that the time frame for looking for homes should start around 60 days before you have to move. The process usually takes 30-45 days, so that should give us more than enough time to find the right home for you.  

Thanks for reading!