I decided to hit my inbox and see what sort of questions consumers may have...

Lane, we are thinking about buying a house in 6 or 8 months.  When should we start looking?

A lot depends on the remainder of your situation.  There are a few things we need to look at first:

• How did you arrive at the time frame for when you want to buy?

Is there a specific event that will happen in that time frame that will allow you to buy a house?  If so, you may not need to dive in quite yet, but there isn't an issue with signing you up on a Client Gateway to see what is available.  However, many people start to burn out after looking at homes for months on end.  I also wouldn't recommend going out to look at houses... because you might like one that won't be available when you are ready to buy.  If you are able to buy now, but just don't think the market is good... you might want to start looking.  We don't know where the market is going.  We don't know where interest rates are going.  We don't know what properties are going to be available.  It wouldn't be fun to just miss a perfect house because you thought the price might drop another 1%... when the seller might be willing to take that hit to sell today.

• Have you been to a good mortgage broker?

Honestly, this is the first thing you need to do.  Regardless of your financial situation (unless you are a cash buyer), you need to get pre-qualified.  Even if you have great credit, perhaps the broker might be able to give you a bit of info/strategy that could bump you up to a slightly better rate.  You might also be shocked at the current rates, and find that it is cheaper in the long-run to buy with a lower rate than to wait... of course, we don't know where the rates are going.  

• Are you in a lease?

If you are renting a house or apartment, in might be worth it to pay the penalty and buy a house.  It might not.  It depends on the individual deal.  Some builders might be thrilled to take the hit and pay your lease penalty in order to sell a house.  Some individual sellers might as well.  Others may not.  In some cases, the deal might be too good to pass up.  It wouldn't be prudent to pass up a deal that saves $20,000 because you don't want to pay a $5,000 release fee.  

It is very difficult to give generic advice for the situation without knowing more.  Even the personality of the buyer makes a difference.  I have had people that looked at 3 houses and bought (number 2).  I have had people that looked at 75 houses before committing (to number 16).  Some people like to see listings for months.  Others get bored after a week unless they are visiting houses.  

In almost all situations, I would advise buyers to sit down with a good mortgage broker.