Whether you are a first time home buyer, empty nester planning to downsize or moving up to your next dream home holidays are perfect time to start planning for your future home. 
Ask for Contributions: Rather than getting newest gadget this holiday, ask friends and family to contribute money for your future home purchase. Place the money in a CD or savings account so that you don't spend it away. It will be a huge help towards your down payment or expenses that you will have while making the move.
Get Educated: Speak to a lender and start understanding your credit standing. If any outstanding issues on your credit report you come across start work towards repairing or correcting it. Also have your lender explain various lending options that requires different down payment. Also understand how much estimated monthly mortgage you will have once you purchase a home. Also meet up with your local Virginia Realtor to understand and get the feeling of the housing in the area and the price range. I am meeting with both my sellers and buyers to get them prepared for the spring market.
Understand your Numbers: After getting the information from the lender on estimate closing cost, monthly mortgage payment and the range of homes you will most likely qualify to purchase. Create a simple excel spreadsheet lay down the details on your monthly expense. December can be an exceptional month with the holiday expenses but consider daily expense like eating out, movies, gas and so on from now till you purchase your home. This will help you figure out what you can eliminate unnecessary expenses and improve your savings.
Start Research: Decision to where to buy a home has so various aspects to it. If you are particular about a location or school district or unsure where you want to live, winter may be the best part to start researching and narrowing down the area to purchase your home. When you meet friends and family during holiday party speak to them about their location and the area. Get familiar and narrow down the area you like. Once you have done your home work on the areas to purchase you and your Realtor can focus on any new homes that get listed in the area.
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