Currently renting, want to buy a house. How soon before my lease ends should I start the process?

Homebuyer Forum
1

I need some perspective. I divorced last year, in the asset division I let my partner keep the house and moved out, I’m currently renting a townhouse. My lease ends on 4/30/25 (roughly 6 months from now). Now that things have stabilized a bit for me, I want to buy a new place.

I’ve been looking in my area and there isn’t a lot available in the size & price range that I want, but there are a few that are fine. Based on my income, I can easily qualify for the mortgage and I have the down payment as well, so I’m not too worried about that part.

My rental lease is for 12 months, so I have about 6 to go. How soon would you start the buying process? I have a realtor in mind, I worked with him before but I haven’t reached out yet. I’ll need to find a mortgage broker to get the best rate possible. If I break my lease too soon, I have to pay 3 months of penalty, which I rather not do. If I start the buying process too late, I may need to negotiate month to month or a few month extension or find an alternative place to stay, which will be a mess and costly. How would you time this?

2

I closed within 32 days of starting the home search (including taking a first time homeowner class, applying for preapproval, and finding a realtor) so I was personally glad to be on a month to month.

3

In the Bay Area, we started the process like 4 months ahead of time – took us like 12 offers until we ended up getting a place.

4

The answer heavily depends on how competitive your market is and how badly you want to buy. In the market I was looking at, it is still very competitive and took about 6 months. Many buyers I knew just gave up because of the crazy over asking bidding. I think your ideal case scenario is a month to month lease so you don’t feel pressured into buying something you don’t love.