6-8 month plan?

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I highly recommend you take a homebuyer's education course. Many states/locations offer them. You can also do online ones, the Fannie Mae one is very popular and free. Requires a little bit of time but very worthwhile. It will break down the entire process, explain the terminology and you'll start with much better understanding of where you are and where you're trying to get to. After that, start networking with friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, community members: get referrals for local lenders and agents, so you have a place to start when it's time to start interview and vetting professionals. Do a total budget breakdown on your own in advance. Account for all your income and spending, investing, savings. Only used income and numbers that are definite, don't count future/potential/promised raises. Identify any expenses or categories that you could trim back or eliminate if you need to. Look at how much you're renting for and what you can realistically afford mortgage-wise in comparison. Be honest. Ideally you want to mortgage payment to be no more than 30% of your gross income. If you want to make sure that your targeted mortgage number is practical, spend at least 3 months and "practice paying" the increased amount into your savings. See how it really feels to go from $1200k to $1800k for a few months. Is it too tight? Are you still saving enough $ at that rate to cover you? Understand that you're likely going to need money for several different things: down payment, then closing costs, and purchasing costs (inspections, EMD, appraisals, moving costs), and post-closing emergency fund of ideally at least 3-6 months income for immediate expenses or repairs. And finally, new home costs -- furniture, equipment/supplies, remolding, etc. If you're interested in financial aid or homebuying assistance, research early what programs are available in your state or possibly city. Most have income, location, and sometimes background eligibility requirements. Most importantly, find out if there are any deadlines and how the programs operate. Many programs operate on a first-come-first-serve basis and will run only until the funds are used up. After that, the fund is tapped until the start next financial/budget season, or there may be a waitlist or backlog of applications. Or the program may run year-round no matter what. Any of these factors may influence when you decide to buy. Try to be in the strongest financial position possible when you go to buy: stable employment, tax returns showing verified income, all the savings you can muster, little to no debt, strong credit. If one of these areas needs help, work on it now. Pay down or off debt. Make sure your credit score is good, 700+ ideally. Don't miss or make late payments, don't take out any new loans just before you start the buying process.

Start asking friends and family for recommendations for a mortgage loan originator (not a company, a specific person). If you don’t have anyone you trust that can recommend, start searching online. Speak with each of them and confirm that they can take an application with a soft pull only to review your situation and help you explore your financing options. Next, I would ask friends and family for agent recommendations, and take them to your lender and ask their opinion on those agents and if they have any recommendations. Take their professional opinion into consideration. LO’s tend to see agents true colors that may not be apparent to buyers.

You’ve got enough time. I wouldn’t spend the next six months trying to memorize the whole mortgage business though. Pull all three credit reports and make sure they’re accurate. Don’t open new accounts, finance a car, or start paying old collections just because a credit app tells you to. Some “credit improvement” moves can make a mortgage file worse. About three or four months before you want to shop, have a lender do a dry run with your real income, debts, credit, and bank statements. Ask them to show you the full payment with taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance if needed, and HOA. The approval amount is usually less important than the payment you can live with. Keep saving, but think of the money in separate piles: down payment, closing costs, and cash still left after closing. Houses have a funny way of needing money right after you get the keys. Between now and then, keep deposits easy to document and avoid moving money around for no reason. If family gift money will be involved, say that early. A boring financial life for the next six months will help more than knowing every mortgage term.

I always suggest this cause I feel like FHB’s or maybe it was just forget. It’s great you are saving for a down payment but also have four buckets. As the other Redditor stated, you need a buck for down payment, one for closing costs, one for 3-6 months of emergency expenses, one for moving costs. After that, the process is somewhat straightforward. Submit an offer, seller has time to counter that offer, then there is an agreement called mutually acceptance. After that, schedule your inspection. Do not skip this step. Secure financing by shopping around different lenders like credit unions, big banks, and utilize a mortgage broker. One aspect of financing I didn’t know about was a consumer has the ability to buy down the interest rate. Meaning, if you qualify for 6.5 or 7 you can buy down the rate to 6.25 or whatever by purchasing points. That amount can vary from 0 to over 5 figures. I suggest not doing this as you likely will not save as much in the long run. After financing is secured, you will receive a loan estimate. Make sure that your rate is a float and not locked unless you are okay with the interest rate. Most of the escrow process is negotiable throughout so do not stress and do not sign anything if documentation is not cleaned up. You can also decide to not escrow taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA if applicable and self pay depending on the lender and down payment percentage. Anyway, after your loan estimate or what can occur simultaneously is the appraisal. Back out of the deal if the house is worth less than the asking price. Otherwise you or the seller have to come up with the difference. After the appraisal then you should receive the closing disclosure at least 3 business days for your scheduled closing date. This is a finalized version of the loan estimate. Review it to ensure it’s accurate and if not request changes. Here is a link that outlines the homebuying process. It’s for California but applicable I think for others. https://www.reddit.com/r/CaliforniaMortgages/comments/1q6mcas/the_california_escrow_process_explained_what/

I'd get pre-approved way earlier than you think you need to, even if you're 6 months out, because it tells you your actual number and rate instead of guessing, and lenders can walk you through the terminology way better than any article can since it's tied to your real numbers. Most of what feels overwhelming right now clicks fast once you're looking at your own pre-approval letter instead of generic advice.