3-6 months out
Pull your own credit reports and dispute any errors now, because corrections take weeks. Avoid opening new credit lines or financing furniture and cars. Start assembling your paper trail: two years of W-2s or tax returns, recent pay stubs, and two months of statements for every account.
Set a savings target that covers your down payment plus roughly 2-4% of the purchase price for closing costs, plus a cushion you refuse to spend.
1-3 months out
Get pre-approved and learn your real monthly payment: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues. Interview agents and choose one who works your target neighborhoods weekly, not occasionally.
If a relative is gifting part of your down payment, say so early. Gift funds are allowed on most programs but need a specific paper trail, usually a signed gift letter plus proof of transfer.
House hunting and offer
Tour with a structural checklist: roof age, furnace and water heater age, panel type, and signs of water in the basement or attic. Cosmetics distract. Systems cost money.
When you offer, keep your inspection contingency. Waiving it to compete is how first purchases turn into expensive lessons.
Under contract to closing
Schedule the inspection immediately and attend it. Keep your finances still: no new accounts, no large unexplained deposits, and no job changes without telling your loan officer first.
Buy a homeowners insurance policy a couple of weeks before closing, since the lender needs the binder to finish the file. Do the final walk-through the day before or the morning of closing.