How soon after moving did you buy a house?

[suzie02]

Originally Posted by scatteredthunder

I see a theme of "rent first, buy later" wherever I look. But does that really have to happen? I grew up not far from there, so it's not as though I have no idea what it's like. How long do people advocate renting first? (I have a friend who moved to a college town and decided ahead of time that she would buy within three months - and they did). Certainly if I could get a short-term rental in that school attendance area, that would probably be optimal. I just don't see that happening.

We always buy before we move. Relocation benefits only pay for one move so we only move once. We make a house hunting trip and pick a house.

[cjmeck]

I've always bought houses long distance due to my husband's military career. I do a ton of research on the internet several months out (learning about schools, neighborhoods, google earth, crime reports, census, ect.) then I plan a 2-3 day house hunting trip in which I chose a house. As a parent with kids myself, I always chose the school district first, neighborhood second, house last. It has worked out for us over the years and this is how many families with school age kids handle relocations.

[twodoor2]

I am moving my kids from one school to another this year because we didn't know where we would end up moving. I guess I'm a horrible mother, but the ultimate goal was to get them in a highly rated school district. We are currently renting in an average rated school district because that's where we could find a three bedroom apartment with a short term lease. It's hard enough to find short term leases, let alone with a three bedroom, which is s requirement for a family of five like us. However, this temporary situation afforded us the time to be picky and find a great home/location to live in.