I'm retiring from the Navy mid-June of next year. We plan to move from DC to Roanoke, VA and buy a house. Our hope is that we will find and buy the house and be able to move in right after my retirement. We are renting and our lease is up end of June.
We've been haunting Zillow.com, getting smart on the market and know which neighborhoods we want to live in.
My question is two-fold: When should we get pre-approved for a mortgage (VA most likely); and when should we plan to actually sign a contract on a house to meet our timeline?
I know pre-approvals are usually good for 60-90 days.
Thanks for the help!