The plan
Zero to keys: the 12-month roadmap
You don't need to be ready today. You need a sequence — and twelve months is enough runway for most people who think they're five years away.
Months 12–10
Reality check & baseline
- Pull your free credit reports at annualcreditreport.com. Note your scores and anything wrong.
- List every monthly debt payment (the payment, not the balance — that’s what lenders use).
- Run a first pass on the payment calculator so "someday" gets a number attached.
- Have the no-pressure intro conversation with Ashlyn. Ten minutes now saves months later.
Months 10–7
Credit tune-up & savings autopilot
- Work the credit playbook: autopay minimums everywhere, drive utilization under 30% (then 10%).
- Dispute credit report errors — free, online, directly with each bureau.
- Set an automatic transfer to a separate "house fund" the day you get paid. Amount matters less than automation.
- Freeze the new-credit button: no new cards, financing plans, or BNPL until you have keys.
Months 7–5
Program stacking
- Read the MN Housing page and the county & city grants page for your area.
- If your parents never owned — check First-Generation eligibility. This can be a $35,000 swing.
- Complete an approved homebuyer education course (required by many programs; genuinely useful anyway).
- Ask Ashlyn which program combinations fit your income, location, and price range.
Months 5–4
Pre-approval
- Gather documents with the pre-approval checklist: pay stubs, W-2s, bank statements, IDs.
- Get a real pre-approval (not a 30-second "prequalification" widget).
- Learn your true ceiling — then set your search budget comfortably below it. Ceilings are for emergencies, not offers.
Months 4–1
Hunt & offer
- Team up with a buyer’s agent (Ashlyn can connect you with agents who work well with first-time buyers).
- Tour with the house-hunting checklist so excitement doesn’t overwrite judgment.
- Make offers with your program financing already lined up — pre-approved program buyers close, and listing agents know it.
- Under contract: inspection, appraisal, final underwriting. Ashlyn quarterbacks; you respond fast to document requests.
Month 0
Close & get keys
- Final walk-through, closing disclosure review (compare it to your loan estimate — ask about anything that moved).
- Wire your cash-to-close using verified instructions only — confirm by phone. Wire fraud targets exactly this moment.
- Sign approximately one thousand papers. Receive approximately one set of keys. 🔑
Moving faster than 12 months? The sequence compresses fine — plenty of buyers run it in four. The order is what matters: credit before pre-approval, programs before offers, verification before wires.
Want the month-one conversation now?
Tell Ashlyn your timeline and she'll tell you what your version of this roadmap looks like — even if buying is a year or more away. Early conversations are the cheat code.