My husband and I plan on moving to our hometown (3 hours away) this summer and buying our first home. We would ideally like to be out of our rental by July 1, 2016. But are able to move back after June 6. My husband could go even earlier.

How early should we start looking at houses?

Are Realtors worth it?

How soon should my husband stay to look for a job there? He's in IT. It's a rather large city with an even larger one 30 minutes away.

I'm a teacher and jobs start being posted April/May for the following school year.

How should we go about the lending process since at this point we don't have secure jobs (yet)?

Thank you so much!