Some of my favorite conversations start with "I'm not ready to buy yet, but..."

Here's what I want you to know: "not ready yet" is a stage of buying a home. It's not the waiting room. It's the part where the smartest moves happen, because you're making them without a deadline breathing on you. If a home is somewhere on your someday list, here's what this year is actually for.

Learn your numbers without committing to anything. Talking to a lender does not obligate you to buy a house. It just replaces guessing with knowing. You'll learn where your credit stands, what you'd realistically qualify for, and exactly what to improve if the answer isn't what you hoped. Knowledge now means options later. I can point you to local lenders who are kind to beginners.

Watch the market like it's a show you're into. Browse listings in areas you're curious about. Notice what different price points actually get you. Screenshot houses you love and houses you hate. You're building taste and calibration, and both make you a faster, more confident buyer when your moment comes.

Save with a target instead of a vibe. Once a lender gives you real numbers, your savings goal stops being "a lot, probably" and becomes an actual figure with a timeline. Targets are so much easier to hit than vibes.

Ask your questions while they're free. Right now, every question is zero-stakes. What's earnest money? What do inspections cover? What does an agent actually do? Ask me now, while there's no clock, and by the time you're touring houses you'll feel like you've done this before.

And if you're a woman building toward this on your own, one more thing. I run a free community called A Seat at the Table for women building wealth through real estate. It exists precisely for this stage: learning at your own pace, asking anything, no pitch, no pressure. You can find it at christiemoreira.com/table, and you're welcome whenever you're ready, or before you're ready, which is honestly the best time.

There is no minimum readiness requirement for reaching out to me. "Just curious" is a complete sentence and a perfectly good reason to say hello. Some of my favorite future clients are people I won't hand keys to for another year or two, and I love it that way, because when their moment comes, they walk in prepared instead of panicked.

Your someday is allowed to start now, gently. I'll be here.